It was bound to happen. When the opportunity for that elusive first victory was in their grasp, the boys refused to let it go.

The Chargers beat Lake Superior State 2-1. Kyle Lysaght’s goal, his third of the season with 9:07 to go, was the game winner.

The Lakers fired away, as most opponents have, but the Chargers’ calling card these past few seasons — strong goaltending — kept them in the game. John Griggs stopped 35 of 36 shots, withstanding charges mostly in the first and third periods.

The Lakers began their barrage in the first period, and Griggs showed early he was on, stopping slapshots, wrist shots, and the occasional one-on-one.

The Chargers would get the bulk of their chances in the first toward the end of the period. Justin Cseter’s wrister in the slot of saved by Laker goalie Kevin Murdock. Murdock would also rob Alex Allen in the final moments of the first.

UAH would tighten the shooting lanes the Lakers enjoyed in the first period, while increasing the pressure in the Lake State zone.

However, it was a defensive lapse that led to the Lakers taking the first lead. Kelin Ainsworth picked off Lasse Uusivirta in the UAH zone, drove in on Griggs and scored with 4:21 left in the second.

The Chargers answered late in the period. With both teams a man down, UAH created a 3-on-1 break. Justin Cseter from the left side fired the puck past Murdock to tie the game at 1 for his first goal of the season. Michael Webley got the assist, his second of the year.

Lake State regained their aggressiveness early in the third on a power play, but Griggs was up to the task. Lakers had six of the first seven shots of the period, with Griggs pouncing on loose pucks and gloving just about anything from long range.

And finally, as the Chargers were crashing the net, Lysaght buried the winner, assisted by Cseter and Ben Reinhardt. And for the next few minutes, UAH skated with pep.

With five to go, Lake Superior played as if they realized they were losing to a winless team. They cranked up the aggressiveness, continuing to pound the puck toward Griggs, who wouldn’t allow many rebounds. UAH would hold on as the Lakers pulled Murdock for the extra attacker.

And when the final horn sounded, jubilation on the ice and bench for the UAH Chargers. Never let it be said they take these moments for granted.

But when the puck drops tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. Central, the boys will want win No. 2 as much as the first. Charge on.

Johnny Griggs did everything he could to keep UAH in the hunt, but the Chargers fell to Northeastern 3-0 on Saturday night in Boston.

Northeastern dominated the possession from the get-go with great puck movement and numerous scoring chances. The Huskies outshot the Chargers 54-19, and won 46 of 67 faceoffs.

Griggs made 51 saves, tying his career high set on October 13 in the 2-2 tie against Minnesota State.

Braden Pimm got the Huskies on the board at the 13:06 mark. Cody Ferriero centered the puck to Pimm from the right wing, and Pimm slid the puck past Griggs after a deke.

Ludwig Karlsson made it 2-0 Huskies after beating Griggs high from the left circle at 17:13. Kevin Roy fed Karlsson from the corner.

The Huskies kept the pressure in the second, but Griggs was up to the task.  He stopped all 15 shots he faced, and also took a hit when Northeastern’s Mike McMurtry and UAH’s Graeme Strukoff crashed into the net. McMurtry would get the penalty for roughing the goaltender.

Karlsson scored his second goal of the game in the third on a slapshot that Griggs got a piece of, but the puck trickled through for the final 3-0 score. The goal came on a 5-on-3 advantage after Chad Brears, Justin Cseter, and Graeme Strukoff were called for penalties in a span of 1:22.

The Chargers and Huskies complete the two-game series Sunday night at 6 p.m. CST.

The Chargers put up a stronger effort on Saturday in a 3-1 loss at St. Lawrence. The Saints swept the series after winning game one 4-0 on Friday.

The Saints took a 2-0 lead in the first period on two Greg Carey power-play goals. The first came at 5:52 from the right-wing circle following a Doug Reid slashing penalty. The second came at 14:24 after an Anderson White hook killed a Charger power play.

Except for the penalty-killing woes, there was more time in the St. Lawrence zone compared to the first game. The Chargers were able to put together some chances and were only down 11-9 in shots on goal in the first period.

John Griggs was  in goal for UAH for the first period after a mask issue prevented Gregg Gruehl from getting the start. Mask issue fixed, Gruehl finally made his official Charger debut to start the second period.

St. Lawrence led 3-0 after a Tommy Thompson followed up on a rebound from a Jordan Dewey shot, beating Gruehl at 13:20.

The Chargers put on some pressure in the third, and they did get some reward. Jeff Vanderlugt finally got UAH’s lone goal of the series with 7:17 left in the game. His second goal of the season came unassisted.

