# 2017–18 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season

The 2017–18 American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey season was the 70th season of play for the program, the 22nd at the Division I level, and the 15th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Yellow Jackets represented American International College and were coached by Eric Lang, in his 2nd season.

## Season

American International began its second season under Eric Lang rather poorly; the Yellow Jackets won just 1 of their first 9 games and looked destined to compile yet another poor record. However, in mid-November, after making freshman Stefano Durante the starting goaltender, AIC began to improve. While the offense was never strong, it was serviceable for much of the year and an improved defensive effort allowed the Yellow Jackets to start winning game more often. The team was never able to put together a long stretch of wins but, after such a bad start, .500-hockey was a vast improvement.
American International finished the season 8th in the Atlantic Hockey standings, their best result in over a decade. While they possessed a losing record, AIC managed to earn its first home playoff game since 1990. While they got a fight from Niagara, the Yellow Jackets won both games to win a postseason series for the first time in eleven years.
The 15 wins recorded on the year were the most in any one season by the program since it had joined Division I in 1999. The sizable improvement for the team was spearheaded by the addition of Brennan Kapcheck and Stefano Durante, two freshman that the program would conceivably be able to build around for the near future.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Marc Dubeau | Forward | Canada | Left program (retired) |
| Carson Grolla | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (signed with Rosetown Red Wings) |
| Justin Ketola | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to Endicott |
| Daniel Mele | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Johnny Mueller | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Wisconsin–Eau Claire |
| Austin Orszulak | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Adirondack Thunder) |
| Billy Vizzo | Forward | United States | Transferred to Endicott |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Justin Cole | Forward | United States | 21 | Bryn Athyn, PA; red shirt |
| Darius Davidson | Forward | Canada | 21 | Surrey, BC |
| Chris Dodero | Forward | United States | 21 | West Chicago, IL |
| Stefano Durante | Goaltender | Canada | 21 | Brampton, ON |
| Tobias Fladeby | Forward | Norway | 21 | Asker, NOR |
| Brennan Kapcheck | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Mt. Prospect, IL |
| Luka Maver | Forward | Slovenia | 19 | Ljubljana, SLO; red shirt |
| Vitaliy Novytskyy | Defenseman | Ukraine | 21 | Kharkiv, UKR |
| Ryan Papa | Forward | United States | 23 | Prospect Heights, IL; graduate transfer from St. Cloud State |
| Oskar Strömberg | Defenseman | Sweden | 20 | Sollentuna, SWE |

