SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts Senior forward Justin Cole scored the deciding tally with 5:41 to go in regulation as the No. 15 American International College ice hockey team overcame a valiant effort by Niagara University in the Atlantic Hockey Conference Semifinal to win 2-1 on Friday, March 19.

FAST FACTS:
Score:No.15 AIC 2, Niagara 1
Records:AIC improves to 14-3-0 while Niagara falls to 7-12-3
Location:MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts

KEY STATS:
Niagara:
Walker Sommer: One goal
Chad Veltri: Loss (5-7-2), 33 saves in 56:52

AIC:
Justin Cole: One goal
Elijiah Barriga: One goal
Brennan Kapcheck: One assist
Jeff Baum: One assist
Zak Galambos: One assist
Stefano Durante: Win (8-3-0), 17 saves

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Defense was the word in a tightly-played first period, as neither team found the net. Niagara had a few chances early turned away by senior Stefano Durante, but the Yellow Jackets defense held the Purple Eagles to just one shot in the final 9:58 of the period.
• The second period saw more of the same, with both teams killing a penalty, and it looked like the score would remain 0-0 until Niagara's Walker Sommer burst in on a breakaway and was able to jam a third opportunity in at 17:50. The goal was reviewed by the officials, who ruled it had crossed the goal line.
• The clock wound down in the third, and Niagara led 1-0 still after the final media timeout. AIC had been pressing all period, and the Yellow Jackets finally hit pay dirt at 11:22 as sophomore Zak Galambos's bid at the net was jammed home by junior Elijiah Barriga for his sixth of the year.
• AIC continued to attack, and senior Brennan Kapcheck dished across the zone to classmate Jeff Baum; Baum stepped in on the left side and fired a pass to the right side of the net, where Cole was waiting to tip in his eighth of the year at 14:19.
• Niagara pulled Chad Veltri with over three minutes to play, but the defense of AIC was too much, slamming the door for the 2-1 win.

EMPTY NET:

• That the first period went scoreless was unusual given both teams were at the top of Atlantic Hockey in first period goals per game.
• AIC came into the contest first at 1.19 first-period goals per game, while Niagara was second at 1.10.

KAPCHECK ANOTHER ONE OFF:

• Kapcheck's assist on the deciding tally gave him 91 points for his career.
• He tied his former teammate, Martin Mellberg '20, for sixth in scoring in the Division I era of the program's history.

NEXT UP:

• AIC will battle the winner of Canisius College and Army West Point for the Jack Riley Memorial Trophy and Atlantic Hockey's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 20 at 7:05 p.m.