Author Archives: Michael Napier

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UAH faces Falcons in home-and-home

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UAH (3-12-1, 3-7-0 WCHA) vs. Bowling Green (17-8-1, 6-5-1)
WHERE: Wednesday, Slater Family Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio; Sunday, Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Ala.
WHEN: Wednesday, 6:07 p.m.; Sunday, 3:07 p.m.
WATCH: FloHockey.tv (subscription)
LISTEN: Penalty Box Radio (Sunday)

UAH has an actual home-and-home series. Only in this strange season could it happen.

The Chargers play Bowling Green this week, with the first game in Ohio on Wednesday night and the second game in Huntsville on Sunday afternoon. Because UAH is not very close to any other NCAA program, having a home-and-home series isn’t practical. Then again, this season, shortened and shaken-up by COVID-19, has been anything but practical.

Wednesday’s game at Bowling Green is the third and final stop on UAH’s long road trip. The Chargers headed to Ohio directly from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where they visited Northern Michigan and Lake Superior last week.

Sunday is likely UAH’s final home game of the season, and the final game at the Von Braun Center for seniors Connor Merkley and Connor Wood.

The Chargers are coming off a series at Lake Superior State that they would like to have back. They held a 1-0 lead in both games, with the Lakers rallying for a 2-1 win on Friday (scoring the game-winning goal with 9.2 seconds left in regulation) and a 4-1 win on Saturday.

Bowling Green is ranked 13th in this week’s USCHO.com poll and 14th in the USA Today/USA Hockey coaches poll. The Falcons had been in a rut in recent weeks, as their 6-2 win on Sunday snapped a five-game winless streak. They come into their final regular-season series in second place in the WCHA standings, nine points behind Minnesota State.

The Falcons have one of the top offenses in the WCHA, led by three senior forwards: Vegas Golden Knights prospect Brandon Kruse (10 goals, 19 assists, 29 points), Cameron Wright (12-14-26), and Connor Ford (12-12-24).

Goaltending has also been strong for Bowling Green. Senior Eric Dop (2.24 goals against, .924 save percentage) has been the No. 1, starting the last four games and 17 overall, but sophomore Zack Rose has been posting good numbers as well (1.86, .914).

Bronte named league’s top rookie again: Tyrone Bronte earned his third WCHA rookie of the week award on Monday.

The freshman from Melbourne, Australia had three points in the Chargers’ four games last week. He scored a goal and an assist at Northern Michigan and had another assist at Lake Superior State.

Bronte’s 13 points leads the Chargers and is second in the WCHA for freshman. He leads the league and is 11th nationally among freshmen in points per game (0.81).

Bemidji series pushed a day: The Chargers’ final regular-season series at Bemidji State next weekend has been moved back a day. The games are now scheduled for Saturday, March 6 at 4 p.m. and Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m.

The series was originally scheduled for January 15-16, but was postponed to March because of COVID-19 protocols.

This week in the WCHA: All times Central.

Tuesday, February 23
#18 Lake Superior State at #20 Michigan Tech, 1:07 p.m.

Wednesday, February 24
UAH at #13 Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.

Thursday, February 25
#19 Bemidji State at #3 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.

Friday, February 26
#18 Lake Superior State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at #20 Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.

Saturday, February 27
#20 Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan, 5:07 p.m.
#3 Minnesota State at #19 Bemidji State, 6:07 p.m.

Sunday, February 28
#13 Bowling Green at UAH, 3:07 p.m.

Tuesday, March 2
#18 Lake Superior State at #19 Bemidji State, 6:07 p.m.

Wednesday, March 3
#18 Lake Superior State at #19 Bemidji State, 4:07 p.m.

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Lakers top Chargers 4-1

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UAH took the early lead again, but Lake Superior State scored four unanswered goals to take a 4-1 victory Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

The Chargers (3-12-1 overall, 3-7-0 WCHA) took a 1-0 lead with their first power-play goal since January 9. Quinn Green appeared to deflect Dayne Finnson’s snipe from the left circle for his third goal of the season at the 5:33 mark. (Finnson was credited with the goal as of publish time.)

