# 2016–17 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season

The 2016–17 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season was the 69th season of play for the program, the 21st at the Division I level, and the 14th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Yellow Jackets represented American International College and were coached by Eric Lang, in his 1st season.

## Season

AIC began the season with a new coach for the first time in 32 years. Eric Lang, an alumnus, replaced Gary Wright behind the bench. The chance in leadership presaged a tone for the program and led to nice players leaving the team early. While all the roster spots were filled, the sizable roster turnover did no favors for the Yellow Jackets in terms of wins. In the first half of the season, American International won just 3 out of 18 games and were stuck in a familiar position; the bottom of the Atlantic Hockey standings.
While the team failed to win many games, they did fight hard and pushed several opponents into overtime. By the end of November the Yellow Jackets had more ties than losses and a great deal of credit could be attributed to the surprising defensive effort from the squad. The goaltending tandem of Alex Murray and Zackarias Skog combined to keep AIC in many games where they were otherwise outplayed and gave some hope that the team might be able to climb out of the conference cellar.
In the second half of the year the Yellow Jackets saw a moderate increase to their win total but the defense slipped. Murray struggled mightily as the season wore on and won just 1 of his 7 decisions. Since the revamped offense was little help, the bulk of the team's victories came on the shoulders of Skog, who posted a winning record after new year's. AIC finished 10th in the conference and, though their first round opponent was hardly formidable, the Yellow Jackets were unable to overcome Mercyhurst and were swept out of the postseason.
A disappointing finish was hardly a new state of affairs for the program, however, AIC had seen some signs of life during the season. Importantly, many of the new additions had played significant rolls in the team's limitded success. Not only had Skog established himself as the starting goaltender, but the top four scorers on the team were all freshmen.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Lucas Bombardier | Forward | United States | Transferred to Trine |
| Giovanni Bombini | Forward | Canada | Left program (retired) |
| Jacob Caffrey | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to Stevenson |
| Trevor Cope | Forward | United States | Transferred to Michigan–Flint |
| Travis Douglas | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Carleton |
| David Gandara | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Louisiana IceGators) |
| Derek Henderson | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Macon Mayhem) |
| Hunter Leisner | Goaltender | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Brandon Lubin | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Pensacola Ice Flyers) |
| Bailey More | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Mitchell Mueller | Forward/Defenseman | United States | Signed professional contract (Peoria Rivermen) |
| Chris Porter | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Fayetteville FireAntz) |
| Luke Rodgers | Forward | United States | Transferred to Endicott |
| Wade Schools | Defenseman | United States | Left program (retired) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Blake Christensen | Forward | United States | 21 | Coral Springs, FL |
| Patrik Demel | Defenseman | Czech Republic | 20 | Ostrava, CZE |
| Dominik Florián | Forward | Czech Republic | 21 | Vlašim, CZE |
| Jānis Jaks | Defenseman | Latvia | 21 | Riga, LAT |
| Justin Ketola | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Esko, MN |
| Nicolas Luka | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Bartlett, IL |
| Martin Mellberg | Forward | Sweden | 21 | Stockholm, SWE |
| Jared Pike | Forward | United States | 20 | Sandy, UT |
| Hugo Reinhardt | Forward | Sweden | 20 | Kungsbacka, SWE |
| Zackarias Skog | Goaltender | Sweden | 21 | Gothenburg, SWE |
| Kyle Stephan | Forward | Canada | 21 | Barrie, ON |
| Billy Vizzo | Forward | United States | 20 | Shelton, CT |

