ERIE, Pennsylvania The American International College ice hockey team rewrote its record book in a dominating win over Mercyhurst University in Atlantic Hockey Conference action on Friday, November 15, punching in a dozen goals in a 12-0 game.
FAST FACTS:
SCORE:AIC 12, Mercyhurst 0
RECORDS:AIC rises to 3-4-0 overall and 3-1-0-0 in the AHC; Mercyhurst falls to 3-6-0 on the campaign with a 1-2-0-0 AHC mark.
LOCATION:Mercyhurst Ice Arena, Erie, Pennsylvania
STATS:
Mercyhurst:
Stefano Cantali: Loss (1-3-0), 14 saves on 20 shots in 35:07
Colin DeAugustine: No decision, 21 saves on 27 shots in 24:53
AIC:
Elijiah Barriga: Hat trick
Tobias Fladeby: Two goals, two assists
Austin Albrecht: Four assists
Joel Kocur: Two goals, one assist
Blake Christensen: One goal, two assists
Kyle Stephan: Three assists
Hugo Reinhardt: Two goals
Nicolas Luka: Two assists
Janis Jaks: Two assists
Zackarias Skog: Win (3-4-0), shutout (1), 18 saves in 59:57
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Yellow Jackets went on an early offensive barrage, scoring three goals in a 1:17 span to open the scoring. Senior Blake Christensen started the party at 8:11 with a rocket from the slot, and junior Tobias Fladeby followed with two at 9:02 and 9:29 to break things open, banging both pucks in from the doorstep.
- Fladeby's first tally was assisted by junior Austin Albrecht, who gathered his first point as a Yellow Jacket, and his second was set up by sophomore Parker Revering, who earned his first collegiate point on the strike.
- The captains continued the attack, as each of the seniors with a 'C' on the front of their jersey tallied in a 21-second span; Joel Kocur spun past the defense and executed a forehand-backhand move to make it 4-0 at 14:46, and Hugo Reinhardt redirected a Fladeby pass to chase Mercyhurst starter Stefano Cantali from the net and give AIC a 5-0 edge at 15:07.
- The offense continued to roll in the second, with Christensen's shot at Colin DeAugustine bouncing off of the backup's pads to an open sophomore Elijiah Barriga at the top of the crease at 5:38. Less than four minutes later, he did it again, pushing home a rebound at 9:16.
- Kocur once again struck in the 15th minute of the frame, banging in a pass from Fladeby at 14:07 to extend the lead further; Barriga then completed the hat trick at 15:40, making it 9-0 for the Yellow Jackets with a blast from above the left circle for his third tally in just 10:02.
- Cantali went back into the net for the third for Mercyhurst, but AIC piled on after a double-minor for slashing and unsportsmanlike conduct gave the Yellow Jackets a 4-minute power play that they converted both of; senior Patrik Demel ripped home a goal at 2:44, and Reinhardt finished from Jaks just 34 seconds later to put the Yellow Jackets up 11-0.
- The last goal of the evening came at 7:59 of the frame, with junior Chris Dodero winning a draw and ripping his shot under the bar to close out the scoring and give AIC an incredible 12-0 victory.
PRINT A NEW RECORD BOOK:
- Since joining the Division I level in 1998-99, no Yellow Jackets ice hockey team had scored more than nine goals in a game; that record had been set January 22, 1999 in a 9-3 win over Fairfield and matched with a 9-1 win against Sacred Heart on February 16, 2013.
- That 9-1 win at Sacred Heart was also the team record for goal differential in a game until this contest; it also stands as the largest margin in a shutout victory.
- Likewise, the five-goal first period outburst was a first in the history of the squad.
- On an individual note, Christensen's second assist gives him 57 for his career, vaulting him into a tie for the most in the Division I-era of program history with Nielsson Arcibal '13.
- Senior goalkeeper Zackarias Skog picked up his 30th career win on the evening with 18 saves, tying Ben Meisner '13 for the most wins of any goalkeeper in the Division I-era of the program's history, and now stands just one shutout behind Meisner's record of eight for a career.
COACH'S CORNER:
- Head Coach Eric Lang was happy with the result, but cautioned that he did not think it was indicative of the Lakers, saying "Just throw the game out. It's one of those nights where everything we threw at the net went in. I know that Mercyhurst program. They have a ton of pride, and you don't have the level of success within a program they have had without bouncing back. I know we will get their best punch tomorrow."
NEXT UP:
- AIC will look to repeat its success against the Lakers on Saturday, November 16 at 4:05 p.m. in the weekend finale.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For more updates about the AIC ice hockey team, follow@AIC_HockeyonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAmerican International College Ice HockeyonFacebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.
