SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College ice hockey team once again found late-game heroics to earn a 4-3 victory, this time over Atlantic Hockey Conference foe Robert Morris University, in a matchup at the MassMutual Center on Saturday, December 29.

FAST FACTS:
SCORE:AIC 4, Robert Morris 3
RECORDS:AIC improves to 8-7-1 overall, with an 8-4-1 record in league play; Robert Morris drops to 7-9-1 overall and 6-6-1 in the AHC.
LOCATION:MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts

STATS:
AIC:
Hugo Reinhardt: Game-winning goal, one assist
Blake Christensen: Three assists
Justin Cole: One goal
Tobias Fladeby: One goal
Joel Kocur: One goal
Zackarias Skog: Win (5-4-0), 17 saves

Robert Morris:
Luke Lynch: One goal
Grant Herbert: One goal
Jacob Coleman: One goal
Francis Marotte: Loss (7-8-1), 28 saves in 58:12



HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The teamswere even on the goal ledger after one, as neither side found a way into the net; Robert Morris clanged two shots off of the posts in the period, and the Yellow Jackets could not convert the period's only power play as Francis Marotte made 11 saves for the Colonials and junior Zackarias Skog made seven for AIC.
• The second period finally saw the lamp lit, as Luke Lynch snapped home a rebound at 1:51 to give the Colonials a 1-0 edge.
• The Yellow Jackets had a quick response; junior defenseman Patrik Demel flipped a pass over the middle of the ice to sophomore right wing Chris Dodero, who in turn left the puck to redshirt freshman center Justin Cole. Cole's heavy shot found a way through Marotte's pads and into the left side of the net at 3:08 for his first collegiate tally.
• Midway through the period, junior left wing Blake Christensen gathered the puck along the right-side wall, pushing it through a defenseman's legs before cutting to beat another defender to open a shooting lane. Though he missed the net, the rebound caromed off the boards to junior center Joel Kocur, who jammed in his third of the year at 9:34 to put AIC ahead for the first time.
• The Colonials battled back early in the third; they drew a penalty, and just as AIC killed it off, Grant Hebert stuffed in a rebound to tie the game 2-2 at 7:40.
• Not deterred, AIC's offense struck again; Christensen found junior center Hugo Reinhardt at the side of the net, and Reinhardt in turn found sophomore right wing Tobias Fladeby open in the slot for a one-timer. Fladeby's shot kissed the crossbar before tickling the twine at 10:01 for his team-leading ninth of the year.
• The Yellow Jackets then drew a penalty, but rather than netting a goal to put their opponents away, the puck found the back of AIC's net as Jacob Coleman picked off a cross-point pass and screamed in on a breakaway, tying the game again at 11:42.
• Another penalty proved to be the Colonials' undoing. With Nick Prkusic in the box, Christensen set up junior right wing Martin Mellberg for a shot, and Reinhardt pounced on the rebound, potting the winning goal, his fifth tally of the season, at 16:03 for the 4-3 lead and victory.

BUZZWORTHY:

• Sophomore defenseman Jeff Baum played in his first game as a Yellow Jacket after transferring from Providence College.
• AIC's five wins in a row bests the program's previous record streak of four straight victories, which had been accomplished twice, most recently February 2-16, 2013. It is the second-longest active winning streak in the country, behind only Northeastern's eight straight wins.
• Christensen's three assists give him 12 in conference play, tied with Bentley's Luke Santerno for the most in the league.

NEXT UP:

• The two teams will finish out the series on Sunday, December 30 at 3:05 p.m. at the MassMutual Center.
  

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