St. Cloud State scored four times in the third period to break open a 1-1 tie and douse any thoughts of an upset to beat UAH 5-1 Friday in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

UAH (2-6-1) saw its winless streak extended to seven games. St. Cloud (3-2-0), ranked 10th in the national polls, won its third straight game.

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Game two of the non-conference series is Saturday at 7:07 p.m.

The Huskies blasted 53 shots on goal to just 16 for the Chargers. Despite this on goal disparity, UAH didn’t play bad for the first 40 minutes of the contest.

The Chargers had an excellent chance to strike first after back-to-back tripping and cross-checking calls against St. Cloud gave them a 2-man advantage. UAH managed some good looks, but only two shots on goal.

The Huskies got on the board first at the 8:09 mark. Jake Wahlin’s initial shot from the right circle was stopped by Jordan Uhelski, but the rebound came back to him and he would not miss on Uhelski’s glove side.

St. Cloud had a 16-8 shots on goal in the first period, but UAH had enough chances and possession to make it closer than that stat looks.

After the Chargers survived two more penalty kills to start the second period, UAH got its equalizer thanks to Josh Kestner. The junior stole the puck from Blake Winiecki, drove down the right side and blasted it past Jeff Smith.

Kestner’s second goal of the season came at the 7:51 mark, assisted by Hunter Anderson, who notched his first career UAH point.

The Huskies continued to fire away and keep Uhelski working, adding another 16 shots on goal in the second period. UAH only had five.

The game was decided early in the third period, as the blocks and saves by UAH turned into St. Cloud goals. The Chargers had a decent penalty kill after a John Teets hooking penalty in the first minute, but then the Huskies scored three goals on three shots in a span of 1:28.

SCSU took a 2-1 lead on a tip-in by Ryan Poehling that Uhelski had no chance with at 3:22. Then Judd Peterson made it 3-1 as he snuck in a rebound at 4:07. Then Patrick Newell tuned it to a 4-1 lead at 4:50.

The barrage continued as Winiecki made it 5-1 at 8:06. St. Cloud had 21 shots in the third period alone, while UAH had three.

Uhelski finished with 48 saves for the game.

Max McHugh scored twice, but the Chargers could not dig out of another early hole in a 5-2 loss to Lake Superior State at the Von Braun Center on Saturday.

UAH (2-5-1 overall, 2-3-1 WCHA) is now winless in its last six games, while the Lakers remained undefeated at 4-0-0 overall and 2-0-0 in WCHA play.

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The first crucial error was committed by the Lakers, and the Chargers’ leading scorer pounced. A turnover behind the net led to a loose puck in the slot, and Max McHugh was there to chip it over Lake Superior goaltender Gordon Defiel for a 1-0 UAH lead just one minute in.

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LSSU tied the game at the 8:50 mark on the power play following a Hans Gorowsky holding penalty. J.T. Henke’s shot from the left point bounced off UAH goalie Jordan Uhelski and left him staggered, and Anthony Nellis was there to put in the rebound.

With 4:06 left in the period, the Lakers took a 2-1 lead after a UAH turnover. It left Bryan Basilico with the puck, getting around a defender, and backhanding it past Uhelski.

Lake Superior padded the lead early in the second, when Mitch Hults beat Uhelski from the slot at 1:33.

Nellis scored his second goal of the game with 5:40 left in the second. He was all alone in front of Uhelski, receiving a Henke pass from the boards, dekeing Uhelski, beating him high, and making it 4-1 Lakers.

McHugh then got his second goal of the night on a power play early in the third to put the Chargers within striking distance. After Nellis tripped Brennan Saulnier, McHugh shot the puck from the goal line, ricocheting it off LSSU defenseman Aidan Wright and in. Saulnier and Jordan Larson got the assists.

While UAH was down 4-2, it became more difficult after Gorowsky checked Kris Bindulis hard from behind, earning Gorowsky a 5-minute major and game misconduct with 11:14 left in regulation.

The Chargers killed off the major power play, with Uhelski making five saves.

The Lakers sealed the game with 1:56 to go, as Diego Cuglietta deflected a pass while diving toward the net.

Lake Superior State outshot UAH 33-20 for the game, including a 15-9 margin in the third period with the help of the major power play. Uhelski finished with 28 saves while Defiel had 18 stops.

UAH heads to St. Cloud State for non-conference action next week. The Chargers return home in three weeks to face Alaska.

It hasn’t rained hardly any in Huntsville the past month. But so far this season for the Chargers, when it does rain, it certainly does pour. And coming home after three straight weekends on the road has not helped, at least not yet.

UAH lost to Lake Superior State by a score of 6-3 on Friday at the Von Braun Center in its home opener. After starting the season with two wins, the Chargers have lost four of their last five with a tie. In the four loses, UAH has been outscored 23-6.

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UAH fell to 2-2-1 in WCHA play, while it was the conference opener Lake Superior State (3-0-0 overall).

The Lakers, who scored 13 goals in a season-opening sweep over Michigan State at home, got back at it early in this one. Brayden Gelsinger beat UAH goaltender Matt Larose at a narrow angle, just in front of the goal line on the left side, at 1:03.