## Standings

2016–17 Atlantic Hockey standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Canisius† | 28 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 90 | 53 | 39 | 21 | 11 | 7 | 107 | 85 |
| #12 Air Force* | 28 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 41 | 91 | 56 | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 133 | 93 |
| Army | 28 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 77 | 56 | 37 | 18 | 14 | 5 | 100 | 78 |
| Robert Morris | 28 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 86 | 73 | 38 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 123 | 95 |
| Holy Cross | 28 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 29 | 78 | 78 | 36 | 14 | 15 | 7 | 99 | 106 |
| RIT | 28 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 26 | 90 | 79 | 37 | 14 | 22 | 1 | 108 | 111 |
| Mercyhurst | 28 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 26 | 82 | 83 | 39 | 15 | 20 | 4 | 106 | 123 |
| Bentley | 28 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 26 | 78 | 82 | 39 | 13 | 19 | 7 | 101 | 120 |
| Sacred Heart | 28 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 23 | 67 | 87 | 37 | 13 | 19 | 5 | 88 | 116 |
| American International | 28 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 63 | 91 | 36 | 8 | 20 | 8 | 82 | 122 |
| Niagara | 28 | 3 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 55 | 119 | 39 | 5 | 31 | 3 | 76 | 168 |
| Championship: March 18, 2017 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 6, 2017 |||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 14 | 7:05 PM | vs. Union* | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Murray | L 4–5 | 1,204 | 0–1–0 |
| October 21 | 7:05 PM | at Connecticut* | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | Skog | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 3.529 | 0–1–1 |
| October 23 | 3:05 PM | vs. Sacred Heart | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | L 3–6 | 227 | 0–2–1 (0–1–0) |
| October 28 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Murray | W 5–3 | 1,127 | 1–2–1 (1–1–0) |
| October 29 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Skog | L 3–6 | 1,386 | 1–3–1 (1–2–0) |
| November 3 | 7:05 PM | vs. Holy Cross | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | W 4–2 | 362 | 2–3–1 (2–2–0) |
| November 4 | 7:05 PM | at Holy Cross | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | Murray | T 4–4 $^{OT}$ | 698 | 2–3–2 (2–2–1) |
| November 8 | 7:05 PM | vs. Bentley | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 152 | 2–3–3 (2–2–2) |
| November 10 | 7:05 PM | vs. Bentley | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | T 1–1 $^{OT}$ | 452 | 2–3–4 (2–2–3) |
| November 18 | 7:05 PM | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | Skog | L 0–4 | 933 | 2–4–4 (2–3–3) |
| November 19 | 4:05 PM | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | Skog | T 1–1 $^{OT}$ | 417 | 2–4–5 (2–3–4) |
| November 22 | 7:05 PM | vs. Sacred Heart | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | L 3–7 | 208 | 2–5–5 (2–4–4) |
| November 25 | 2:05 PM | vs. Niagara | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Murray | T 0–0 $^{OT}$ | 523 | 2–5–6 (2–4–5) |
| November 26 | 5:05 PM | vs. Niagara | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Murray | W 3–1 | 423 | 3–5–6 (3–4–5) |
| December 2 | 7:05 PM | at Army | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | Murray | L 0–1 | 1,516 | 3–6–6 (3–5–5) |
| December 9 | 7:07 PM | at Maine* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | Murray | L 3–5 | 3,578 | 3–7–6 |
| December 10 | 5:35 PM | at Maine* | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | Skog | L 2–7 | 3,365 | 3–8–6 |
| December 13 | 7:05 PM | vs. Arizona State* | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Murray | L 2–3 | 548 | 3–9–6 |
| January 3 | 7:00 PM | at Massachusetts* | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | Skog | W 3–0 | 1,024 | 4–9–6 |
| January 6 | 7:05 PM | at Robert Morris | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Skog | L 0–3 | 525 | 4–10–6 (3–6–5) |
| January 7 | 7:05 PM | at Robert Morris | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Murray | L 3–4 | 763 | 4–11–6 (3–7–5) |
| January 13 | 7:05 PM | vs. RIT | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Murray | L 0–5 | 350 | 4–12–6 (3–8–5) |
| January 14 | 2:05 PM | vs. RIT | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | W 5–3 | 350 | 5–12–6 (4–8–5) |
| January 17 | 7:05 PM | vs. Army | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | L 0–2 | 370 | 5–13–6 (4–9–5) |
| January 20 | 7:07 PM | at Niagara | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | Skog | W 7–3 | 680 | 6–13–6 (5–9–5) |
| January 21 | 7:05 PM | at Niagara | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | Murray | W 7–2 | 784 | 7–13–6 (6–9–5) |
| January 27 | 2:05 PM | vs. Canisius | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Murray | L 2–4 | 103 | 7–14–6 (6–10–5) |
| January 28 | 2:05 PM | vs. Canisius | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Murray | L 1–6 | 351 | 7–15–6 (6–11–5) |
| February 2 | 7:05 PM | vs. Holy Cross | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Murray | L 1–3 | 402 | 7–16–6 (6–12–5) |
| February 3 | 7:05 PM | at Holy Cross | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | Murray | L 2–8 | 1,224 | 7–17–6 (6–13–5) |
| February 10 | 8:37 PM | at #20 Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | Skog | L 0–5 | 2,264 | 7–18–6 (6–14–5) |
| February 11 | 7:05 PM | at #20 Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | Skog | T 3–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,906 | 7–18–7 (6–14–6) |
| February 23 | 7:05 PM | vs. Army | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | T 1–1 $^{OT}$ | 764 | 7–18–8 (6–14–7) |
| February 25 | 7:05 PM | vs. Army | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | Skog | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 2,418 | 8–18–8 (7–14–7) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 3 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania (Atlantic Hockey First Round game 1) | Skog | L 3–4 | 1,042 | 8–19–8 |
| March 4 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania (Atlantic Hockey First Round game 2) | Skog | L 0–5 | 1,001 | 8–20–8 |
| American International Lost Series 0–2 ||||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Blake Christensen | LW | 33 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 37 |
| Dominik Florián {{{last}}} | F | 35 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 32 |
| Martin Mellberg | RW | 35 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 32 |
| Hugo Reinhardt | C | 35 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 18 |
| Austin Orszulak | LW | 36 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 24 |
| Johnny Mueller | D | 35 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 32 |
| Shawn McBride | C/D | 35 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 6 |
| Andrew DeBrincat | D | 34 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 22 |
| Jānis Jaks | D | 27 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 10 |
| Jackson Dudley | LW | 25 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| Patrik Demel | D | 14 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| Nicolas Luka | D | 34 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 24 |
| Kyle Stephan | RW | 24 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 26 |
| Johno May | C/RW | 33 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 20 |
| Jared Pike | F | 36 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 30 |
| Bryant Christian | F | 35 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 24 |
| Joel Kocur | C/LW | 28 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Marc Dubeau | D | 31 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Ryan Polin | D | 31 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| Billy Vizzo | F | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Carson Grolla | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Zacharias Skog | G | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Dominic Racobaldo | D | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Daniel Mele | F | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Ketola | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Murray | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| Total | | | 82 | 140 | 222 | 399 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Zacharias Skog | 24 | 1356 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 69 | 652 | 1 | .904 | 3.05 |
| Alex Murray | 15 | 753 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 45 | 340 | 1 | .883 | 3.58 |
| Justin Ketola | 4 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 0 | .800 | 5.60 |
| Empty Net | - | 26 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 36 | 2201 | 8 | 20 | 8 | 122 | 1016 | 2 | .893 | 3.32 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR |
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
USCHO did not release a poll in Week 24.