Jackets Earn 1-1 Tie Against Bentley
Watertown, Mass. - American International senior Mark
Pavli (Sarnia, Ontario) and Bentley junior Casey Russell (Orange,
Conn./Boston Jr. Bruins) scored the goals as Bentley and AIC
battled to a 1-1 draw in Atlantic Hockey action on Friday night at
Ryan Skating Arena. The Falcons remained at .500 with a 1-1-1
conference mark and moved to 1-5-1 overall, while the Yellow
Jackets earned their first result of the season, moving to 0-2-1
overall and 0-1-1 in AHA play.
Both goals came relatively early on in the contest, with Bentley striking first, taking advantage of two quick penalties against AIC that gave the Falcons a five-on-three opportunity for almost a full two minutes late in the first period. Junior Jeff Gumaer (Webster Groves, Mo./Springfield Jr. Blues) set up the play from the right side and Russell and junior Tom Dickhudt (Woodbury, Minn./Fargo-Moorhead Jets) passed the puck back and forth before Russell ripped the shot that got through for his first goal of the season.
The Yellow Jackets evened the score early in the second period. Pavli banged in a shot from in front of the net for his second score of the season, thanks to assists from sophomores Frankie DeAngelis (Woodbridge, Ontario) and Chris Campanale (Chester Springs, Pa.).
After that, the two young goaltenders took control as the sides played 42 minutes of scoreless hockey. Freshman Joe Calvi (New Lenox, Ill./New England Jr. Huskies), who was honored this week as Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Month, made 28 saves in the contest for the Falcons, while freshman Dan Ramirez (Rochester, N.Y.) stopped 21 shots for AIC in his first career start.
The Yellow Jackets held a 29-23 advantage in shots on goal, including a 4-1 edge in overtime, and had several close calls offensively that had the AIC bench ready to celebrate, most notably in the extra frame when freshman T.J. Smith (St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador) got a shot past Calvi, but banged it off the far post. Bentley successfully killed all six AIC power plays, despite being short two players by the end of the game due to injuries.
The Jackets are back in action on Saturday, concluding the home-and-home series with Bentley at 7:05 p.m. in West Springfield.