Gruehl was admirable in his first action, stopping 20 of 21 shots over two periods. Griggs stopped nine of 11 in the first.

UAH next travels to Boston next weekend to face Northeastern University. It’s a Saturday-Sunday series, with both games starting at 6 p.m. CST.

UAH’s offense just couldn’t get going Friday night, as the Chargers fell to No. 16 St. Lawrence 4-0 in Canton, N.Y.

Most of the first period was held at the UAH end, but it wasn’t until 14:07 in that the Saints got on the board. A cross-ice pass by George Hughes made for a wide-open net that Connor Hughes wouldn’t miss to give St. Lawrence a 1-0 lead.

The Saints kept the pressure during the rest of a period, particularly during a power play where John Griggs had to make seven saves in a row. At the end of one period, St. Lawrence had an 18-6 shots on goal advantage.

St. Lawrence continued domination in the second period, and three goals were the result. Greg Carey scored on another wide-open net following a cross ice pass to make it 2-0 Saints at 5:20. Kyle Flanagan scored on a backhanded shot following a steal at 8:01 for a 3-0 St. Lawrence lead. The Saints made it 4-0 after a 3-on-1 break at 10:35.

UAH‘s defense was no match for St. Lawrence tonight. That didn’t help Griggs, who held his own in net with 37 saves. Meanwhile, many of the Chargers’ 21 shots were not close range, providing not much of a challenge to Saints goaltender Matt Weninger.

Game two of the series is Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT.

The Chargers rebounded from a beatdown at the hands of Bentley on Friday, but they still came up short against American International. The Yellow Jackets held on to win 4-3 in Springfield, Mass., on Saturday night.

AIC got on the board just 3:17 into the game. Richard Leitner beat UAH goalie John Griggs alone at the doorstep after a pass from Matt Cassidy for a 1-0 Yellow Jackets lead.

Most of the action occurred in the UAH end during the first period, but AIC could only get the one goal.

It wouldn’t take long for UAH to get on the board in the second. On a break, Mat Hagen fed Doug Reid on the right wing, who powered a wrist-shot past Long to tie the game at 1-1 four minutes in.

In what seems to be a trend, AIC answered almost immediately. Jon Puskar, who was the recipient of back-to-back tripping penalties just minutes before, received a pass from Adam Pleskach all alone in the slot. Puskar buried the puck past Griggs to regain the lead for the Yellow Jackets just 1:08 after Reid’s equalizer.

UAH would tie the game again at 2-2 after a Michael Webley goal, assisted by Jeff Vanderlugt, about halfway through the game.

Then AIC’s Adam Pleskach took over. Pleskach received a feed from the near boards and unleashed a one-timer past Griggs to give AIC a 3-2 lead with 3:06 to go in the second.

Just over two minutes later, after a Brice Geoffrion hooking call, Pleskach slapped another one-timer from the point to make it 4-2 Jackets.

UAH cut the lead to 4-3 with Webley’s second goal of the game, putting in the rebound from a Jack Prince shot. Prince and Strukoff with the assists.

UAH had one final chance after Puskar elbowed Prince in the face, resulting in a power play for the final 32 seconds. The Chargers pulled Griggs for the extra attacker, but could not get the tying goal.

UAH visits St. Lawrence for a two-game set on November 2 and 3.

This one hurt.

UAH’s Massachusetts trip got to a rocky start, falling 9-1 to Bentley in Watertown, Mass. It was Bentley’s first ever win over the Chargers, who had won the previous seven meetings.

Not much to say about this one. Bentley only had a 33-27 shots on goal advantage, but the Falcons found all sorts of ways to beat John Griggs and CJ Groh.

Bentley got on the board first with a goal by Ben O’Brien at the 12:03 mark. Bentley made it 2-0 after Andrew Gladiuk punched in a rebound with 6.1 seconds left.

The first half of the second period was pretty even, but Ben Campanelli made it 3-0 Falcons at the 10:45 mark.

UAH’s lone goal came on the power play with 7:01 left in the second. Jeff Vanderlugt redirected a Graeme Strukoff shot from the point past Komm for his first goal of the season.

Bentley pulled away late in the second with goals by Joe Koudys and Ben Gensler 1:14 apart for a 5-1 lead.

Groh took over at goaltender to start the third. Bentley scored early, and then often, with four in the third for the final tally.

UAH heads to Springfield for a Saturday night tilt against American International College. Live stats and video will start at 6 p.m. CT.