Lake Superior State made it 2-0 at 10:44 as Gage Torrel snuck the puck past Larose and a crowd of Chargers in front of the net, just after a Laker power play ended.

UAH got on the board early in the second period, as Brennan Saulnier from the left boards fed Josh Kestner in the high slot, and Kestner slapped the puck past Gordon Defiel at 3:34.

Then the Lakers unloaded with four goals in 7:27. Gelsinger got it started, skating his way around a couple of Chargers and scored high on Larose to make it 3-1.

LSSU would get another sneaker in with 6:58 left in the second, thanks to Diego Cuglietta, for a 4-1 lead.

Cuglietta struck gain with a shorthanded breakaway with 4:48 left. 5-1 Lakers. Then J.T. Henke scored with 1:41 left. 6-1 Lakers.

Jordan Uhelski came into the third period at goal for UAH, stopping all six shots he faced.

Jordan Larson scored his second goal of the season at 3:06 of the third to cut LSSU’s lead to 6-2. He was assisted by Matt Salhany, who won the faceoff in the right circle and passed to Larson in the slot.

Brandon Salerno’s backhander at the doorstep with 1:29 left made it 6-3, assisted by Josh Kestner and John Teets, who got his first UAH career point.

The Chargers had more offensive pressure in the third period, outshooting the Lakers 11-6. That evened the final shots count at 31 apiece.

UAH lost its home opener for the eighth consecutive season.

Game two of the series is Saturday at 7:07 p.m. at the Von Braun Center.

Three stars of the game:

1. Diego Cuglietta, LSSU (2 goals, 1 assist)
2. Brayden Gelsinger, LSSU (2 goals)
3. Josh Kestner, UAH (1 goal, 1 assist)

On the one hand, UAH played a lot better, particularly defensively. And, the Chargers finally earned a point in Houghton, which has been major trouble spot.

But Reid Sturros’s goal 31 seconds into the 3-on-3 second overtime gave Michigan Tech the extra point in the WCHA standings. It was the first official WCHA game to use the new overtime rules, which determine a winner for all league games.

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Technically, how the NCAA will considers it, UAH (2-3-1 overall, 2-1-1 WCHA) earned a 1-1 tie with Michigan Tech (1-4-1 overall, 1-2-1 WCHA). The Chargers were 0-11 overall and 0-7 in Houghton against the Huskies coming into the contest, and considering how bad things were with getting swept at Connecticut and the 7-3 loss to MTU on Friday, it’s still significant.

The Chargers certainly their best start in two weeks, even though the first period was scoreless. UAH outshot MTU by an 8-5 margin, and the Chargers didn’t commit the critical turnovers that had plagued them in the first periods of the last three games.

UAH’s best chance to score happened when Tech goaltender Devin Kero, who didn’t play Friday, misplayed a puck that went to Max McHugh, whose backhander hit the crossbar.

The five shots on net the Huskies got were solid, and Jordan Uhelski, making his first start ever between the pipes for UAH, made the stops.

Uhelski was really tested in the second period, as the Huskies had the pressure throughout most of the frame. Tech outshot UAH 12-4 for the second.

The action flowed both ways in the third, and finally it was the Huskies who broke through. Matt Roy’s blast from the right point beat Uhelski with 9:30 left in regulation broke the scoreless deadlock.

The question was how the Chargers would respond. They did not fold, and quickly answered with the equalizer 40 seconds later. Kurt Gosselin’s shot from the left side found the right side of the net, eluding Kero’s glove for this first goal of the season. Brandon Carlson and Max McHugh got the assists.

Uhelski then had to make some saves to keep things going beyond regulation, including stopping Jake Lucchini all alone in front with under seven minutes left.

Each team had great chances in the final minute. Matt Salhany had a partial break and a shot stopped by Kero. Then Brent Baltus had a chance for Michigan Tech, but his shot went over the crossbar.

The game then went to the normal overtime with the score tied 1-1. Most of the action was in the UAH end, but Uhelski and the Chargers survived to get the official tie.

Uhelski finished with 29 saves on 30 shots.

The Chargers finally play their home opening series against Lake Superior State on Oct. 21 and 22.

What seemed to be signs of turning the corner has become just trying to be competitive at this point.

UAH lost Michigan Tech 7-3 on Friday in Houghton, losing its three straight game after winning the first two of the season at Ferris State. The Chargers (2-3-0 overall, 2-1-0 WCHA) have been outscored 17-3 during the losing streak.

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Meanwhile, it was business as usual for the Huskies (1-4-0 overall, 1-2-0 WCHA) when they play the Chargers. They now lead the all-time series 11-0 with a 7-0 mark in Houghton.

It started innocent enough. The Huskies spent some time in the UAH end, then the Chargers asserted some offensive zone time.

Then it was all Michigan Tech.

At 8:20, Mark Auk’s shot from the point went through a heavy screen and found its way to the net for a 1-0 Huskies lead.

Just 15 seconds later, Dylan Steman sped down the right side. His inital shot was stopped by Larose, but Steman somehow snuck the rebound between him and the pipe. 2-0 Tech.

