The search for answers continue as the Chargers lose 5-0 on Saturday at Omaha.
UAH has lost four straight to start the season, scoring only three goals. The Mavericks improved to 2-0.
The Chargers have their home opening series in two weeks against Minnesota State.
The Chargers came out with a little extra pep as they tried to turn things around. However, UAH couldn’t turn many of there chances to shots on net, getting only three in the opening frame.
For the fourth straight game, UAH allowed an early goal. Joey Abate’s shot from the right circle deflected off Charger goaltender David Fessenden’s blocker and in for a 1-0 Omaha lead at the 7:13 mark.
UNO extended its lead to 2-0 on the power play. Jack Jeffers was called for cross-checking with 8:01 left in the second, and Ryan Jones scored on a blast from downtown just eight seconds later.
The Mavericks made it 3-0 when Zach Jordan drove to the net and followed up on a short rebound off Fessenden with 3:39 remaining in the second.
Chayse Primeau and Jordan scored in the third period for the final 5-0 score.
UAH has trailed in all but 14:35 this season, and all of that was with the score 0-0. The Chargers have allowed at least one goal in all 12 periods this season.
Omaha scored five power play goals — four in one major power play — to roll over UAH 6-1 on Friday at Baxter Arena in Omaha.
The Chargers (0-3) continued to struggle on offensive, getting only one goal for the third straight game to start the season. They had 15 shots on goal, most of them coming in the second half of the third period.
Omaha (1-0) went 5-for-8 on the power play.
Game two is Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
UAH put themselves in a hole early on a costly error at the 4:32 mark in the first.
Goaltender Mark Sinclair’s pass from behind the net led to a turnover to Tristan Keck. Keck sent the puck in front to Josh Boyer in the slot, who beat Sinclair getting back into position.
Tanner Hickey was called for tripping 18 seconds later, and UNO capitalized on the power play for a 2-0 lead. Teemu Pulkkinen deflected a pass from Taylor Ward on Sinclair’s left doorstep at 6:31.
The game fell apart late in the second. Jack Jeffers was called for a five-minute boarding penalty, and UNO responded with four goals on the major power play: two in the final minute of the period, then two more in the first 3:30 of the third.
UAH got its own major power play halfway through the third period after Tyler Weiss made head contact with Christian Rajic. Weiss got five minutes and a game misconduct.
Tanner Hickey broke UNO’s shutout bid in that power play with a one-timer from the left point for this first UAH goal. Connor James and Bauer Neudecker got the assists.
Sinclair finished with 29 saves and allowed all six goals. UNO freshman goaltender Isaiah Saville made 14 saves.
The Chargers struggled to only two goals in their season-opening series at UMass Lowell. UAH lost 5-1 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday while being outshot 74-32 over the two games.
UAH, working on being more aggressive on offense, will take some lessons learned to Omaha this weekend against the NCHC’s Mavericks.
Christian Rajic and Tyr Thompson scored the two goals for UAH. Jack Jeffers had assists on both of them. Josh Latta also helped on Thompson’s goal on Sunday for his first college point.
Freshman goaltender David Fessenden had a good collegiate debut in Sunday’s game, making 37 saves. Mark Sinclair started Saturday’s opener.
About the Mavericks: Omaha won only five games in the powerful NCHC last season, finishing last. The Mavericks were 9-24-3 overall.
UNO will be starting its regular season against the Chargers this weekend after a 3-3 tie against Manitoba in exhibition play on Monday.
Like the Chargers (and UMass Lowell last week), the Mavericks have a ton of freshmen on the roster — 12 to be exact, including all three goaltenders. UNO is picked to finish seventh in the NCHC this season.
Top returning players include sophomore Taylor Ward, last season’s NCHC rookie of the year, and senior Zach Jordan. Both scored nine goals in 2018-19.
Head to head: UAH and Nebraska Omaha have met 16 times since 1997, with the Mavericks leading the series 11-2-3. The last meeting happened in Omaha in the 2014-15 season, with the Mavericks winning 2-1 and before the teams tied 3-3.