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Tyrone Bronte got his team-leading ninth assist on the goal, which ended a 0-for-17 streak for the UAH power play.

Lake Superior State (12-4-3, 6-3-0) tied the game with a seeing-eye goal with 9:18 left in the first. Mitch Oliver’s shot from the right point went through all sorts of traffic and David Fessenden could not see it.

Hampus Erikkson put the Lakers up 2-1 with a singular effort. He circled around the UAH zone to the left side and beat Fessenden high from the circle at 4:16 of the second period.

Three minutes later, Lake Superior went up 3-1 when Louis Boudon slipped the puck between the pipe and Fessenden’s extended right pad right after a power play expired.

Brandon Puricelli just about sealed the deal with a steal and a breakaway, tucking the puck past Fessenden with a back-hander for a 4-1 Laker lead early in the third.

Fessenden finished with 17 saves on 21 Laker shots. UAH put 20 shots on freshman goaltender Ethan Langenegger, who stopped 19 of them.

UAH’s next stop on this week-long road trip is Bowling Green, Ohio, to face the Falcons on Wednesday in the first part of a home-and-home series. The Chargers host Bowling Green next Sunday in their home season finale.

Lakers sting Chargers with 9 seconds left

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Lake Superior State scored two third-period goals, including the game-winner with 9.2 seconds remaining, to beat UAH 2-1 on Friday night in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

UAH (3-11-1 overall, 3-6-0 WCHA) held a 1-0 lead after two periods thanks to more strong goaltending by David Fessenden (26 saves) and a goal by Bennett Stockdale.

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Stockdale drove along the goal line made a move around a defender and slipped the puck through Mareks Mitens’s five-hole for his second goal of the season.

Defensemen Josh Martin and Drew Lennon got the assists. It was the first collegiate point for Martin, who joined the Chargers last month.

Lake Superior (11-4-3, 5-3-0) got a 4-on-4 goal by Jacob Nordqvist with 9:45 remaining. Norqvist scored on a rebound at point-blank range following Hampus Eriksson’s shot.

The 20th-ranked Lakers went on the power play after a slashing penalty was called on Connor Wood with 21.8 seconds left in the third period. Will Riedell then scored with 9.2 remaining with a blast up the middle.

The Lakers outshot the Chargers, 28-10. Almost half of the Lakers’ shots came in the first period as the Chargers started closing shooting lanes in the second period.

Game two of the series is Saturday at 4:07 p.m. Central Time.

UAH to finish trip at Lake State

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UAH (3-10-1, 3-5-0 WCHA) at Lake Superior State (10-4-3, 4-3-0 WCHA)
WHERE: Taffy Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
WHEN: Friday, 6:07 p.m.; Saturday, 4:07 p.m.
WATCH: FloHockey.tv (subscription)

The Chargers continue their tour of the Upper Peninsula this weekend with a return trip to Lake Superior State.

UAH is coming off an up-and-down series at Northern Michigan, grinding out a 3-1 win on Tuesday before being grounded in an 8-2 loss on Wednesday.

The Lakers, winners in their last three games, are ranked 20th in this week’s USCHO.com poll. They won at Michigan Tech 3-1 on Tuesday after an impressive sweep at Bowling Green last weekend.

UAH and LSSU currently sit fifth and sixth in the WCHA standings. The Lakers have 11 points in seven league games while the Chargers have eight points in eight games.

The Chargers and Lakers met in Sault Ste. Marie in a non-conferernce series back on December 5-6. The teams tied 2-2 before Lake State took the finale, 3-2.

LSSU is led by junior Ashton Calder, who has 18 points in 17 games, with an even split of nine goals and nine assists. Pete Veillette has been hot as of late, with five of his 13 points and three of his seven goals coming in his last four games.

