No. 10 American International at No. 7 Holy Cross, Friday

American International: 5-23-4 (5-19-4 AHA)

Holy Cross: 11-17-6 (10-13-5 AHA)

Season Series: American International, 2-0-2

Yellow Jacket Facts: AIC won its last opening-round game in 2007. The Yellow Jackets are 0-14-4 on the road this season.

Crusader fact: Holy Cross snapped three-game playoff losing streak with 1-0 OT win over AIC in last year’s first round.

How AIC Wins: Low-scoring games favor the Yellow Jackets, who have blanked the Crusaders twice. Scoring first has also helped the Jackets.

How Holy Cross Wins: The Crusaders tend to play better and score more on home ice. Early goals would help settle freshman Thomas Tysowsky should he get his first playoff start. Three goals is the magic number – the Crusaders are 11-4-1 when reaching that mark, 0-13-5 when scoring two-or-less.

No. 9 Connecticut at No. 8 Bentley, Saturday

Connecticut: 6-25-3 (6-19-3 AHA)

Bentley: 12-18-4 (10-15-3 AHA)

Season Series: Bentley, 3-1-0

Husky Facts: Ninth place matched the lowest UConn finish in Atlantic Hockey history set last season. The Huskies are 0-3-1 in last four games at the JAR, last winning in Nov. 2007.

Falcon Facts: This is the first time Bentley has had to play an opening-round Atlantic playoff game. The Falcons were 1-6-1 in February.

How Connecticut Wins: The Huskies have done a good job lately limiting shots on freshman Garrett Bartus, and the rookie has to come through.

How Bentley Wins: Kyle Rank held Holy Cross to one goal on 35 shots on Saturday, and beat UConn a week earlier. He needs to keep up that momentum.