# 2019–20 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season

The 2019–20 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season was the 72nd season of play for the program, the 24th at the Division I level, and the 17th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Yellow Jackets represented American International College and were coached by Eric Lang, in his 4th season.
On March 12, 2020, Atlantic Hockey announced that the remainder of the conference tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Samuel Best | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to Massachusetts–Boston |
| Darius Davidson | Forward | Canada | Signed professional contract (Macon Mayhem) |
| Shawn McBride | Forward/Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (signed with Hartford Wolf Pack) |
| Vitaliy Novytskyy | Defenseman | Ukraine | Transferred to Liberty |
| Ryan Papa | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Evan Plotnik | Goaltender | United States | Left program (retired) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Austin Albrecht | Forward | United States | 23 | Flemington, NJ; transfer from Massachusetts |
| Blake Bennett | Forward | United States | 21 | Grand Island, NY |
| Calvon Boots | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Salmon, ID |
| Brett Callahan | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Westmont, IL |
| Jarrett Fiske | Goaltender | United States | 20 | Erie, PA |
| Nate Hooper | Forward | Canada | 21 | Winnipeg, MB |
| Hunter Johannes | Forward | United States | 21 | Eden Prairie, MN |
| Austen Long | Forward | United States | 21 | Minneapolis, MN |
| Jake Stella | Forward | Sweden | 20 | Karlstad, SWE |
| Justin Wilson | Forward | Canada | 21 | North Vancouver, BC |

## Roster

As of September 12, 2019.

## Standings

2019–20 Atlantic Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | 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 | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #20 American International | 28 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 96 | 46 | 34 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 103 | 68 |
| Sacred Heart | 28 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 104 | 63 | 34 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 127 | 82 |
| RIT | 28 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 50 | 86 | 73 | 36 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 108 | 98 |
| Army | 28 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 48 | 70 | 64 | 33 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 82 | 76 |
| Niagara | 28 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 42 | 64 | 65 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 72 | 87 |
| Air Force | 28 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 41 | 60 | 67 | 34 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 70 | 95 |
| Robert Morris | 28 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 41 | 65 | 65 | 34 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 75 | 90 |
| Bentley | 28 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 75 | 80 | 34 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 83 | 94 |
| Canisius | 28 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 36 | 71 | 83 | 34 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 80 | 109 |
| Holy Cross | 28 | 9 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 67 | 83 | 34 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 80 | 99 |
| Mercyhurst | 28 | 3 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 49 | 118 | 34 | 5 | 27 | 2 | 64 | 141 |
| Championship: March 20, 2020 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 1, 2020 ||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 11 | 7:17 PM | at #9 Quinnipiac* | | People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut | | Skog | L 2–3 | 2,823 | 0–1–0 |
| October 12 | 7:00 PM | vs. #9 Quinnipiac* | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | L 2–3 | 1,376 | 0–2–0 |
| October 18 | 7:05 PM | at Sacred Heart | | Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut | | Skog | W 2–1 | 469 | 1–2–0 (1–0–0–0) |
| October 25 | 7:00 PM | at #3 Massachusetts* | | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | | Skog | L 1–4 | 4,873 | 1–3–0 (1–0–0–0) |
| November 1 | 7:05 PM | at Army | | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | | Skog | L 1–2 | 1,343 | 1–4–0 (1–1–0–0) |
| November 2 | 1:05 PM | vs. Army | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | W 4–1 | 1,484 | 2–4–0 (2–1–0–0) |
| November 15 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | | Skog | W 12–0 | 748 | 3–4–0 (3–1–0–0) |
| November 16 | 4:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | | Durante | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 687 | 3–5–0 (3–2–0–0) |
| November 26 | 7:05 PM | vs. Army | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | L 1–4 | 567 | 3–6–0 (3–3–0–0) |
| November 29 | 7:05 PM | vs. RIT | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | W 4–2 | 692 | 4–6–0 (4–3–0–0) |
| November 30 | 1:05 PM | vs. RIT | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | W 5–1 | 517 | 5–6–0 (5–3–0–0) |
| December 3 | 7:05 PM | vs. Sacred Heart | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | L 4–2 | 414 | 5–7–0 (5–4–0–0) |
| December 6 | 1:05 PM | vs. Canisius | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | W 6–0 | 244 | 6–7–0 (6–4–0–0) |
| December 7 | 1:10 PM | vs. Canisius | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 376 | 7–7–0 (7–4–0–0) |
| December 10 | 7:00 PM | at Princeton* | | Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey | | Durante | L 1–2 | 888 | 7–8–0 (7–4–0–0) |
| December 13 | 1:05 PM | vs. Niagara | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | W 3–1 | 219 | 8–8–0 (8–4–0–0) |
| December 14 | 1:05 PM | vs. Niagara | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | T 0–0 $^{SOL}$ | 467 | 8–8–1 (8–4–1–0) |
| December 29 | 4:00 PM | at Maine* | | Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine | WPME | Skog | L 1–5 | 3,063 | 8–9–1 (8–4–1–0) |
| January 3 | 9:05 PM | at Air Force | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Skog | L 1–4 | 1,779 | 8–10–1 (8–5–1–0) |
| January 4 | 7:05 PM | at Air Force | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Skog | W 5–1 | 1,704 | 9–10–1 (9–5–1–0) |
| January 9 | 7:05 PM | vs. #12 Providence* | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | L 0–5 | 1,102 | 9–11–1 (9–5–1–0) |
| January 17 | 7:05 PM | at Bentley | | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 4–1 | 1,425 | 10–11–1 (10–5–1–0) |
| January 18 | 4:05 PM | at Bentley | | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 2–1 | 1,332 | 11–11–1 (11–5–1–0) |
| January 24 | 7:05 PM | at Robert Morris | | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | | Durante | W 4–3 | 777 | 12–11–1 (12–5–1–0) |
| January 25 | 4:05 PM | at Robert Morris | | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | | Durante | W 4–1 | 686 | 13–11–1 (13–5–1–0) |
| January 31 | 7:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 4–3 | 576 | 14–11–1 (14–5–1–0) |
| February 1 | 1:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 7–4 | 649 | 15–11–1 (15–5–1–0) |
| February 11 | 7:05 PM | vs. #20 Sacred Heart | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 6–2 | 727 | 16–11–1 (16–5–1–0) |
| February 14 | 7:35 PM | at Canisius | | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | | Durante | W 4–1 | 417 | 17–11–1 (17–5–1–0) |
| February 15 | 4:05 PM | at Canisius | | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | | Durante | W 3–2 | 717 | 18–11–1 (18–5–1–0) |
| February 20 | 7:05 PM | vs. Holy Cross | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 4–1 | 776 | 19–11–1 (19–5–1–0) |
| February 22 | 7:05 PM | vs. Holy Cross | | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | W 2–0 | 1,108 | 20–11–1 (20–5–1–0) |
| February 26 | 7:05 PM | at Sacred Heart | #20 | Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut | | Durante | L 3–5 | 304 | 20–12–1 (20–6–1–0) |
| February 29 | 7:05 PM | at Army | #20 | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | | Skog | W 4–1 | 2,242 | 21–12–1 (21–6–1–0) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| Tournament Cancelled ||||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||||||