## Standings

2017–18 Atlantic Hockey men's 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 |
| Mercyhurst† | 28 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 36 | 90 | 81 | 37 | 21 | 12 | 4 | 124 | 111 |
| Canisius | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 94 | 76 | 38 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 117 | 108 |
| Holy Cross | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 80 | 70 | 36 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 97 | 100 |
| Army | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 80 | 70 | 36 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 93 | 91 |
| #14 Air Force * | 28 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 30 | 73 | 64 | 43 | 23 | 15 | 5 | 115 | 94 |
| RIT | 28 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 27 | 91 | 90 | 37 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 114 | 127 |
| Robert Morris | 28 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 27 | 79 | 78 | 41 | 18 | 20 | 3 | 119 | 118 |
| American International | 28 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 26 | 63 | 75 | 39 | 15 | 20 | 4 | 88 | 116 |
| Niagara | 28 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 23 | 76 | 90 | 36 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 93 | 123 |
| Bentley | 28 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 23 | 72 | 87 | 37 | 13 | 18 | 6 | 96 | 114 |
| Sacred Heart | 28 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 22 | 79 | 96 | 39 | 13 | 22 | 4 | 107 | 135 |
| Championship: March 17, 2018 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 5, 2018 |||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 6 | 7:05 PM | vs. Army | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | L 1–5 | 716 | 0–1–0 (0–1–0) |
| October 7 | 7:05 PM | vs. Army | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | L 1–2 | 848 | 0–2–0 (0–2–0) |
| October 10 | 7:05 PM | at Bentley | John A. Ryan Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | | Skog | T 3–3 $^{OT}$ | 456 | 0–2–1 (0–2–1) |
| October 13 | 7:05 PM | vs. Connecticut* | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | L 4–6 | 527 | 0–3–1 |
| October 14 | 7:00 PM | at Massachusetts* | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | | Murray | L 1–3 | 3,662 | 0–4–1 |
| October 19 | 7:03 PM | at Penn State* | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | BTN | Murray | L 5–7 | 6,018 | 0–5–1 |
| October 20 | 7:07 PM | at Penn State* | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Skog | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 6,149 | 1–5–1 |
| October 24 | 7:05 PM | vs. Bentley | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 547 | 1–5–2 (0–2–2) |
| November 3 | 7:05 PM | at RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | | Durante | L 3–5 | 3,455 | 1–6–2 (0–3–2) |
| November 4 | 7:05 PM | at RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | | Durante | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 2,242 | 2–6–2 (1–3–2) |
| November 10 | 7:05 PM | vs. Sacred Heart | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 6–2 | 472 | 3–6–2 (2–3–2) |
| November 11 | 2:05 PM | vs. Sacred Heart | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 4–1 | 307 | 4–6–2 (3–3–2) |
| November 17 | 7:05 PM | at Robert Morris | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | | Durante | L 1–3 | 512 | 4–7–2 (3–4–2) |
| November 18 | 4:05 PM | at Robert Morris | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | | Durante | L 0–4 | 728 | 4–8–2 (3–5–2) |
| November 24 | 2:05 PM | vs. Niagara | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | L 1–3 | 219 | 4–9–2 (3–6–2) |
| November 25 | 7:05 PM | vs. Niagara | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Murray | W 4–1 | 247 | 5–9–2 (4–6–2) |
| December 1 | 7:05 PM | vs. Bentley | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Murray | L 2–6 | 767 | 5–10–2 (4–7–2) |
| December 8 | 2:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 3–1 | 157 | 6–10–2 (5–7–2) |
| December 9 | 2:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | L 2–4 | 317 | 6–11–2 (5–8–2) |
| December 30 | 7:00 PM | at Northeastern | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | | Durante | L 1–3 | 1,357 | 6–12–2 |
| January 5 | 7:05 PM | vs. Holy Cross | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 2–1 | 537 | 7–12–2 (6–8–2) |
| January 6 | 7:00 PM | at Holy Cross | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 4–2 | 766 | 8–12–2 (7–8–2) |
| January 12 | 7:35 PM | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | | Durante | W 4–2 | 337 | 9–12–2 (8–8–2) |
| January 13 | 7:35 PM | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | | Durante | L 1–6 | 641 | 9–13–2 (8–9–2) |
| January 19 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | | Durante | L 1–3 | 1,067 | 9–14–2 (8–10–2) |
| January 20 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | | Durante | T 4–4 $^{OT}$ | 1,245 | 9–14–3 (8–10–3) |
| January 26 | 2:05 PM | vs. Robert Morris | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Skog | W 3–1 | 682 | 10–14–3 (9–10–3) |
| January 27 | 2:05 PM | vs. Robert Morris | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | L 3–5 | 1,310 | 10–15–3 (9–11–3) |
| February 2 | 9:05 PM | at Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Skog | L 0–3 | 2,236 | 10–16–3 (9–12–3) |
| February 3 | 7:05 PM | at Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Durante | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 2,153 | 10–16–4 (9–12–4) |
| February 6 | 7:00 PM | at Massachusetts–Lowell* | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | | Murray | L 0–4 | 3,642 | 10–17–4 |
| February 17 | 2:05 PM | vs. Holy Cross | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 1–0 | 2,176 | 11–17–4 (10–12–4) |
| February 22 | 7:05 PM | at Holy Cross | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | | Durante | L 0–2 | 1,026 | 11–18–4 (10–13–4) |
| February 24 | 7:05 PM | at Bentley | John A. Ryan Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | | Durante | W 3–2 | 2,207 | 12–18–4 (11–13–4) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 2 | 1:05 PM | vs. Niagara* | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Atlantic Hockey First Round game 1) | | Durante | W 4–1 | 648 | 13–18–4 |
| March 3 | 1:05 PM | vs. Niagara* | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Atlantic Hockey First Round game 2) | | Durante | W 4–3 $^{2OT}$ | 1,134 | 14–18–4 |
| American International Won Series 2–0 ||||||||||
| March 9 | 7:35 PM | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal game 1) | | Durante | L 1–8 | 727 | 14–19–4 |
| March 10 | 8:05 PM | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal game 2) | | Durante | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 752 | 15–19–4 |
| March 11 | 7:05 PM | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal game 3) | | Durante | L 0–3 | 421 | 15–20–4 |
| American International Lost Series 1–2 ||||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Brennan Kapcheck | D | 39 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 24 |
| Blake Christensen | LW | 34 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 50 |
| Jānis Jaks | D | 37 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 20 |
| Hugo Reinhardt | C | 39 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 44 |
| Martin Mellberg | RW | 39 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 28 |
| Jared Pike | C | 39 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 23 |
| Joel Kocur | C/LW | 39 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 26 |
| Andrew DeBrincat | D | 37 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 8 |
| Darius Davidson | F | 34 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 6 |
| Nicholas Luka | D | 36 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 20 |
| Shawn McBride | C/D | 38 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 4 |
| Patrik Demel | D | 21 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| Dominik Florián | F | 23 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 |
| Tobias Fladeby | LW/RW | 32 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 27 |
| Bryant Christian | F | 39 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 24 |
| Johno May | C/RW | 36 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| Kyle Stephan | RW | 27 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Ryan Polin | D | 31 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Dominic Racobaldo | D | 25 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Jackson Dudley | LW | 24 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Vitaly Novytskyy | D | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Chris Dodero | C/LW | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Ryan Papa | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oskar Strömberg | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Alex Murray | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zacharias Skog | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stefano Durante | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Total | | | 88 | 150 | 238 | 409 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Stefano Durante | 28 | 1585 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 20 | 611 | 2 | .911 | 2.27 |
| Zacharias Skog | 9 | 510 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 200 | 0 | .885 | 3.06 |
| Alex Murray | 6 | 276 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 124 | 0 | .849 | 4.77 |
| Empty Net | - | 30 | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 39 | 2402 | 15 | 20 | 4 | 116 | 935 | 2 | .890 | 2.90 |

## 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Brennan Kapcheck | Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year |
| Jānis Jaks | Atlantic Hockey Third Team |
| Brennan Kapcheck | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |
| Stefano Durante | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |