SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College ice hockey team put on an encore performance in an afternoon Atlantic Hockey Conference matchup against the Air Force Academy, closing out Alumni Weekend with a 4-0 win to complete a clean sweep on Saturday, November 17.

FAST FACTS:
SCORE: AIC 4, Air Force 0
RECORDS: AIC reaches a mark of 5-7-1 overall and 5-4-1 in the AHC; Air Force falls to 6-6-0 and 6-4-0 in league play.
LOCATION: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts

STATS:
AIC:
Patrik Demel: One goal
Tobias Fladeby: One goal
Darius Davidson: One goal
Shawn McBride: One goal
Zackarias Skog: Win (2-4-0), shutout, 20 saves

Air Force:
Zach LaRocque: Loss (2-2-0), 21 saves on 25 shots

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first period was tightly contested, but AIC broke through on a five-man play late in the frame; junior right wing Martin Mellberg and freshman Chris Theodore combined to force a turnover to freshman center Elijiah Barriga, who in turn pushed the puck down the left wall to sophomore defenseman Brennan Kapcheck. Kapcheck in turn passed across the blue line to his classmate and defense partner Patrik Demel, who one-timed in his first of the year at 15:23.
• AIC struck quickly in the second; junior center Hugo Reinhardt forced a turnover on the first shift of the frame, and he deflected the puck to junior left wing Blake Christensen, who in turn founda wide-open sophomore right wing Tobias Fladeby at the right side of the net for a tap-in at the 0:30 mark; it was Fladeby's third of the weekend and sixth of the year.
• The lead grew to 3-0 later in the stanza, as sophomore right wing Darius Davidson fired home his fifth of the season at 13:03.
• In the third, AIC put the exclamation point on the weekend as senior center and team captain Shawn McBride stole the puck in the attacking zone after Davidson had dumped it in; McBride's backhand snuck through the arm of Zach LaRocque for his second of the season at 9:25. From there, the defense held, as did junior goalkeeper Zacharias Skog, and the Yellow Jackets completed a perfect weekend with a 4-0 win.

PLEASE SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?:

• The results of both games were nearly identical; AIC outshot Air Force 25-20 each day, and Skog therefore posted consecutive 20-save shutouts.
• Skog had just one shutout in his career coming into the weekend.
• With the win, AIC took the season series from Air Force for the first time since February 1-2, 2013, when the Yellow Jacketsearned a 2-2 tie and a 2-1 win in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

COACH'S CORNER:

• "We had a game plan and we stuck to itwe talked about not getting punched first; we thought Air Force would come out hard and it was important to do some initiating and let them chase the game," Lang said of the team's strategy, adding of the defense, "That's our bread and butter. That's our identity: good sticks, good angles, hard to play against, protect the middle of the ice. Our guys executed and Zach was brilliant when he had to bethat's AIC hockey."
• Noting of the alumni in attendance, Lang said, "It's important that we have a lot of pride in our program and that we honor these guys with our effort. This group of AIC hockey players, because of the commitment from our administration, has received more than any other teams in our past, so it's important for these guys to understand that."

NEXT UP:

• The Yellow Jackets will take on some Thanksgiving turkey before closing out their three-game homestand on Tuesday, November 27 against their in-state rivals from The College of the Holy Cross at 7:05 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates about the AIC ice hockey team, follow@AIC_Hockey onTwitterand Instagram, and likeAmerican International College Ice HockeyonFacebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.