#17 Senior AIC Captain Austin Orszulak
1st Period Action Last Night
American International College Hockey started off slow in the first period,
with most of the play down at their end of the ice, defending their net.
Nonetheless they held off a very good Holy Cross Team that has received
Honorable Mention as one of the best teams in the nation after some impressive
wins over nationally ranked Providence and Union Colleges. The score was 0-0 at
the end of the first.
In the 2nd period it was all AIC as they pretty much dominated play. AIC
moved ahead with goals by impressive freshman, forward Dominik Florian from the
Czech Republic who already is showing signs of stardom early in the season. This
was followed by a goal by ex-Cathedral High player and Springfield, MA native,
senior Captain, Austin Orszulak. The period ended with a 2-0 AIC lead and they
looked like they would finish with a sure win, the momentum was in their
favor.
In the 3rd period it looked like Holy Cross woke up and were playing at the
level of a nationally prominent team. (Sorry, but that is the way that it
appeared.) The game then became a battle. A goal by Holy Cross junior, Danny
Lopez. made it 2-1. Then followed by a discounted goal, Holy Cross scored
another goal by junior, TJ Moore, to make it a 2-2 tie. For awhile it looked
like it was going to stay that way.
Suddenly AIC caught on fire. At 3:49 left in the game a goal by freshman
defensive player, Janis Jaks from Latvia, made it 3-2 AIC. The finishing touch
to solidify the AIC win came at 1:42 left in the game with a goal by junior
forward, Johno May, for the 4-2 AIC win! This was an impressive win for AIC,
but the rematch is tonight in Worcester, MA at the College of the Holy Cross. It
should be a great game.
Footnotes:
* The venue at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield is great, it couldn't
be better. Both AIC students and college people, and local residents have to
support the team by attending games. I KNOW Western Mass loves hockey...this is
a chance to see some very good D1 Hockey played right in Springfield. As a fan
it was a very entertaining game last night.
* What happened to the AIC Rally Band to help get the crowd going? I missed
them.
* It was nice to see Billy Vizzo out there on the ice for AIC. A very good
player, I saw him play for the P.A.L. Junior Islanders in the USPHL Premier
Division for 2 years.
Alfredo DiLascia
Image News Service
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