## Scoring Statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Blake Christensen | LW | 34 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 12 |
| Martin Mellberg | RW | 34 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 19 |
| Brennan Kapcheck | D | 33 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 61 |
| Tobias Fladeby | LW/RW | 32 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 14 |
| Hugo Reinhardt | D | 34 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 40 |
| Patrik Demel | C/LW | 34 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 10 |
| Joel Kocur | LW | 34 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 39 |
| Elijiah Barriga | LW | 28 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 12 |
| Luka Maver | C | 32 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 8 |
| Jānis Jaks | D | 33 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 6 |
| Austin Albrecht | LW | 33 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| Jared Pike | F | 33 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 24 |
| Chris Dodero | C/LW | 34 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| Parker Revering | D | 32 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 28 |
| Nicholas Luka | D | 30 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 14 |
| Austen Long | RW | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Jeff Baum | D/F | 32 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 |
| Jake Stella | LW | 27 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Justin Cole | F | 24 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| Kyle Stephan | RW | 28 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| Jan Štefka | F | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Hunter Johannes | F | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Matúš Spodniak | F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Callahan | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calvon Boots | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nate Hooper | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jarrett Fiske | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Theodore | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oskar Strömberg | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Stefano Durante | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zacharias Skog | G | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| Total | | | | | | |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Jarrett Fiske | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.00 |
| Zackarias Skog | 19 | 1049 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 32 | 403 | 4 | .926 | 1.83 |
| Stefano Durante | 17 | 973 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 424 | 0 | .918 | 2.34 |
| Empty Net | - | 23 | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 34 | 2051 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 74 | 827 | 4 | .918 | 2.16 |

## 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 |
| 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 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 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 |

## Awards and honors
### NCAA

| Honor | Player | Position |
| Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award | Jared Pike | Forward |

### Atlantic Hockey

| Honor | Player | Position |
| Regular Season Goaltending Award | Zackarias Skog | Goaltender |
| Coach of the Year | Eric Lang | Coach |
| All-Atlantic Hockey First Team | Zackarias Skog | Goaltender |
| All-Atlantic Hockey First Team | Brennan Kapcheck | Defenseman |
| All-Atlantic Hockey First Team | Blake Christensen | Forward |
| All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team | Patrik Demel | Defenseman |
| All-Atlantic Hockey Third Team | Martin Mellberg | Forward |
| All-Atlantic Hockey Third Team | Hugo Reinhardt | Forward |