Anthony Rufrano scored two goals to lead American International to a 4-3 MAAC win over Connecticut at UConn Ice Arena before a crowd of 1,112 on Saturday night.
Connecticut, which defeated AIC (8-2) on Friday night, dropped its record to 2-6-1 overall (2-2-1 MAAC). AIC improved to 4-6 overall (3-5).
John Levesque snuck a goal in from the back side of the net at the 4:46 mark of the first period to put AIC on the board. Three minutes into the second period, Rufrano snapped in a rebound off a save by UConn goalie Paul Morrissey, giving AIC the 2-0 lead. At the halfway point of the period, Matt Herhal scored a power-play goal for the Huskies, cutting the scoring deficit in half.
AIC took the 3-1 lead at the 4:48 mark of the final period when a shot by Rufrano trickled in past Morrissey, also on the power play. UConn brought the score within one again, when Anders Johnson scored on the power play.
Troy Johnston poked the puck into the net off a rebounded save to give the Yellow Jackets the two-goal lead for the third time in the game, just two minutes later.
Connecticut continued to cut the scoring deficit to one with 8:08 left in the period. Johnson made a cross-ice pass to Brown, who delivered the puck back to the far post for a waiting Owens, who flicked it into the upper part of the net for the Huskies’ final score of the game.
Morrissey had 15 saves in net for the Huskies, while Frank Novello stopped 34 UConn shots on goal. Despite the loss, Connecticut outshot AIC, 37-19. UConn was 3-for-4 on the power play, while the Yellow Jackets went 1-for-4.
Connecticut will host Army on Friday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. at the UConn Ice Arena.
