SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 19, 2024) – The Stonehill College men's hockey team was shut out, 3-0, by American International College Tuesday night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. With the loss, the Skyhawks dropped to 4-10 overall, while the Yellow Jackets improved to 3-8-1 on the season.

Highlights

• Junior captain Frank Ireland and sophomore JJ Grainda were tied for the team-lead each registering three shots on goal.
• Senior Henri Schreifels blocked a game and career-high four shots on the night for the Skyhawks.
• First-year netminder Linards Lipskis tallied a career-high 43 saves in between the pipes for the Skyhawks.
• Graduate forward Jordan Biro paved the way for AIC offensively, registering two points off a goal and an assist on the night.
• Sophomore Alfred Lindberg and junior Timofei Khokhlachev each netted their respective third and fourth goals of the season.
• Sophomore netminder Peyton Grainer picked up his first career win and first career shutout in net after stopping all 16 shots he faced in net.

 
How It Happened
AIC wasted little time jumping out to an early one-goal lead at the four-minute mark of the opening frame. A pair of passes into the offensive zone between junior David Posma and Biro eventually made its way to the stick of Khokhlachev, who rifled a one-timer into a wide-open Skyhawks net for his fourth goal of the season.
 
With less than a minute left in the first period, Lipskis would make a last-resort save, outstretching his stick across the crease to hold the Yellow Jackets off the board and keep the Skyhawks deficit at one heading into the first intermission.  
 
Coming out of the break, Lipskis and the Stonehill defense would face a flurry of 10-shot attempts throughout the opening five minutes of play in the second period. Despite the early offensive push in the middle frame, the Yellow Jackets would be held off the board by the first-year netminder out of Sigulda, Latvia.
 
However, at the 5:49 mark of the second, after a defensive zone turnover by the Skyhawks, AIC would double its advantage when Lindberg whistled a shot top shelf into the back of the Stonehill net for his third goal of the season.
 
While on a five-minute major power-play opportunity, the Yellow Jackets would light the lamp on their third goal of the contest when Biro received a pass below the faceoff circle from junior Alexander Malinowski and sent a sharp-angle backhanded shot over the shoulder of Lipskis and into the back of the net.
 
Stonehill narrowly cut into its three-goal deficit at the 18:15 mark when first-year forward Joel Lehtinen found himself alone in front of the AIC netminder. However, Lehtinen's in-close shot would rocket off the crossbar and stay out from the back of the net, as the Skyhawks would head into the second intermission trailing by three.
 
Throughout the third and final frame of regulation, Stonehill and AIC traded shot attempts and power-play opportunities. However, the Skyhawks were unable to cut into the Yellow Jackets' advantage, eventually falling by a final score of 3-0.
 
Up Next
Stonehill (4-10-0) returns to action this weekend, traveling to St. Charles, Missouri for a two-game weekend set against Lindenwood University. Puck drop of Friday's series opener from the Centene Community Ice Center between the Skyhawks and Lions is set for 7:30 PM EST.  
 
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