WCHA this week: All times Central.
Thursday, October 10 Colgate at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
Friday, October 11 UAH at Omaha, 7:07 p.m. * Alaska at Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m. Alaska Anchorage at Maine, 6 p.m. Michigan State at Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m. Denver at Lake Superior State, 6:37 p.m. Bowling Green vs. RIT, 7:05 p.m. (Ice Breaker at Toledo, Ohio) St. Cloud State at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m. Arizona State at Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
Saturday, October 12 UAH at Omaha, 7:07 p.m. * Alaska at Michigan Tech, 5:07 p.m. Michigan State at Northern Michigan, 5:07 p.m. Alaska Anchorage at Maine, 6 p.m. St. Cloud State at Bemidji State, 6:07 p.m. Denver at Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m. Bowling Green vs. Ohio State/Western Michigan, 7:05 p.m. (Ice Breaker at Toledo, Ohio) Arizona State at Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
UAH could not avoid another slow start to the season.
The Chargers managed only 13 shots on goal in their 3-1 loss at UMass Lowell on Sunday.
UAH (0-2), trying to be more aggressive offensively this season, could only score two goals and get 32 shots on goal on the weekend. The young Chargers will take the experience back to Huntsville and prepare for next week’s non-conference series at Omaha.
The Chargers did get solid performance from David Fessenden, making his collegiate debut in goal. He made 37 saves on 40 UML shots, displaying strong use of the glove.
The River Hawks (2-0) drew first blood in the first two minutes, just like in their 5-1 victory Saturday, this time at the 1:39 mark. Carl Berglund poked in a rebound in the crease with Fessenden unaware of the puck’s location.
The player who centered the puck from the behind the net, Zach Kaiser, was held by Tanner Hickey, prompting a bonus power play for UML.
The River Hawks did not score with the advantage but began a stretch of continuous pressure on UAH and Fessenden, who would make 12 saves in the opening frame.
UAH had the benefit of two power plays in the first period, but could not get anything set up, resulting in no shots on goal. The Chargers only had three shots for the first period, and were fortunate to only trail 1-0 at the first intermission.
UML made it 2-0 with 5:46 left in the second period when Andre Lee’s shot was saved by Fessenden, but the puck deflected off of UAH defenseman Drew Lennon’s knee and in.
The Chargers struggled on their first four power plays, mustering only one shot on goal, but found a little life on their fifth advantage to finally get on the scoreboard.
Tyr Thompson found the net from the right circle with 12:40 remaining in the third. He was assisted by Josh Latta (his first collegiate point) and Jack Jeffers, who had the helper in UAH’s lone goal on Saturday.
That life was squashed just 57 seconds later. Kenny Hausinger took a turnover and a breakaway, then beat Fessenden for the final 3-1 score.
The Chargers have things to shore up following their 5-1 loss Saturday against UMass Lowell.
The River Hawks outshot UAH 34-19 and pulled away from a tight contest with three third-period goals.
UAH will take lessons learned into Sunday’s game two, which starts at 3 p.m. CDT.
UAH (0-1) struggled in the special teams battle, going 0-for-7 on the power play opportunities while also allowing a power play goal and a short handed goal.
If the young Chargers, who had eight freshmen in the lineup, had nerves going in, the River Hawks (1-0) capitalized quickly.
After an opening flurry, Colin O’Neill poked in a rebound between the legs of Mark Sinclair (29 saves) at the 1:21 mark.
UAH settled in for the rest of the period to stay down one at intermission.
Most of the second period was riddled with penalties, mostly against UML to give UAH plenty of chances to tie the game.
However, the River Hawks instead extended their lead to 2-0 on a shorthanded breakaway goal by Kenny Hausinger.
The Chargers finally got on board with 1:47 left in the second. On a 2-on-1, Jack Jeffers on the right wing found Christian Rajic all alone in the left circle. Rajic picked his spot to beat UML goaltender Tyler Wall.
