Ice Hockey cruises past Army to clinch first-round bye

WEST POINT, New York - The American International College ice hockey team scored twice in each of the first two periods and never trailed as the Yellow Jackets won 5-1 over Army West Point in the Atlantic Hockey Association regular season finale on Saturday, February 24. 

AIC closes AHA play at 12-10-4-2-1-1 and is 16-14-4 overall.

It was a pair of quick strikes in the middle of the first frame that opened the scoring for AIC. On the power play, Brett Rylance tipped the puck into the right circle for Julius Janhonen, and the senior centerman quickly fired back to the left post, where Dustin Manz was waiting to knock in his fifth of the season at 9:17. Barely a minute later, Oscar Geschwind forced a turnover in the slot in Army's end, and as the two defensemen converged, he pushed the puck back to Dario Beljo. The rookie center used the pileup as a screen and fired in his first collegiate goal at 10:18.

In the second, the power play clicked again. Evan Stella and Janhonen moved around the right side, drawing the defense over, and Janhonen fired back from the midpoint to the left dot, where Manz waited to rocket a one-timer into the net at 9:01 for his sixth of the season.

The lead grew to four four minutes later; Beljo sprang Andrew Amousse and Hunter Jones on a two-on-one, and the puck went left-right-left before Amousse pocketed it home for his first of the season at 13:01.

In the third, Army did break the shutout, as Nik Hong scored at 15:32, but it was to no avail for the hosts. Army pulled its goalkeeper late for a sixth attacker, but Blake Wells won a corner battle to Tomi Leppanen, who was able to light the lamp from nearly 200 feet away with his third of the season, shorthanded, at 19:29.

Nils Wallstrom completed a phenomenal weekend with 32 saves to improve to 15-10-2 on the season.

AIC can finish no worse than fifth in the AHA and will have a first-round bye before playing the AHA Quarterfinal beginning Friday, March 8. Depending on other results, the Yellow Jackets could head to or host the Air Force Academy, or host Bentley University.