The Lakers have two senior defensemen who have double-digit points. William Riedell has 12 points with nine assists. Lukas Kaelble had three of his team-leading 10 assists against the Chargers in December.

Mareks Mitens is the Lakers’ No. 1 between the pipes, sporting a 1.79 goals against average and .939 save percentage with a shutout. He stopped 23 of 25 UAH shots in the tie in the first meeting.

Next week, UAH has a home-and-home series with Bowling Green. The Chargers visit Ohio on Wednesday and host the Falcons next Sunday.

WCHA postseason format unveiled: All eight participating WCHA teams will play in the conference’s final postseason.

The top four teams will host a best-of-3 quarterfinal series on March 12-14. The highest remaining seed will host single-game semifinals on March 19 and the championship game on March 20.

The winner of the tournament will get the WCHA’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

This week in the WCHA: All time Central.

Friday, February 19
UAH at #20 Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m.
Bemidji State at Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Minnesota State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.*

Saturday, February 20
UAH at #20 Lake Superior State, 4:07 p.m.
Bowling Green at Northern Michigan, 5:07 p.m.
Bemidji State at Michigan Tech, 5:07 p.m.
Minnesota State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.

Sunday, February 21
Bowling Green at Norhtern Michigan, 3:07 p.m.

Tuesday, February 23
Lake Superior State at Michigan Tech, 1:07 p.m.

*Non-conference game.

Chargers drop series finale to NMU

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Northern Michigan got revenge in a big way Wednesday, trouncing the Chargers 8-2 to split the mid-week series in Marquette, Michigan.

After falling 3-1 to UAH on Tuesday, the Wildcats scored four times in the first period and never looked back. NMU added two goals in both the second and third periods and outshout UAH 29-20.

UAH’s first goal came in the second period. Bauer Neudecker’s fifth goal of the season came with a feeder from Tyrone Bronte, who notched his eighth assist of the year.

The second goal was with 1:47 left in the contest. Quinn Green’s wrister from the right dot was his second goal of the season.

Derek Krall (21 saves) got the start in net as the Chargers (3-10-1 overall, 3-5-0 WCHA) rested David Fessenden during this span of four games in five days. Fessenden was hurt late in Tuesday’s win.

NMU improved to 8-12-0 overall and 6-4-0 in WCHA play.

The Chargers next head to Lake Superior State for games Friday and Saturday to finish the road trip.

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UAH motors way to 3-1 win at NMU

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What does the fox say? An odd question to ask regarding a hockey game, but in a weirdly scheduled game in a weirdly scheduled season, apparently the fox says “victory.”

The Chargers, having to wear jerseys with the emblem of Fox Motors, a local car dealership, snapped a 29-game road winless streak Tuesday afternoon with a 3-1 victory over Northern Michigan at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich.

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UAH’s blue road jerseys did not make the trip, and with the winter storm battering a swath through the Midwest, they could not be shipped in time. So the Chargers wore basic white jerseys with the Fox Motors logo along with their regular blue helmets and pants.

The one thing that could be considered normal was the play of UAH goaltender David Fessenden, who stopped 35 of 36 shots. The sophomore returned to action after being scratched in the Chargers’ last game against Minnesota State on Friday.

Fessenden’s status is up in the air again, however. Fessenden had to be helped off the ice with 2:22 remaining in the third period. Inexplicably, Fessenden received a delay of game penalty.

Derek Krall filled in the rest of the game, making one save as the Chargers killed the penalty and finished the victory.

David Fessenden
David Fessenden wears the borrowed Fox Motors jersey. (Photo by Shannon Stieg)

UAH (3-9-1 overall, 3-4-0 WCHA) won its third game of the year, surpassing last season’s mark.

The series finale is Wednesday night at 6:07 p.m. The Chargers travel to Lake Superior State for games Friday and Saturday.

The Wildcats (7-12-0 overall, 5-4-0 WCHA) had come in winners of five of their last six, but it was the Chargers who put the squeeze on them through most of two periods.

