Photo Credit: Seth Dussault- AIC Athletics

For AIC , this team has started to find their game as of late. Earlier in the year they had trouble late in games finding big goals in big moments to wrest away points in games they needed to get them from.

Not tonight.

Blake Bennett scored a superbly placed goal through a sea of humanity and past Sacred Heart netminder Luke Lush to push the game to a deuces wild affair at the end of regulation. Overtime did not provide a winner, but Brian Kramer and Casey McDonald in the shootout outdid the Pioneers with scintillating acumen to get AIC two points in Atlantic Hockey standings on the evening and ensure that the team can finish no worse than third. Their efforts combined with 29 saves from Jarett Fiske are why AIC again looks to be on the up and up. The game was full of big moments, but Fiske stood tall when called upon all night. On his senior day, the goalie nicknamed “Cheese” was sharp as ever, providing a calm backdrop to the chaotic pace this game had. Now three points in the regular season finale earns AIC the second seed in the playoffs.

Assistant Coach Brendan Riley took us through the evening:

“Anytime you can come out on top and honor your seniors in senior night is a huge deal. Especially when the game was so meaningful. I thought we played a nearly perfect game, except for the fact that we couldn’t seem to score. I thought we had some great chances and checked a lot of box tonight. Luckily we grabbed that extra point and cut into their lead in the standings. It’s great to have the last game of the season mean something and especially when you and the team you are playing are fighting for the same spot. A great dry run for playoffs. Our group did a great job of staying patient and sticking with it. I think we got what we deserved tonight. Benny has been our go to Clutch guy all year and he came through big tonight per usual. He’s playing well at the right time for us. Our PP really needed that goal to break a little drought and it came at a perfect time.”

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