Men’s college hockey
MAINE vs. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
Time, site: 4 p.m. Sunday, Alfond Arena, Orono
Records: UMaine 8-8-3, AIC 8-8-1
Series, last meeting: UMaine leads 5-0, UMaine 7-2 on 12/10/16
Key players, Maine: RW Mitch Fossier (3 goals, 17 assists), C Tim Doherty (7 & 11), LW Eduards Tralmaks (9 & 5), RW Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (9 & 2), D J.D. Greenway (1 & 5), D Jakub Sirota (0 & 5), G Jeremy Swayman (8-8-3, 2.36 goals-against average, .932 save percentage); AIC: LW Blake Christensen (4 & 12), RW Tobias Fladeby (9 & 4), RW Martin Melberg (3 & 10), D Brennan Kapcheck (0 & 12), D Patrick Demel (0 & 11), C Hugo Reinhardt (6 & 3), G Zackarias Skog (8-6-1, 1.76 GAA, .929 save percentage)
Game notes: The Yellow Jackets returned 14 of their top 15 scorers and starting goalie Skog from last year’s team that went 23-17-1, won the Atlantic Hockey Tournament and shocked top-seeded St. Cloud State 2-1 in their first NCAA Tournament game. AIC is 3-0-1 in its last four games, while UMaine will seek to snap a three-game losing streak and four-game winless stretch (0-3-1). Senior-laden AIC was the preseason pick to repeat as Atlantic Hockey champion. Behind the Yellow Jackets’ bench is fourth-year head coach Eric Lang, who replaced former UMaine assistant Gary Wright. Wright spent 32 years at AIC. UMaine has scored just four goals in its last four games and will be facing a goalie in Skog who boasts the nation’s eighth-best goals-against average. UMaine’s Swayman is 11th nationally in save percentage. The Black Bears will have to avoid taking unnecessary penalties because AIC has the nation’s 11th-best power play (24 percent). UMaine’s penalty-killing percentage (87.1) is ranked 11th.