Ice hockey hangs tight in NCAA Tournament against top-seeded Michigan

ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania - The 16th-seeded and No. 18-ranked American International College ice hockey team fell to the top-seeded and No. 2-ranked University of Michigan by a score of 5-3 in the Allentown Regional Semifinal on Friday, March 25, bringing the 2021-22 season to an end.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score: No. 2 Michigan 5, No. 18 AIC 3
Records: The Wolverines rise to 30-9-1, while the Yellow Jackets conclude the season at 22-13-3
Location: PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania

KEY STATS:
No. 2 Michigan:
Brendan Brisson: One goal, two assists
Dylan Duke: One goal
Matty Beniers: One goal
Garrett van Wyhe: One goal
Ethan Edwards: One goal
Erik Portillo: Win (30-9-1), 29 saves

No. 18 AIC:
Blake Bennett: One goal, one assist
Justin Young: One goal, one assist
Brian Rigali: One goal
Chris Theodore: One assist
Elijiah Barriga: One assist
Zak Galambos: One assist
Alec Calvaruso: Loss (10-5-0), 26 saves

HOW IT HAPPENED:

After a few early Michigan chances were turned back by Alec Calvaruso, Eric Otto fired AIC's first shot of the game 2:17 in.
The Wolverines struck first on a bouncing puck in front. Garrett van Wyhe swatted the loose puck under the bar at 3:37.
On the next shift, AIC applied some pressure, but Michigan came in on a rush and made it 2-0 as Ethan Edwards struck from in front of the blue paint at 4:16.
Calvaruso continued to pile up stops, making a tough sliding save on Thomas Bordeleau at the 8:01 mark.
AIC's best chance came at the 12:07 mark, as Blake Bennett came in on a breakaway, but Erik Portillo was able to get a pad to it.
On the very next shift, AIC lit the lamp. Bennett dished from the right corner to the left point for Zak Galambos. His shot deflected back to Bennett, and in the scramble in front, Brian Rigali batted home his 13th of the year at 12:32.
Calvaruso stopped van Wyhe just prior to the horn as he cut in from the right side of the net, keeping the lead for the Wolverines to 2-1.
Michigan began the second on the power play and converted on a one-timer by Brendan Brisson from the left circle at 0:43.
Number two overall draft pick Matty Beniers pushed Michigan's lead to 4-1 at 2:43, tapping in a pass across the goal mouth from Brisson.
AIC pulled itself off the mat and got back into the game as Chris Theodore broke into the zone. He was able to slide a pass through Edwards to Justin Young, who beat Portillo five-hole at 6:15 with his 12th of the year.
Michigan responded on the next shift, as a shot off the boards bounced out in front and was slammed home by Dylan Duke at 6:43. The goal survived a video review for offsides.
Late in the third, Michigan was penalized for holding and the Yellow Jackets took advantage. Elijiah Barriga and Young won a battle in the left wing corner, and Young found Blake Bennett all alone in front of the net. He was able to make a quick move to beat Portillo and pop in his 19th of the year at 13:48.
With 2:08 to to play, Eric Lang pulled Calvaruso for a sixth skater. AIC generated a few chances off of the ensuing faceoff, and several more in the remaining time, but could not find another goal as the Wolverines held on for the 5-3 win.

BENNETT'S BUNCH:

Bennett's final goal of the season broke his tie with Tobias Fladeby '20 for second-most goals in a season.
His 19 tallies rank second only to Austin Orszulak '17, who had 22 in 2014-15.
Bennett scored eight goals and added four assists for 12 points in AIC's most recent four games.

CAPTAIN JAKE:

Prior to the game, Jake Stella was named a full captain, and wore a C on his jersey for the contest in place of the A he had worn as an alternate captain all season.
"I wish I could take credit for that one," said Eric Lang, citing a conversation he had with injured team captain Parker Revering, noting that Revering told him that "Jake Stella deserves to wear that Cit's a credit to the type of people we have. We've got a lot of givers in this programour selfless mentality will always be our competitive advantage."

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

Of the game, Lang said "When you fast-forward the tape five or seven yearsyou may be looking at one of the best college hockey teams ever assembledI thought we got better as the game went alongI'm as proud of our group today coming out of this game as any other game we've won all season long. We've got guys that play with integrity and honor."
Lang specifically cited the three graduating five-year players Chris Dodero, Luka Maver, and Justin Cole as key cogs. "In this day and age of the transfer portal," he noted, "they probably could have went and played somewhere else, but they wanted to represent AIC and Springfield, Massachusettts, and all they've done since the first day they walked on campus is win a lot of hockey games."
Cole said of playing the fifth year, "I saw how special my four years before that were, and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to play with these guys and be a part of this."
Maver said "The first time I put the AIC jersey on, I remembertoday was my last one. If I could get another opportunity to put it on again, I would 100 percent take it."
"Coming in, from day one, stepping into that room, I've never been part of a group and culture as great as this one. So when I had the opportunity to come back for a fifth year, you can guarantee I was taking that one," Dodero said.
The full postgame press conference can be heard at https://soundcloud.com/john-hanna-680881211/aic-postgame-032522.