Ice Hockey closes out 2023 with win in Lowell

LOWELL, Massachusetts – The American International College ice hockey team earned a hard-fought 4-3 win over the University of Massachusetts-Lowell on Saturday, December 30.

AIC is now 12-8-0 overall.

Special teams were the order of the day in the first period as Brett Rylance knocked the puck free at the blue line during a penalty kill and flew forward shorthanded. He made no mistake with the opportunity, ripping home his second of the season at 12:29.

Less than four minutes later, AIC drew its first power play, and needed only 10 seconds to convert; Dustin Manz won the draw to Alfred Lindberg, who dished to Matt Rickard. Rickard set up John Lundy for a one-time blast, his team-leading 10th of the season at 16:06.

The momentum carried into the second, and AIC took advantage of a miscue behind the River Hawk net. An errant pass ended up right on Lindberg's stick. The rookie forward fired in his seventh of the season just 1:51 into the period.

That proved crucial, as the River Hawks bounced back in the middle of the period. Owen Cole opened the scoring for the home team at 9:02 on a shot in the slot. AIC then nearly made it 4-1, with two shots ringing the iron, but the rebound of the second one was flung forward by Jak Vaarwerk to Matt Crasa for a breakaway, and he snuck the puck in at 12:22.

AIC needed a spark in the third and found it. Lindberg knocked the puck forward to Alexander Malinowski, who wired his eighth of the season into the upper right corner of the net at 4:16.

From there, AIC resisted the River Hawks attack. The home team did pull within one, as Jake Stella sniped through a screen at 17:39, but they could not equalize thanks to the work of Nils Wallstrom and the defense. The freshman secured his 11th win of the campaign with a 34-save effort.

The win gives AIC an over-.500 mark in nonconference play for the 2023-24 regular season; the Yellow Jackets won four of the eight out-of-league games, with this win added to victories over Penn State University, the University of Vermont, and Long Island University; with an overtime loss against Quinnipiac University, the team would have earned the equivalent of 13 out of 24 possible points.

The Yellow Jackets will ring in the New Year at home as they host the College of the Holy Cross on Friday, January 5, 2024 at 1:05 p.m.