SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts Senior captain Joel Kocur struck twice in the first frame and added an assist for a three-point night as the American International College ice hockey team downed the Rochester Institute of Technology 4-2 in an Atlantic Hockey Conference matchup on Saturday, November 29.

FAST FACTS:
SCORE:AIC 4, RIT 2
RECORDS:AIC improves to 4-6-0 overall and 4-3-0-0 in the AHC; RIT falls to 8-5-2 on the season with a 5-4-2-0 AHC record.
LOCATION:MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts

STATS:
RIT:
Kobe Walker: One goal
Shawn Cameron: One goal
Logan Drackett: Loss (8-5-2), 22 saves on 25 shots in 58:49

AIC:
Joel Kocur: Two goals, one assist
Tobias Fladeby: One goal
Hugo Reinhardt: One goal
Austin Albrecht: One assist
Patrik Demel: One assist
Jared Pike: One assist
Blake Christensen: One assist
Brennan Kapcheck: One assist
Zackarias Skog: Win (4-5-0), 21 saves

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• AIC jumped to an early 1-0 lead as senior Patrik Demel cycled the puck down to junior forward Austin Albrecht; Albrecht fired the puck across the crease, and Kocur was there to tap it through the legs of RIT goalkeeper Logan Drackett at 4:14.
• The Yellow Jackets found themselves down a player, but that did not keep the hosts from doubling the lead; senior Jared Pike sent Kocur in on a breakaway and he beat Drackett under the arm inside the right post at 6:17 to double the lead.
• Kobe Walker scored at 4:11 of the second for RIT on a breakaway, but AIC quickly responded; senior Blake Christensen waited out a defender on the left side of the net before feeding a pass to junior Tobias Fladeby at the opposite side for a tap-in at 4:22.
• RIT scored on another breakaway in the period, as Shawn Cameron got behind the defense and tallied at 12:07.
• The Tigers pressed in the third, but AIC's defenses held strong, and senior captain Hugo Reinhardt hit the empty net with one minute left in regulation to seal the win.

BUZZWORTHY:

• Albrecht's assist extended his point streak to four games.
• Junior Brennan Kapcheck's helper on the empty-net goal gave him 58 career points, tying him for the most in the Division I-era by a defenseman with Jeff Ceccacci.
• Senior Zackarias Skog moved into sole possession of first place on the Division I-era wins list with 31.

NEXT UP:

• AIC closes the weekend series with RIT on Saturday, November 30 at 1:05 p.m.

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.