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1
Army West Point AWP 1-2-0, 1-2-0
4
Winner AIC AIC 3-0-0, 3-0-0
Army West Point AWP
1-2-0, 1-2-0
1
Final
4
AIC AIC
3-0-0, 3-0-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Army West Point AWP 0 0 1 1
AIC AIC 1 2 1 4

Game Recap: Men's Ice Hockey |

Ice hockey earns emotional win over Army West Point

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts In a game filled with emotions from events both on ice and off, the American International College ice hockey team built a lead it never relinquished as the Yellow Jackets toppled Army West Point 4-1 in Atlantic Hockey Conference action at the MassMutual Center on Tuesday, December 15.

FAST FACTS:
SCORE: AIC 4, Army West Point 1
RECORDS: AIC improves to 3-0-0 on the season and 3-0-0-0 in AHC play, while the Black Knights drop to 1-2-0 overall and in league contests.
LOCATION: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts

STATS:
Army West Point:
Daniel Haider: One goal

Noah Wilson: One assist

Trevin Kozlowski: Loss (0-2-0), 23 saves on 26 shots in 58:28


AIC:
Tobias Fladeby: Two goals

Elijiah Barriga: One goal

Kyle Jeffers: One goal

Eric Otto: One assist

Chris Dodero: One assist

Chris Theodore: One assist

Brennan Kapcheck: One assist

Aaron Grounds: One assist

Parker Revering: One assist

Stefano Durante: Win (3-0-0), 25 saves in 59:50


HOW IT HAPPENED:

  • AIC burst out of the gate with enormous intensity, and the pressure the Yellow Jackets put on paid off quickly, as senior Chris Dodero swiped a failed clear along the left-wing boards and dished in front to junior Elijiah Barriga, who made a nifty move before tucking the puck into the net at 4:27.

  • AIC's special teams continued to impress, and in the second the man-up unit cashed in. Senior Brennan Kapcheck moved the puck to the left circle for redshirt sophomore Chris Theodore, and he in turn crossed the middle for a one-timer by senior Tobias Fladeby into the open cage for his second of the season at 7:09.

  • A few minutes later, junior Parker Revering fed the puck down low to rookie Aaron Grounds, who fired a pass from below the goal line to the netmouth, and freshman Kyle Jeffers buried his first collegiate goal at 12:42.

  • Army amped up the pressure in the third period and snapped the shutout late on a Daniel Haider rebound goal at 14:43 after the initial bid from Noah Wilson was stopped by senior Stefano Durante.

  • Once again, AIC's top goalkeeper would not be beaten a second time, as he finished the game with 25 saves; Army pulled its own goalkeeper for an extra attacker, but redshirt sophomore Eric Otto forced a turnover at the defensive blueline and senior Fladeby breaking away to the empty net for his third of the year at 19:13 to close out the win.

AN EM-OTTO-IONAL DEBUT:

  • Otto made his debut two years after he first arrived at AIC, following a well-documented battle with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma that kept him from playing in his first two years as a Yellow Jacket.

  • Head Coach Eric Lang put Otto's line on the ice to start the game; he was the last starter announced, and came onto the ice to a salute by the players of both teams.

  • He completed his debut with his first collegiate point on the assist of Fladeby's empty-net goal and was a +2 for the contest; after the matchup, Army head coach Brian Riley and his players saluted Otto again.

ROOKIES CONTINUE TO SHINE:

  • Both Otto and Jeffers recorded their first collegiate points in their debuts.

  • Grounds picked up his second point in three games after scoring a goal in his first contest against Air Force on November 27.

  • Nico Somerville blocked another two shots on the night, bringing his season total to nine in the first three games.

NEXT UP:

  • The Yellow Jackets will play a home-and-home with Bentley University on Friday, December 18 and Saturday, December 19.

  • The game Friday at Bentley Arena in Waltham, Massachusetts is slated to be AIC's first road contest; the teams will return to Springfield the following day.

  • The Yellow Jackets and Falcons were set to square off in the Atlantic Hockey Championship Tournament Quarterfinals in March prior to the coronavirus pandemic prematurely ending the 2019-20 season.

  • The games, 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.

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