SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College ice hockey team skated to a 2-2 overtime draw with No. 5 Quinnipiac University at the MassMutual Center on Friday, October 29.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score: AIC 2, No. 5 Quinnipiac 2 (F/OT)
Records: The Bobcats are now 4-1-2, while the Yellow Jackets are now 1-4-1
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts

KEY STATS:
No. 5 Quinnipiac:
Jacon Quillan: One goal
CJ McGee: One goal
Yaniv Perets: No decision, seven saves on seven shots in 19:29
Dylan St. Cyr: Tie (2-1-1), 18 saves on 20 shots in 45:31

AIC:
Jake Stella: One goal
Chris Van Os-Shaw: One goal
Zak Galambos: Six blocked shots
Jake Kucharski: Tie (1-4-1), 33 saves

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first period featured tremendous defensive efforts by both teams, although there were a few chances; both teams blocked five shots in the frame, including a pair by redshirt junior Zak Galambos against the Bobcats top line in rapid succession.
• AIC finally broke through midway through the second; junior Hunter Johannes kept a puck in at the left point and slid a pass down the wall for junior Santeri Hartikainen, who in turn fed it to the netmouth, where classmate Jake Stella waited to pound home his first of the campaign at 11:59.
• Quinnipiac bounced back and tied the game just 36 seconds later; Jacob Quillan put his second of the season into the net at 12:35, finishing a play from Brendan Less.
• In the third, AIC regained the edge; rookie Evan Stella won a battle to get the puck out of AIC's zone and it started a rush for senior Chris Van Os-Shaw and graduate student Justin Young. As Van Os-Shaw came in on the left side of the zone, he wound up a heavy shot that tickled the twine at 8:11 for his first in an AIC uniform.
• AIC nearly doubled the lead on the next shift; Galambos fired a shot off the left iron. Unfortunately, the Bobcats came back the other way and scored as CJ McGee drove in from the left point to put a rebound home at 9:14 after a shot by Desi Burgart.
• Despite opportunities at both ends, neither goalkeeper yielded another through the end of regulation, and the five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime did not generate a goal either, leaving the teams to end in a 2-2 deadlock.

TIE IT UP:

• The Bobcats, at number five in the latest USCHO Poll, are the highest ranked team AIC has ever tied against.
• It is the team's first draw in almost two years; the last tie for the Yellow Jackets was a 0-0 result against Niagara University on December 14, 2019.
• The tie was the 100th in program history. The first came in the 1949-50 season, the second in program history.

QUOTABLE:

• "I thought it was one of the most complete games we played this year. Obviously Quinnipiac is a good team, and our locker room was ready to go tonight. I think, overall, we played pretty well, but we have a little more to give tomorrow," Van Os-Shaw said after the game.
• "I think we can deliver more pucks to the net," Head Coach Eric Lang said when asked what the team can improve on heading into tomorrow, adding "I think we passed up some opportunitieswe have to understand that it's okay to score off a broken play, to score off a netfront scramble."

NEXT UP:

• The two teams finish off the season series on Saturday, October 30 in Hamden, Connecticut at 4:00 p.m.