To start the scoring, Tyrone Bronte drove to the net, crossed to goaltender Rico DiMatteo’s right and delivered a nice back-hander over the pad for a 1-0 Chargers lead 4:32 in.

UAH took a 2-0 lead early in the second period when Adrian Danchenko followed up Ben Allen’s shot with a pop-in rebound from the slot.

The Chargers had their first three-goal lead of the season with 4:14 remaining in the second. Connor Wood, on a 2-on-1 fresh out of the penalty box, centered a pass to Bauer Neudecker, who ripped the puck past DiMatteo for his fourth goal of the season.

DiMatteo made 13 saves as the Wildcats lost for this first time in four starts for the freshman.

NMU’s top line would not be denied, however. Andre Ghantous, assisted by Joseph Nardi, beat a sprawling Fessenden to cut UAH’s lead to 3-1 with 2:53 remaining in the second.

No goals were scored in the third period, even though Northern Michigan dominated possession. The Wildcats outshot the Chargers 16-2 in the final frame and 37-16 for the game.

Part of the reason for the shots advantage was the faceoff advantage. NMU won that battle by a decisive 47-23 margin.

But Fessenden would come up big yet again, making use of his large frame and quick glove to keep the Wildcats out of the net.

UAH had not won a road game since March 1, 2019 at Bowling Green. The Chargers had gone 0-24-5 on the road since.

Technically, UAH played as the home team. This series was originally scheduled for January 22 and 23 in Huntsville but COVID-19 issues with the Chargers forced a postponement.

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Busy week starts at Northern Michigan

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UAH (2-9-1, 2-4-0 WCHA) at Northern Michigan (7-11-0, 5-3-0 WCHA)
WHERE: Berry Events Center, Marquette, Mich.
WHEN: Tuesday, 3:37 p.m.; Wednesday, 6:07 p.m.
WATCH: FloHockey.tv (subscription)

The Chargers’ stamina will be tested this week.

Not long after a tough series against one of the nation’s top teams, the Chargers head north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to play four WCHA games in five days.

UAH’s first stop is Northern Michigan for games Tuesday afternoon (a multi-faceted rarity in itself) and Wednesday night. The series was originally scheduled for January 22 and 23 in Huntsville but COVID-19 issues with the Chargers forced a postponement.

With the Chargers already scheduled to play at Lake Superior State this Friday and Saturday and no weekend dates available at the VBC, the WCHA shifted the series to NMU instead.

UAH is coming off a rough weekend at home against No. 3 Minnesota State, losing 4-1 and 5-0. The Chargers played hard, but like most everyone else in the WCHA, are currently no match for the talent and experience of the Mavericks.

The Chargers will try to fare better against a Northern Michigan team that is finding its groove. After a surprising 2-10-0 start, the Wildcats have won five of their last six — all conference games — to shoot up to third place in the WCHA standings.

Last weekend, NMU swept a series at Bemidji State, which was on a roll of its own, by scores of 5-1 and 3-2 in overtime.

The Wildcats have kicked up their offense a notch, scoring 26 goals in their six-game run. The top line of Griffin Loughran (3 goals, 7 points), Joseph Nardi (6 goals, 12 points), and Andre Ghantous (14 points) has been especially lethal in that span, although Loughran missed last week’s series due to injury. AJ Vanderbeck leads the squad with 10 goals, with five coming in the last six games.

The Wildcats’ top goalie, Nolan Kent, has missed the last three games and is out for the rest of the season. In his place has been freshman Rico DiMatteo, the fourth goaltender NMU has played this season, and NMU has won all three.

For the Chargers, top goalie David Fessenden made 29 saves against Minnesota State on Thursday before getting hurt and leaving early in the third period. He did not dress in Friday’s series finale. Derek Krall, who made 31 saves Friday, will likely start if Fessenden can’t go.

