Category Archives: Catching the Game

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UAH looking for complete game vs. Tide

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UAH (3-1-1 overall, 3-0-0 CHS D2) vs. Alabama (4-3-0 overall, 2-3-0 CHS D1)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Huntsville Ice Sports Center
Admission: $5 tickets, free for students and kids 12-under
Watch: LiveBarn.com

The UAH club hockey team is riding a 3-game winning streak coming into a home series with Alabama’s AAU Division 1 team at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center. But the Chargers feel like they have yet to reach their full potential.

The Chargers swept their first road series of the season two weeks ago, defeating Middle Tennessee State by scores of 13-7 and 7-5. The wins put UAH’s conference record at 3-0-0, and with six points the Chargers are tied with Vanderbilt for an early first-place position in College Hockey South Division 2 North.

The Watts brothers had a series for UAH. Keaton Watts had four goals, including a hat trick in the first game, en route to an eight point weekend. Kolton Watts also had four goals in his seven points. Both lead the Chargers with 12 points through five games on the season.

Josh Corrow also had a four-goal series against MTSU, with a hat trick in the opener.

UAH was able to score 20 goals in the series, but momentary lapses did lead to 12 goals allowed.

“Happy to get 4 big division points against MTSU,” said UAH head coach Tim Flynn. “We’re really working on playing a full 60 minutes at a high level, for whatever reason we haven’t been able to put together a full game yet this year. We’ve had our moments for sure, and when we’re good I think we can play with anyone but when we’re on our heels we can also struggle against anyone.”

SEASON STATS: UAH | ALABAMA

Alabama is 4-3-0 overall and 2-3-0 in College Hockey South’s Division 1. The Frozen Tide split its Iron Cup series last weekend in a pair of overtime games, winning the first game 5-4 before falling 6-5.

Max Savaloja is the offensive leader for Alabama, with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in seven games. He’s heating up, scoring two goals in the opener against Auburn and netting four helpers in the second game for a seven-point series.

“We’ve had a couple good weeks of practice and are excited to get back on the ice and compete against a very good Alabama team,” Flynn said. “We’re going to have some tough opponents over the last eight games of the semester, and we need to be more consistent. It doesn’t matter if we’re ahead or behind, sticking to our game plan and competing without getting too high or too low is going to be very important.”

After this weekend with Alabama, the Chargers resume CHS Division 2 North play with two games at home against Clemson. Then they head on the road to start November for a game at D1 Georgia and another conference game at Tennessee.

“The guys have put the work in at practice, so now we just need to execute it in a game situation,” Flynn said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good position out of the gate, but there’s a long way to go and we need to keep improving week in and week out.”

CHS Division 2 NorthPtsRecordOTLOverall
UAH63-0-003-1-1
Vanderbilt63-1-003-5-0
Clemson21-0-005-1-0
Ole Miss21-1-003-3-0
Middle Tennessee21-3-003-5-0
Georgia Tech21-4-001-5-0
Tennessee10-1-012-3-0
Two points are awarded for a win, one point is awarded for a tie or overtime loss (OTL). The top four teams qualify for the College Hockey South D2 Tournament in Huntsville in February.
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Chargers hit the road to battle Raiders

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UAH (1-1-1, 1-0-0 CHS) vs. Middle Tennessee (1-3-0, 1-1-0 CHS)
When: Friday, 8:45 p.m.; Saturday, 8:45 p.m.
Where: Ford Ice Center, Antioch, Tenn. (Map)
Watch: Penalty Box Radio (Facebook)

The UAH club hockey team heads up I-65 for the first road trip of the season this weekend against Middle Tennessee State.

The Chargers are fresh off their first win of the season, a 4-3 overtime victory at home against Tennessee to start College Hockey South play last Friday.

“Very proud of how this team battled throughout the game and found a way to get a win against a very good team,” UAH head coach Tim Flynn said. “I know it’s early in the season but these are two big points in the division that help us when it comes to the playoff race. We haven’t had a good first period yet this year, so that’s something we need to clean up.”

While Kolton Watts (3g-2a-5p), Keaton Watts (2g-2a-4p), and Henry Hoff (2g-3a-5p) have been powering the offense, it’s been goaltender Cameron Crawford busy keeping the Chargers in games. In two starts so far this season, Crawford has 113 saves, posting a .929 save percentage.

