ROCHESTER, New York - The phrase "over before it began" was just 24 seconds off the mark as the American International College ice hockey team won 7-0 over the Rochester Institute of Technology in an Atlantic Hockey Association matchup on Friday, February 4.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score: RV AIC 7, RV RIT 0
Records: AIC rises to 15-10-1 overall and 14-5-0-0-0-2 in the AHA, while RIT drops to 13-11-3 on the year and 9-7-3-2-2-0 in the AHA
Location: Gene Polisseni Center, Rochester, New York
KEY STATS:
RIT:
Kolby Matthews: Loss (10-6-3), four saves on seven shots in 11:35
Tommy Scarfone: No decision, 19 saves on 23 shots in 48:25
AIC:
Justin Young: Two goals, two assists, +4 rating
Jake Stella: Three assists, +4 rating
Elijiah Barriga: Two assists
Chris Theodore: One goal, one assist, +3 rating
Nico Somerville: One goal
Blake Bennett: One goal
Aaron Grounds: One goal
Chris Dodero: One goal
Alec Calvaruso: Win (5-3-0), shutout (1), 26 saves
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- AIC stunned RIT with an early goal on the first shift. A cross pass was tipped by Justin Young to Chris Theodore, and he fired it back from right to left for a one-timer by Nico Somerville, who landed his first of the year just 0:24 into the game.
- Feeding off the early advantage, AIC scored another at the 8:38 mark. Evan Stella started the rush with a pass to Theodore, who in turn fed Young and started through the neutral zone. Young split the neutral zone defense with a pass back to Theodore, who then beat a defenseman before backhanding home his seventh of the year.
- AIC extended the lead to three on the power play, as Luis Lindner set up Blake Bennett for a one-timer in the right circle at 11:35. The goal was Bennett's seventh of the season, assisted as well by Elijiah Barriga, and it chased Kolby Matthews from the RIT net.
- Late in the period, a major penalty put AIC up a man again and the Yellow Jackets made the Tigers pay for it. Zak Galambos passed from the left side to the right circle for Jake Stella, who curled into the middle before sending the puck back to the right again for Chris Dodero to clap home his eighth goal of the season at 19:52.
- Neither team lit the lamp in the middle frame, but the third period saw an immediate AIC tally again as Will Calverley mishandled the puck in front of his own net and Young deflected it in for his eighth of the season at 0:14.
- After a series of penalties ultimately saw AIC go back up a man, the Yellow Jackets added another on that power play, with Barriga setting up Brett Callahan for a blast that Young tipped in for his ninth of the year at 7:26.
- The Yellow Jackets put the bow on top at the 13:30 mark, as Somerville exited AIC's end with a left-to-right pass to Young, and his dish from the red line to the blue line was deflected by Jake Stella to Aaron Grounds, who roofed his first of the season to complete the scoring.
CRANK THE AC:
- Alec Calvaruso recorded his first collegiate shutout, making 26 saves in the win.
- "It feels great to get a shutout," he said, noting "it's not something that I really think about but it's definitely a good confidence booster. Couldn't have done it without the team in front of me tonight and it's great to see everything come together."
MILESTONE MOMENTS:
- Theodore reached 50 career points on the opening-goal assist.
- Dodero's goal was his 60th career point.
COACH'S CORNER:
- "Our execution was high end tonight. We knew we would get some looks because of how they want to play. It's a good recipe for us when we can string some passes together," Head Coach Eric Lang said of the team's overall performance, adding "Our guys' focus and intensity was professional. I thought we did a great job of playing between the whistles."
- Of the special teams showing, he noted "Our power play right now is as good as it's been all season. They did a great job of executing inside of the looks we wanted to get."
NEXT UP:
- The Yellow Jackets and Tigers close out the season series at the Polisseni Center on Saturday, February 5 at 5:05 p.m.
