HAMDEN, Connecticut An outburst of power play goals by No. 16 Quinnipiac University led the Bobcats to an 8-3 win over the No. 19 American International College ice hockey team on Saturday, December 26.

FAST FACTS:
SCORE: No. 19 AIC 3 at No. 16 Quinnipiac 8
RECORDS: AIC drops to 5-1-0 on the season but remains 5-0-0-0 in Atlantic Hockey; Quinnipiac improves to 5-2-0 on the season with no record in the ECAC.
LOCATION: Frank J. Perrotti Arena, Hamden, Connecticut

STATS:
Quinnipiac:
Odeen Tufto: Four assists
Peter DiLiberatore: One goal, two assists
Ty Smilanic: Two goals
Ethan de Jong: One goal, one assist
Wyatt Bongiovanni: One goal, one assist
Skyler Brind'Amour: One goal, one assist
Zach Metsa: One goal, one assist
Nick Bochen: Two assists
Keith Petruzelli: Win (5-2-0), 34 saves on 37 shots in 54:38
Evan Fear: No decision (0-0-0), two saves on two shots in 4:53

AIC:
Tobias Fladeby: Two goals
Chris Theodore: Two assists
Brett Callahan: One goal
Elijiah Barriga: One assist
Michal Stinil: One assist
Zak Galambos: One assist
Stefano Durante: Loss (4-1-0), 19 saves on 25 shots in 39:43
Jake Kucharski: No decision (1-0-0), six saves on eight shots in 20:00

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Both teams scored in the first 1:09 as a Ty Smilanic breakaway at 0:44 was responded to just 25 seconds later with senior Tobias Fladeby snapping a shot home from the slot for his sixth of the year. Redshirt sophomores Chris Theodore and Zak Galambos earned the assist on Fladeby's tally.
• Skyler Brind'Amour jammed in a goal at the tail end of the game's first power play to give his team the lead back at 5:13, and Wyatt Bongiovanni scored just after a power play ended at 16:39 to make it 3-1 through one for Quinnipiac.
• Smilanic struck for his second of the game on the man advantage at 3:33 as part of three straight power play goals in the frame for the Bobcats, who also saw tallies by Zach Metsa and Ethan de Jong as they built a 6-1 lead.
• Fladeby struck for his second of the game and seventh of the year late in the period, with Theodore earning his second assist on the tally at 18:31; junior Elijiah Barriga also had an assist.
• With the Bobcats killing a penalty early in the third, AIC cut into the lead again, as rookie Michal Stinil set up sophomore Brett Callahan for his first collegiate goal at 6:02.
• The Bobcats would score right off the faceoff on a power play at 9:50 with a shot by Peter DiLiberatore, and Joe O'Connor rounded out the scoring at 13:41 to give the hosts the margin of victory.
  

MORE FIRSTS:

• Both Stinil and Callahan earned their first collegiate points on Callahan's power play strike.
• Galambos's assist on the opening AIC goal was his first in a Yellow Jackets uniform.
• In total, nine players have recorded their first collegiate point in the team's first six games.

FLADEBY TOPS THE NATION:

• With seven goals in just six games, Fladeby is atop the national leaderboard in lighting the lamp.
• Three other players also have seven goals this season, but all have played in at least ten games; at 1.17 goals per game, Fladeby is the nation's most efficient scorer.
• Perhaps most impressively, Fladeby has scored his seven goals on just 16 shots on goal, good for a 43.8 percent shooting rate.

NEXT UP:

• The two teams will battle again at the MassMutual Center on December 27 at 3:05 p.m.; AIC then hosts LIU Brooklyn for the first time on December 28 at 5:05 p.m.
• The home 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.