“Cameron Crawford kept us in it and let us get our legs under us, but that’s not going to be sustainable,” Flynn said. “We’ve talked about learning how to win, and I think we took a big step forward in that department. We were able to bend and not break defensively, again a lot of that credit goes to Crawford. We also had a few situations where, in the past, I feel like we would have taken penalties and negated an advantage but we kept our cool and were able to capitalize on our power play chances which ultimately was a deciding factor in getting us the win.”

Middle Tennessee split its first CHS series last weekend against fellow Nashville metro club Vanderbilt. The Blue Raiders lost the first game 5-1 before taking the second 6-3.

Donovan Yesnach has four goals and six points in four games to lead MTSU.

“We need to have a good start, that’s just something we need to figure out,” Flynn said. “MTSU is a team that is going to work hard for 60 minutes and I expect them to come out fast, and we need to be ready to match that intensity. They have good depth, and are very hard to play against. I mean that in the best way possible.”

The two teams split a pair of one-goal games in Huntsville last season, with UAH winning 5-4 and MTSU winning 9-8.

“There are no easy shifts against MTSU. We had two great back and forth games with them last year, and I expect two more this weekend,” Flynn said. “I’m excited to see how our guys handle the environment on the road. Again, these are four very important intra-division points, so we need to be focused and focus on winning shift to shift.”

CHS Division 2 NorthPtsRecordOTLOverall
UAH21-0-001-1-1
Ole Miss21-1-003-1-0
Vanderbilt21-1-001-4-0
Middle Tennessee21-1-001-3-0
Georgia Tech21-1-001-2-0
Tennessee10-1-010-3-0
Clemson00-0-002-1-0
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Chargers host Vols to start league play

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UAH (0-1-1, 0-0-0) vs. Tennessee (0-2-0, 0-0-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Huntsville Ice Sports Center
Admission: $5 for adults, free for students and kids 12 and under. Available at the door.
Watch: LiveBarn.com

The UAH club hockey team opens up College Hockey South conference play Friday night against Tennessee at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center.

The Chargers were off last week after opening the season with a 5-5 tie and 6-1 loss at home against Auburn. UAH held a 5-1 third-period lead in the opener.

“We knew Auburn was going to be a tough test,” UAH head coach Tim Flynn said. “On Friday, we didn’t love our first period, got out of it being down 1-0 and then really came out in the second period and played on our toes, drew some penalties and took advantage of our power play opportunities. We got a quick one in the third, and with a 5-1 lead, regardless of the opponent, you have to be able to close those games out. We talked about discipline, and just lost it in the third period.

“Give (Auburn) credit. They took advantage of their power plays and came all the way back. We weren’t happy that they tied it, but we responded well after that and battled hard to earn a point.

UAH captain Brady McDonald leads the team with three points so far, along with Henry Hoff, who heads the squad with two goals.

“There’s no moral victories, but like we talked in the preseason about how we need to learn how to win consistently at this level and now we’ve seen what it takes,” Flynn said. “We know we’re good enough. We just have to put together a complete 60 minutes.”

Tennessee started its season last weekend at Florida, falling 6-3 and 4-2. Connor Frazer lead the Ice Vols with three goals in the series, while Kyle Stober had two. The Ice Vols reached the CHS D2 tournament last season as the seventh seed.

“We’re looking forward to the opportunity in our first league games of the season against a good Tennessee squad,” Flynn said. “They work hard, have a lot of skill and ultimately they were a playoff team last year. We’re going to have to execute the game plan and do it for three full periods and see how we measure up.”

Fundraiser under way: The UAH club program has started its GoFundMe campaign for the season. The club team is a student organization that needs help cover costs and allow the program to grow.

Donate to UAH Club Hockey

College Hockey South Division 2 North standings:

DIVISIONOVERALL
PtsWLTWLT
Ole Miss2110110
Georgia Tech2110110
UAH0000011
Clemson0000010
Middle Tennessee0000020
Tennessee0000020
Vanderbilt0000030
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UAH returns to Lake State for WCHA quarterfinals

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UAH (3-16-1) vs. Lake Superior State (15-6-3)
WCHA Quarterfinals (best-of-3)
WHERE: Taffy Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
WHEN: Game 1, Friday, 6:07 p.m.; Game 2, Saturday, 4:07 p.m.; Game 3 (if necessary), Sunday, 4:07 p.m.
WATCH: FloHockey.tv (subscription)
TEAM STATS: UAH | Lake Superior State

The Chargers have seen a lot of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan this season.

In early December, they played Lake Superior State there in a non-conference series. Last month, UAH went back for a WCHA series with the Lakers.

This weekend, the Chargers head to the Soo for a third time this season, this time for the postseason. UAH and Lake State face off in the best-of-3 WCHA quarterfinals starting Friday night.