UAH was still in it, but UMass Lowell to pull away in the third period with three goals.
The River Hawks led 3-1 at 6:27 on a quick power-play goal right after a Connor James goaltender interference penalty.
Two minutes later, Zach Kaiser threaded a shot from the slot between two UAH defensemen to make it 4-1.
Andre Lee was left unchecked as he scored UML’s fifth goal with 5:39 to go.
WHERE: Tsongas Center, Lowell, Mass. WHEN (CDT): Saturday, 5 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. WATCH: SportsLive
UAH starts its 35th varsity season of hockey and 41st season overall visiting UMass Lowell of Hockey East in a non-conference series.
The Chargers plan to be better prepared to start the season after last year’s 0-10 start. They have a lot of freshmen, but have added speed and size in hopes of being more aggressive and score more goals.
About the River Hawks: Last season, UMass Lowell finished 19-13-5 overall and 12-7-5 in Hockey East, placing fourth. UML lost in three games to Boston University in the Hockey East quarterfinals.
UML, picked to finish sixth in its league, also has a lot of youth on their squad, with 12 freshmen and nine sophomores on the roster.
The River Hawks top returning scorer is senior Kenny Hausinger, who scored 13 goals last season.
Senior goaltender and New York Rangers prospect Tyler Wall posted a 2.09 goals against average and .921 save percentage with four shutouts.
Head to head: UAH and UMass Lowell have met 10 times since 1989, with the River Hawks winning nine times. The last meeting happened at Lowell on Nov. 25, 2011 with UAH losing 3-0. UAH’s lone win came on Oct. 25, 1991, a 7-2 win at Lowell.
WCHA this week: All times Central.
Saturday, October 5 UAH at UMass Lowell, 5 p.m. Michigan Tech at Robert Morris, 6:05 p.m. Merrimack at Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m. Denver at Alaska, 10:07 p.m. Northern Michigan at USA Under-18 (exhibition), 6 p.m. Mount Royal at Minnesota State (exhibition), 6:07 p.m.
Sunday, October 6 UAH at UMass Lowell, 3 p.m. Michigan Tech at Robert Morris, 2:05 p.m. Bowling Green at Miami (Ohio), 4 p.m. Merrimack at Lake Superior State, 4:07 p.m. Denver at Alaska, 10:07 p.m. Waterloo at Ferris State (exhibition), 1:07 p.m.
Tuesday, October 8 USA Under-18 at Ferris State (exhibition), 6:07 p.m.
Last season, there were plenty of freshman who got a taste of the college game. Now, even more rookies are here looking to turn things around in 2019-20.
The UAH hockey program took a step back in 2018-19 in terms of record (8-28-2) and is still looking for that jump up the WCHA standings. The Chargers finished eighth in the league last season and lost in the WCHA quarterfinals at Minnesota State.
UAH has 10 freshmen this season, more than the number of juniors and seniors combined (nine). Half of them earned 3.5-star ratings from recruiting site Neutral Zone, underlying the potential of this class.
“We’ve got a young group,” Corbett said. “Just the short time we’ve been able to get on the ice, they’ve made a very good impression on me and to the rest of our staff and the rest of our team.
“I like their speed, and we’ve also added a little bit of size. We’ve got some guys in the 6-0 to 6-2 range that can get up and down the rink. That’s going to be beneficial to us. There’s guys who have played a lot of junior hockey who can not only contribute in college hockey but also be leaders for our team.”
The Chargers hope to surprise some folks after being picked to finish ninth in the WCHA preseason coaches and media polls.
Here’s a look at the 2019-20 UAH Chargers.
Jack Jeffers (Photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography)
Forwards
Scoring was a bit of a struggle for the Chargers last season, particularly in the early going. UAH mustered only nine goals in the first 10 games on the way to a 1.76 average.
UAH eventually found a catalyst in Hans Gorowsky, who scored 12 goals, but he’s now graduated. The top returning point scorers each had 14 points last season: Austin Beulieu, Christian Rajic, Jack Jeffers, and Bauer Neudecker.
