CONNECTICUT 4, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL 2

Courtesy of Connecticut Athletic Communications

STORRS, Conn. (February 22, 2008) - Trailing 2-1 in the third period, the University of Connecticut men's hockey team scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 victory over American International Friday night. Charles Solberg (Barrington, Ill.) scored the game winner for his first goal of the season for the Huskies.

With the win, UConn improves to 9-19-3 overall and 8-14-3 in the Atlantic Hockey Association. AIC is 8-19-4 and 8-15-2.

Connecticut got on the board first only 4:58 into the first period when Chris Spicer (Syracuse, N.Y.) sent a pass from the left side of the ice over to Matt Turner (Colorado Springs, Colo.) who gathered it in the right face-off circle and beat the goalie high to give the Huskies the 1-0 lead. The lead would not last long, as AIC tied it shorthanded four and a half minutes later, then followed it up with a late goal 38 seconds before intermission to take a 2-1 lead into the break.

After a scoreless second period, the Huskies became the aggressors in the third period, controlling play in the Yellow Jacket's zone. Their persistence paid off at the 6:21 mark when Jason Krispel (Cyrpess, Calif.) centered Spicer in the middle of the ice, and Spicer one-time the puck past Dan Ramirez to tie the score at two. Solberg broke the tie at the 13:38 mark when he shot home the rebound of a B.J. Bayers (St. Louis Park, Minn.) shot. Krispel added an empty netter with five seconds remaining to complete the scoring.

For the game, UConn out shot AIC 32-26. Krispel and Chris Ochoa (Santa Monica, Calif.) tied for the team lead with five shots each. Jon Glant (Garden Grove, Calif.) had a solid night in goal, picking up his first career win by making 24 stops.

UConn travels to Springfield, Mass. Saturday for the conclusion of this home-and-home series. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at the Olympia Ice Center.