If the series goes three, the Chargers will have played as many games at Taffy Abel Arena as they have at Von Braun Center this season (seven).

UAH comes in as the seventh seed with a seven-game losing streak. The Lakers shot up the standings to snag the second seed by winning nine of their last 12 games and getting at least one point in 11 of their last 12.

The Chargers have played the Lakers tough, though, despite an 0-3-1 head-to-head record, all at Lake State.

The first matchup on December 5 saw UAH rally with goals from Adrian Danchenko and Tyrone Bronte to force a 2-2 draw. The Charger fell behind 2-0 again the next day, but scores from Brian Scoville and Frank Vitucci were not enough in a 3-2 loss.

To open the conference series in February, Bennett Stockdale put UAH up 1-0 in the second period, but the Lakers scored twice in the third, including the game-winner with nine seconds left, steal a victory. Quinn Green gave the Chargers the early lead in the second game, but Lake Superior scored four unanswered goals for the sweep.

In all four games, neither team had a solid shots on goal advantage except for the third game, in which LSSU outshot UAH 28-10 but needed that last-minute goal to win.

So an upset is not out of the question, but the Chargers, who have been shut out in three of their last four games, will have to get out of their scoring slump against one of the best goaltenders in the country. Mareks Mitens ranks eighth in Division I in goals against average (1.86) and sixth in save percentage (.934). UAH scored three goals against Mitens in his two complete games between the pipes.

Bronte continues to lead the Chargers in scoring as a freshman with 13 points, and he was named to the WCHA all-rookie team on Wednesday. He leads the conference among freshmen in points per game (0.65).

UAH will need yet another strong goaltending performance of its own. David Fessenden still has solid numbers with a .920 save percentage and 2.62 goals against in 14 starts. He stopped 31 of 33 shots in his last outing at Bemidji State on Saturday.

Lake Superior State’s offense is about average among WCHA teams, scoring 2.7 goals per game, but the Lakers have some dangerous strikers. Juniors Ashton Calder and Pete Veillete lead the team with 12 and 11 goals, respectively. Calder has a goal and Veillete has three assists against UAH this season.

The winners of the four quarterfinal series will meet next weekend at the rink of the highest remining seed for single-elimination semifinals and the WCHA championship game.

WCHA quarterfinal series. All times Central.

#7 UAH at #2 Lake Superior State
Game 1: Friday, 6:07 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, 4:07 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, 4:07 p.m.

#8 Ferris State at #1 Minnesota State
Game 1: Friday, 6:07 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, 4:07 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, 4:07 p.m.

#6 Northern Michigan at #3 Bowling Green
Game 1: Friday, 6:07 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, 6:07 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, 4:07 p.m.

#5 Michigan Tech at #4 Bemidji State
Game 1: Friday, 7:07 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, 6:07 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, 5:07 p.m.

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UAH, Bemidji battle to end regular season

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UAH (3-14-1, 3-9-0 WCHA) vs. Bemidji State (11-8-3, 6-5-1 WCHA)
WHERE: Sanford Center, Bemidji, Minn.
WHEN: Saturday, 4:07 p.m.; Sunday, 2:07 p.m.
WATCH: FloHockey.tv (subscription)

The UAH Chargers and Bemidji State Beavers have battled each other almost every year for almost 27 years, but this could be the last meeting between the longtime rivals for a while.

Next season, Bemidji State will be in the new CCHA. UAH’s future has yet to be determined.

The rivalry began with the 1994 NCAA Division II championship in Huntsville. The teams would meet four times in five years for the national title, each winning two championships. UAH and BSU would continue meeting as they moved into Division I, becoming members of College Hockey America in 1999 and staying through the men’s league’s end in 2010. The teams met four times while UAH was an independent, and then UAH joined Bemidji State in the WCHA in 2013.

The schools have played each other 92 times, with the Beavers holding a 55-32-5 advantage in the all-time series.

This weekend’s affair will not affect UAH’s seeding in the WCHA playoffs. Locked into seventh place, the Chargers will try to get some momentum into the postseason after being swept by Bowling Green last week and losing nine of their last 10.

The Beavers, ranked 17th in the latest USCHO.com poll, are playing for home ice in the quarterfinals. They are in sixth place but could finish as high as fourth.

A bunch of busy Beavers, Bemidji State is playing six games in 11 days to close the regular season. They split a home-and-home series with Minnesota State last weekend and split with Lake Superior in Bemidji on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Senior Zach Driscoll has put together another solid year between the pipes for Bemidji State, posting a 2.52 goals against average and a .919 save percentage, starting in all but one of BSU’s 22 games this season.

