ORONO, Maine The University of Maine used a strong first-period performance to defeat the American International College ice hockey team 5-1 in a nonconference matchup on Sunday, December 29.

FAST FACTS:
SCORE:Maine 5, AIC 1
RECORDS:AIC falls to 8-9-1 overall and remains 8-4-1-0 in the AHC; Maine rises to 9-8-3 on the season, and maintains its 4-6-1 Hockey East record.
LOCATION:Alfond Arena, Orono, Maine

STATS:
Maine:
Patrick Shea: Two goals, one assist
Ryan Smith: Three assists
AJ Drobot: One goal, one assist
Mitchell Fossier: One goal, one assist
Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi: One goal
Jeremy Swayman: Win (9-8-3), 41 saves

AIC:
Joel Kocur: One goal
Jeff Baum: One assist
Martin Mellberg: One assist
Zackarias Skog: Loss (8-7-1), eight saves on 11 shots in 20:00
Stefano Durante: No decision, 36 saves on 38 shots in 40:00

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Maine struck right off the bat, as a point shot from defender Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi snuck inside the right post at 0:59 to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead.
• AIC drew a power play midway through the period, with the best chance for the Yellow Jackets coming from senior Martin Mellberg, but Maine's Jeremy Swayman got a piece of the puck with his stick; at the other end late in the advantage, senior Zackarias Skog rejected Mitchell Fossier, who had gotten behind the defense.
• The Yellow Jackets went back on the power play shortly after, but the hosts were the team to convert, as Patrick Shea ripped home a shot on a two-on-one at 12:48; Shea then extended the lead to 3-0 by banging in a rebound at 15:54.
• In the second, AIC had a brilliant chance on a breakaway from senior Kyle Stephan, but Swayman was able to get to the bid with his skate to keep his shutout intact.
• The Yellow Jackets finally broke through midway through the period, with Mellberg dishing back to the point for junior Jeff Baum to take a one-timer; his bid hit a defender and bounced to senior Joel Kocur in the slot, and he blasted home his fifth of the year at 11:33.
• Meanwhile, in the AIC net, sophomore Stefano Durante kept his team in the game; he made five saves on the lone penalty kill of the period and 22 total for the second frame.
• In the third, AIC had an early power play and generated five shots, but Swayman was up to the task; another AIC power play was also shut down, with the best chance coming for Maine on a Fossier breakaway that Durante was able to seal off with his pads.
• Maine finally found a way through Durante at 7:35 of the frame, as AJ Drobot was able to fire the puck home to return the Black Bears to a three-goal edge. Fossier then added to the advantage by converting a shot off the crossbar and in at 13:03 to finish off the scoring.

COACH'S CORNER:

• "I thought we were very unmotivated to defend tonightit kind of looked like a Christmas break pond hockey exhibition out there, and we're not equipped to play that way," said head coach Eric Lang after the game.
• "We had some high-end, grade-A chances, and their goalie was one of the better players on the ice, but overall I'm disappointed in our compete and readiness to play and how we defended. You can't put B before A; if you don't come out here to work, you don't have a chance to win a college hockey game," Lang said of the effort, adding that, "I can tell you why we gave up 50 shots: we defended god-awfulWe had guys getting out of the way of pucks. It was a disgraceful defensive effort for us."
• On the goalkeeping play, Lang said "Stef was really good..he went 22-for-22 in the second and probably 13 of those were grade-AsSkog has had some trouble in this building, but we still have confidence in him."

NEXT UP:

• AIC returns to league play in the new year, as the Yellow Jackets visit Air Force for a two-game set on January 3-4, 2020; the first game will be at 9:05 p.m. Eastern time, while the second starts at 7:05 p.m. Eastern.

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.