It’s been a while since the Chargers have played four games in five days. The last times occurred during their trips to Alaska from 1989-91, where they would play two games in either Anchorage or Fairbanks, take a day off to travel to the other place and then play two more.

Mavericks keep rolling against young Chargers

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The distance between the young Chargers and experienced Mavericks was reaffirmed Friday night, as third-ranked Minnesota State handily defeated UAH again 5-0.

UAH’s winless streak against Minnesota State stands at 36 games (0-32-4) dating back to 2002, and barring a meeting in the WCHA playoffs, this could be the last game between UAH and Minnesota State for a while. MSU joins the CCHA next season, while UAH is still looking for a conference home.

UAH supporters can hope that one day, when the program regains solid footing, the Chargers will match up with the Mavericks again and finally put the streak to rest.

But for now, tough lessons were learned against the undisputed best team in the WCHA, although like in Thursday’s 4-1 loss the Chargers (2-9-1 overall, 2-4-0 WCHA) it would not easily go away in the first period.

The Mavericks (13-2-1, 10-0-0) scored first right after a power play expired. Dallas Gerads put in a rebound from the slot with 7:05 left, the only tally of the frame.

Minnesota State, also akin to Thursday’s game, put the game away in the second period with four goals, including two on the power play.

With 15:34 remaining in the third period, UAH finally got its first power play of the series. The Chargers failed to convert, while MSU finished 4-for-10 with the advantage in the two games.

Minnesota State goaltender Dryden McKay earned his eighth shutout in 14 starts this season, stopping all 16 UAH shots.

Derek Krall made his fourth start of the season for UAH, making 31 saves. David Fessenden, who left early in the third period of Thursday’s game, was scratched.

UAH next faces a busy week with four games in five days in Michigan. The Chargers play at Northern Michigan to make up a postponed series on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading to Lake Superior State on Friday and Saturday.

The Chargers have one home game remaining, against Bowling Green on February 28.

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Mavericks shut down upset-minded Chargers

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For a period at least, there were thoughts of an upset.

But Minnesota State did what a third-ranked team should do, scoring three goals in the second period en route to a 4-1 win over the Chargers at the Von Braun Center on Thursday night.

UAH (2-8-1 overall, 2-3-0 WCHA) struck first 3:32 into the contest when Quinn Green, taking a feed from the rigth wing Bauer Neudecker, beat superstar goaltender Dryden McKay from the high slot.

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Tyrone Bronte extended his point-scoring streak to five games with the secondary assist on Green’s first collegiate goal.

After that, it was all Mavericks, who outshot the Chargers 46-10.

Minnesota State (12-2-1 overall, 9-0-0 WCHA) had tied the game with 7:18 left, but after a long video review officials determined that Brendan Furry’s stick was above the crossbar.

The Mavericks started the second period on a blistering pace and tied the game up on a power play. Andy Carroll back-handed in a rebound with goaltender David Fessenden down at 4:31 to go.

MSU took a 2-1 lead just over a minute later when Walker Duehr’s deflection in front handcuffed Fessenden. With 7:18 remaining, Cade Borchardt’s one-timer made it 3-1.

It was all Fessenden could do while being bombarded. The Mavericks put up 20 shots on goal in the second period alone.

UAH defenders were handling all they could as well, blocking 10 shots in the second period and 24 for the game.

Ayodele Adeniye led the Chargers with six blocked shots. During the power play when the Mavericks scored their second goal, Adeniye blocked two hard shots from the right slot. The first occurred while a Maverick player was falling on him. Adeniye got up with a limp before sliding to block the second. He skated gingerly off the ice but returned after being tended to.

Fessenden left the game hurt early in the third period and finished with 29 saves. Derek Krall, who started the Chargers’ second game against Michigan Tech last week, stopped 13 of 14 shots the rest of the way.

Dallas Gerads added a third-period power-play goal for the final 4-1 score. Meanwhile, UAH did not get any power plays.

Game two of the series is Friday night at 7:07 p.m.