The Beavers have experienced forwards in seniors Ethan Somoza (11 goals) and Brendan Harris (16 points) and junior Alex Ierullo (19 points). Junior Owen Sillinger had nine goals but has missed BSU’s last seven games with an injury suffered against Northern Michigan on February 12.

This week in the WCHA: All times Central.

Friday, March 5
#19 Michigan Tech at #4 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.

Saturday, March 6
UAH at #17 Bemidji State, 4:07 p.m.
Ferris State at #20 Lake Superior State, 2:07 p.m.
#19 Michigan Tech at #4 Minnesota State, 6:07 p.m.

Sunday, March 7
UAH at #17 Bemidji State, 2:07 p.m.

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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.

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.

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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.

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Chargers prepare for third-ranked Minnesota State

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Minnesota State (11-2-1, 8-0-0 WCHA) at UAH (2-7-1, 2-2-0 WCHA)
WHERE: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Ala. (COVID-19 policies)
WHEN: Thursday, 7:07 p.m.; Friday, 7:07 p.m.
WATCH: FloHockey.tv (subscription)
LISTEN: Penalty Box Radio

Minnesota State’s hockey program has been a force in the WCHA, winning the MacNaughton Cup as regular-season champions five of the last six years. The Mavericks are rolling again this season, holding a three-game lead atop the league standings and a No. 3 national ranking in the polls.

MSU has been just about everything the UAH hockey program aspires to be in its rebuild. For now, however, the Mavericks has been the bane of the Chargers’ existence: UAH is winless in the last 34 meetings (0-30-4), last claiming victory in 2002.

So the freshman-heavy Chargers will be decided underdogs yet again, but go for the upset they will when they host the Mavericks at the Von Braun Center on Thursday and Friday nights.

“It’s going to be an extreme challenge,” UAH head coach Lance West said. “People who’ll want to watch the game are going to get to come watch one of the best teams in the country and some of the best players out there. It’s an exciting challenge for our guys. It’s one of the things that when you decide to come play in Division I, you’re excited for a challenge against a team like that. That’s the way we’ve approached it all week.

“You don’t have to talk about it a lot, but what you talk about is the opportunity and the challenge. You want guys to face it head on. You can’t be beat mentally before you go into the game.”

Most hockey upsets start with an outstanding goaltending performance, and UAH will look again to David Fessenden to fill that need. Fessenden has kept the Chargers in most games this season with his .931 save percentage. He had 36 saves in the opener against Michigan Tech last Friday.

“One of the big factors (for Fessenden) has been (assistant coach) Carmine Guerriero,” West said. “He’s been able to really work with him on an individual basis, on skills, composure, knowing when David is too active, showing him things that maybe a guy who played forward like me just doesn’t see. He’s been really good for David and David has responded well and calm. And when he’s calm, he’s big, athletic, and can make saves.”

Goaltending might be the relatively easy part. The Chargers will still have to find a way to score on Dryden McKay, who has been a fortress against just about everyone. The junior has more shutouts (7) than not (5) in 12 starts this season, leading Division I in goals against average (0.84) and save percentage (.959). McKay held the WCHA’s leading offense, Bowling Green, to just one goal in two games last week.

UAH must do better than in last weekend’s series against Michigan Tech, when the Chargers played in a tight game the first two periods but were outplayed in the third each night.

“Friday, we just got beat,” West said. “I still didn’t think we played the type of game we need to play. We’d been off for a month and I just don’t think I got them prepared well enough for in that week for the pace they were going to see, which we’ve tried to adjust this week.

“Saturday, we played a much better game, but again in the third period they turned it up a notch, we made a mistake, and they’re good enough to capitalize. Come third period, you know you have to be better. You know in tight games in college hockey, even with us this year, you have to be the team that can’t take a break.”

Tyrone Bronte, who has nine points in 10 games, Bauer Neudecker, who got a goal and an assist last week, and Tyr Thompson, who is tied with Bronte and Neudecker with three goals this season, have been the leaders of the Charger offense.

The Mavericks are led by junior Julian Napravnik and sophomore Cade Borchardt, both with six goals and 16 points. Reggie Lutz (seven goals) and Dallas Gerads (five) lead a experienced group with eight seniors in the regular lineup. Winnipeg Jets prospect Nathan Smith has 13 assists.

The Chargers will need to be up for the challenge, not only against Mavericks but the road ahead.