The Huskies commandeered the rest of the period, and made it 3-0 on the power play with 5:42 to go. A loose puck came to Shane Hanna in the slot, and he flung it over Larose’s left shoulder.

Michigan Tech ended up with a 17-4 shots on goal advantage after the opening frame, which has become a problem for UAH. The Chargers have allowed three, two, and three goals in the first period in each of the last three games, scoring none.

Second period wasn’t much better. Tech scored just 26 seconds in with the power play, with Jake Lucchini getting the goal as the puck trickled in off of Larose’s leg.

Then at the 7:01 mark, Chris Leibringer made it 5-0 Huskies. After allowing two goals on two shots to start the second, Larose was pulled for Jordan Uhelski.

Oddly enough, it was the Chargers who were getting more rubber on goal. They were able to get 15 on Tech goaltender Matt Wintjes in the second period. But he stopped them all.

Uhelski would stop six of seven Husky shots in the period. He allowed a Reid Sturros goal on the power play with 12:32 left for a 6-0 lead.

The Chargers would score three goals in the third, but the game was all but decided.

Brandon Salerno would finally get UAH on the board with his first college goal at 2:08 of the third. He was assisted by Brandon Parker and Jordan Larson.

Alex Smith added a goal for MTU in the third.

Max McHugh followed with a power play goal for UAH, his third of the season, with 5:27 left. Josh Kestner and Parker had the assists.

Larson tallied his first UAH career goal with 3:42 left, assisted by Cody Champagne and Matt Salhany for the final 7-3 score.

Michigan Tech out shot UAH 36-29. Larose made 14 saves, and Uhelski made 15 saves.

Game two of the series is Saturday at 6:07 p.m. Central Time.

An encouraging start gave way to a disappointing performance this weekend.

Connecticut completed a dominant two-game sweep of the Chargers on Saturday, beating UAH 4-0 at the XL Center in Hartford.

Coupled with its 6-0 win Friday, UConn (2-0-0) outscored the Chargers (2-2-0) by a 10-0 margin on the weekend. It was a big turnaround for UAH after its sweep of Ferris State to start the season last week.

UAH will need to regroup for next week’s road trip to Michigan Tech, where they will resume WCHA play.

Tage Thompson, who scored twice on Friday, struck again early after a UAH turnover at its own blue line. His wrister at 3:50 of the game put UConn up 1-0.

The Chargers did get two power plays in the first and had some of their best puck movement of the weekend, but could not find the net behind UConn goalie Rob Nichols.

However, with 1:08 left in the first, Spencer Naas put in a wide open rebound for a 2-0 Huskies lead.

UAH was in dire need of a goal, but at 8:47 of the second, put itself in a bind after Richard Buri called for a hitting-from-behind major penalty and a game misconduct — the second called against the Chargers on the weekend (Brennan Saulnier was sent off late in Friday’s game).

The Chargers were able to kill the penalties and were able to get some chances into the third period, but only the Huskies were able to convert.

Evan Richardson scored with 6:51 left to make it 3-0, and then Naas scored his second of the match with 3:39 to go.

The Huskies outshot the Chargers 32-23. Matt Larose made 28 saves for UAH, while UConn’s Rob Nichols stopped all 23 shots for his second straight shutout.

UAH’s power play could not help matters, going 0-for-5 on the night and 0-for-9 on the weekend. UConn went 0-for-2 after scoring three power play goals on Friday.

After heading to Michigan Tech next week, the Chargers finally have their home opening series Oct. 21-22 against Lake Superior State.

UAH allowed three power play goals in losing its first game of the season, a 6-0 shutout at Connecticut in Hartford on Friday night.

The Chargers (2-1-0) couldn’t overcome Tage Thompson and Max Letunov, the same pair who gave them fits in last season’s opening series in Huntsville. Thompson scored twice and Letunov had three assists for the Huskies in their season opener.

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UAH faced an uphill climb from the start, being kept in their own end for an extended period of time, and then committing back-to-back penalties: Cam Knight for hooking and Brent Fletcher for cross-checking.

Wyatt Newpower made it 1-0 UConn at 6:50 with the two-man advantage. UAH killed the other power play, but Thompson scored the Huskies’ second goal from the left point at 8:56, forcing Mike Corbett to call a the Chargers’ time out early.

UConn made it 3-0 on another power play goal on Karl El-Mir’s deflection past Matt Larose in the slot with :36 left in the first.

Connecticut took a 4-0 lead at 7:04 of the second on a four-on-four situation and a delayed penalty against UAH. Evan Richardson was the scorer.

UAH allowed its third power play of the game as Tage Thompson struck again to make it 5-0 at 9:47.

Larose was pulled after the second period, giving sophomore Jordan Uhelski his first official action as a Charger. Uhelski made eight saves in the third period.

UAH’s Brennan Saulnier got a major hitting from behind penalty and a game misconduct with 8:43 left in the 3rd.

Connecticut finished the scoring with 3:13 to go on a goal by Max Kalter.

UConn goalie Rob Nichols made 21 saves for the shutout. The Chargers were outshot 34-21.

Game two of the series is at 3 p.m. Central Time on Saturday.