SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College ice hockey team finished a sweep of the Air Force Academy at the MassMutual Center on Saturday, November 28, winning 2-1 over its Atlantic Hockey Conference foe.

FAST FACTS:
SCORE:AIC 2, Air Force 1
RECORDS:AIC improves to 2-0-0 on the young campaign and 2-0-0-0 in AHC play, while the Falcons fall to 0-2-0 overall and 0-2-0-0 in league action
LOCATION:MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts

STATS:
Air Force:
Willie Reim: One goal
Brandon Koch: One assist
Zack Mirageas: One assist
Alex Schilling: Loss (0-2-0), 22 saves on 24 shots in 57:14

AIC:
Chris Theodore: One goal
Aaron Grounds: One goal
Justin Cole: One assist
Hunter Johannes: One assist
Elijiah Barriga: One assist
Tobias Fladeby: One assist
Stefano Durante: Win (2-0-0), 21 saves in 59:23

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Unlike the first game of the series, AIC jumped out to an early lead. Redshirt junior forward Justin Cole fished a puck off the wall and fed it to sophomore forward Hunter Johannes at the defensive blue line, and as he came through the middle, he passed to freshman forward Aaron Grounds. The rookie split the defenders and cut across the slot from right to left before forehanding home his first collegiate goal at 5:47.
• In the second, AIC doubled the lead on the power play. Redshirt sophomore forward Chris Theodore carried into the zone and cut to the left before crossing the middle with a pass to senior forward Tobias Fladeby, who spun back to the point for an onrushing junior forward Elijiah Barriga. Barriga beat a defender and faked a shot before finding Theodore on the right side for a one-timer tally at 12:39.
• Air Force climbed back into the game with a third-period four-on-three goal as Willie Reim banged back a rebound from a shot by Brandon Koch at 6:10. However, the Falcons could not find the equalizer despite pulling their goalkeeper for nearly the final three minutes of the game.

BLOCK BUTTON:

• Air Force saw 31 shots swallowed up by defenders before they could reach the net.
• AIC's top shot blocker, rookie defender Nico Somerville, stuffed six bids in front of the cage, and junior defenseman Parker Revering turned aside five more.
• 16 of 19 AIC skaters blocked a shot.
• AIC's high last season for blocked shots was 23, also against Air Force in a 5-1 win in Colorado on January 4, 2020.

STEFA-NO:

• Redshirt junior Stefano Durante was strong again between the pipes, only allowing the 4-on-3 goal in the third and saving 21 shots.
• On the weekend, Durante turned aside 36 shots, good for a .947 save percentage.

NEXT UP:

• The Yellow Jackets welcome the newest member of college hockey, the Long Island University Sharks, to Springfield on Friday, December 4 at 2 p.m.
• That game, and all Atlantic Hockey Conference matchups, can be watched on flohockey.tv.

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.