Next week, the Chargers will play four games in five days in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They will make up a series with Northern Michigan on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading to Lake Superior State on Friday and Saturday.

“There wasn’t a lot of people expecting a lot from us, but we expect a lot from ourselves, and that’s been the message from day one,” West said. “We’ve got to get our practice habits better so we’re more consistent, but come game time these guys have laid it on the line. I’m proud of them as I am excited about anything, because they have bought in.”

This week in the WCHA: All times Central.

Thursday, February 11
#3 Minnesota State at UAH, 7:07 p.m.

Friday, February 12
#3 Minnesota State at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
Lake Superior State at #12 Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at #18 Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
Ferris State at Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.*

Saturday, February 13
Lake Superior State at #12 Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at #18 Bemidji State, 6:07 p.m.
Ferris State at Michigan Tech, 5:07 p.m.*

Tuesday, February 16
UAH at Northern Michigan, 3:37 p.m.

Wednesday, February 17
UAH at Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.

*Non-conference game.

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Chargers ready to resume season against Michigan Tech

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Michigan Tech (9-5-1, 3-2-0 WCHA) at UAH (2-5-1, 2-2-0 WCHA)
WHERE: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Ala. (COVID-19 policies)
WHEN: Friday, 7:07 p.m.; Saturday, 5:07 p.m.
WATCH: FloHockey.tv (subscription)
LISTEN: Penalty Box Radio

After three weeks off and a 10-day pause because of COVID-19 issues, the Chargers can finally resume the season at home in a non-conference series against Michigan Tech.

UAH has not played since January 9, when the Chargers finished off a sweep of Ferris State at the Von Braun Center for their first wins of the season.

“We only had six skaters for the whole week (during the pause),” UAH head coach Lance West said. “We’ve had one week of practice where we’ve started to have everybody back.”

West said the full roster save for one injured player should be available this weekend.

The Chargers did have one roster move during the layoff, adding freshman defenseman Josh Martin. Martin is a transfer from Alaska Anchorage, which opted out of playing this season because of the pandemic and is fighting to save its program.

As such, Martin is awaiting his college hockey debut. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Michigan native spent the last three years with Lone Star of the NAHL, scoring 15 points (three goals and 12 assists) in 49 games as an alternate captain last season.

“Martin’s a big kid who competes hard and battles,” West said. “He’s has a really good work ethic in practice,” showing similar traits to fellow freshman defenders Ayo Adeniye and Brian Scoville.

Michigan Tech ran into trouble last week at eighth-ranked Bowling Green, falling 6-3 and 5-2. Coming into the series, the Huskies had a seven-game winning streak, which included a sweep of the Chargers in Houghton. The Huskies rebounded Tuesday with a 6-4 victory at Ferris State.

The Chargers will need to score more than the single goal they managed in the series at Tech back on January 2-3, when the Huskies won 4-0 and 2-1.

“We know how hard it is to get goals against quality teams in this league,” West said. “You cannot take a night off and expect to win.”

Trenton Bliss and Alec Broetzman continue to lead the Huskies in scoring this season. Bliss, with six goals, is averaging a point a game through 13 contests. Broetzman has five goals and 10 points, including three points at Bowling Green despite the losses.

Blake Pietila has been Tech’s No. 1 between the pipes with 10 starts, with former Charger Mark Sinclair as backup. Pietila has a 1.60 goals against average and .948 save percentage.

Since leading the Huskies to a win over UAH, Sinclair shut out Northern Michigan in his next start but lasted just under 10 minutes in the first game against Bowling Green last week. Still, he has a 2.57 goals against and .902 save percentage this season.

Bronte nominated for Hobey: Forward Tyrone Bronte is UAH’s nomination for the Hobey Baker Award.

The freshman from Melbourne, Australia leads the Chargers with seven points in his first eight games, scoring three power-play goals.

“Though he’s only had the chance to play eight games, Tyrone has shown that he has a strong hockey IQ,” West said.

The fan voting phase has begun at hobeybaker.com/vote and runs through March 8.

This week in the WCHA: All times Central.

Friday, February 5
Michigan Tech at UAH, 7:07 p.m.*
#18 Bemidji State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
#8 Bowling Green at #6 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.

Saturday, February 6
Michigan Tech at UAH, 5:07 p.m.*
Northern Michigan at Lake Superior State, 4:07 p.m.
#18 Bemidji State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
#8 Bowling Green at #6 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.

Sunday, February 7
Northern Michigan at Lake Superior State, 2:07 p.m.

Tuesday, February 9
Michigan Tech at Ferris State, 3:07 p.m.

*Non-conference game.