SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The eighth-seeded American International College ice hockey team posted its first home playoff win in Division I history, securing a 4-1 victory over ninth-seeded Niagara University on Friday, March 2 to kick off the first round of the Atlantic Hockey Championship Tournament and take a 1-0 series lead.
FAST FACTS:
Final score: AIC 4, Niagara 1 (AIC leads best-of-three series, 1-0)
Records: AIC moves to 13-18-4 on the year; Niagara falls to 11-21-3.
Location: MassMutual Center
STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Hugo Reinhardt (two goals)
Stefano Durante (35 saves, one goal allowed)
Brennan Kapcheck (one goal, one assist, +2)
Janis Jaks (two assists)
Blake Christensen (two assists)
Darius Davidson (one goal)
Ryan Polin (one assist, +2)
Niagara:
Noah Delmas (one goal)
Brian Wilson (18 saves)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- AIC got on the board just 7:16 into the contest, when a puck sent in by sophomore forward Blake Christensen bounced off of junior defenseman Ryan Polin and was jammed home by freshman forward Darius Davidson for Davidson's fifth goal of the year.
- Sophomore center Hugo Reinhardt got a power-play goal to extend AIC's lead to 2-0 at 12:07 of the second. Reinhardt added another power-play tally at 7:36 of the third period to give the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 lead.
- Niagara broke the shutout with 6:47 to go in the game with a goal from Noah Delmas.
- Freshman defenseman Brennan Kapcheck sealed the victory for AIC with an empty-net goal with 2:03 left.
BUZZWORTHY:
- The game, which was AIC's first time hosting a playoff game in Division I history, gave AIC a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, which is the first time AIC has ever led in a best-of-three postseason series.
- The win marked the Yellow Jackets' 13th win of the year, a new Division I program record for wins.
- With a goal and an assist, Kapcheck brought his season total to 24 points - breaking the single-season scoring record by a defenseman in AIC's Division I history, which was set by Aaron Arnett in the 1999-2000 series.
- Freshman goaltender Stefano Durante stood tall with 35 saves, tying a collegiate high. He has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his past five starts.
- With Reinhardt's two goals, he became the first AIC player to have a multi-goal game since sophomore left wing Jared Pike had two goals against Niagara on November 25. It was also Reinhardt's first career multi-goal game.
COACH'S CORNER:
- "We'll take it," said AIC head coach Eric Lang. "I thought our special teams were really good, I thought our goaltender was really good. But I thought our 5-on-5 play lacked a little the one thing when you play Niagara, they play so hard, they compete so hard, you almost have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. And I thought our guys kind of managed that a little bit. We got some timely saves, and that's the script for a playoff win."
PLAYERS' CORNER:
- "It was a really highly contested game out there by both teams," Durante said. "Really fast, and that's what the playoffs are going to be like. We knew that coming into the game, and it was a good first win for us."
- "We expect a hard game," Reinhardt said of the upcoming game. "It's playoffs, so every game is hard. We just have to come out and play hard too."
NEXT UP:
- AIC will look for the series win against the Purple Eagles on Saturday, March 3, with puck drop slated for 1:05 p.m. at the MassMutual Center.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For more updates about the AIC ice hockey team, follow @AIC_Hockey on Twitter and Instagram, and like American International College Ice Hockey on Facebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow @AICAthletics on Twitter and Instagram, and like AIC Yellow Jackets on Facebook.