“Those are the four guys that we’re depending upon, along with our freshman group, to jumpstart our offense,” Corbett said.
Beaulieu, a senior, had five goals and nine assists last season. He sees plenty of potential in this year’s Charger offense, especially if they finish the chances they had trouble with last season.
“Everyone’s had a good summer of training and working on their skills,” Beaulieu said. “The freshmen have adjusted well so far in practice, and I think as the games come, they’ll just get better with experience.
“For me, it’s more being around the net and trying to finish my chances as well.”
Austin Beaulieu and Bauer Neudecker (Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography)
Jeffers and Neudecker, now sophomores, each had seven goals in their freshman campaigns.
“Jack’s probably as talented as anybody in the league,” Corbett said. “Now those guys all have a year or two under their belts and now we’re going to ask them to really step up and be threats. The biggest thing is in order to score you’ve got to be a threat first.”
Rajic, now a junior, was tied for the team lead with 11 assists last year.
Brandon Salerno is the only other senior forward, also chipping in five goals in 2018-19.
More returning juniors are Connor Merkley (three goals) and Connor Wood (two goals). Tyr Thompson and Ben Allen round out the returning sophomores.
UAH has five freshman forwards. Josh Latta scored 19 goals with Vernon of the BCHL, helping the Vipers reach the league finals.
The largest of the new class is Florida native Adrian Danchenko at 6-2, 185 pounds. He scored 15 goals for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the NAHL last season.
Liam Izyk (6-1, 180, 12 goals with Fort McMurray in the AJHL, Peyton Francis (6-1, 175, 24 goals for Carleton Place of the CCHL) and Daneel Lategan (6-1, 180, 20 goals for Langley of the BCHL) all bring added size to the front.
“We feel like we can pressure teams a little bit more now, and we’re excited about that,” Corbett said.
“They’re all really good contributors on their teams, and we just expect them to come in and be good freshmen and contribute. We need those guys to chip in five goals, seven assists, things like that to just up our scoring. They’be been around and they know how to contribute to a team’s success.”
Liam Izyk (Photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography)
Defensemen
UAH will look to improve upon a scoring defense that was ranked ninth in the WCHA last season. The Chargers are hoping that added quickness will result in less laying back and more steals, facilitating a more aggressive offense.
“Just getting pucks quick, breaking out and being aggressive on the forecheck,” sophomore defenseman Drew Lennon said. “We’re really going to try and play faster this year.”
Senior Connor James is the only returning defenseman who saw regular action last year. He scored four goals and blocked 37 shots.
“Connor is a slick little defenseman,” Corbett said. “We’re going to count on him to add some offense, and I think he can really pick up his game.”
Two defensemen played all 38 games as freshman last season: Lennon and Bailey Newton.
“Lennon gained a ton of experience in all situations for us,” Corbett said. “Bailey Newton is a tough guy, more of a rugged-type defenseman. He’s a hard kid to play against.”
Lennon blocked 54 shots last season to lead all returning Chargers.
“With juniors, you play around 60 games a season, but that doesn’t really compare to what it’s like at the college level,” Lennon said. “It’s just so much faster. There’s less time and space. You have to be ready, physically and mentally, every night.”
Newton was easily the most penalized Charger last season with 93 minutes in the box. His lone goal of the year lifted UAH to a 1-0 win at Michigan Tech.
Dayne Finnson logged 32 games as a freshman last year, meaning the returning sophomore group already has seen plenty of action at the college level.
“We’re a pretty experienced group on the back end,” Lennon said.
Other returning defensemen are senior Sean Rappleyea and junior Teddy Rotenberger.
Three freshman blueliners join the Chargers: Lucas Bahn of Hendersonville, Tenn., who had 17 assists with West Kelowna of the BCHL; Tanner Hickey, who scored 11 goals for Spruce Grove of the AJHL; and Max Coyle, who had 15 assists for Prince George of the BCHL.
“We have a good freshman group that’ll be ready to play and make a contribution, like the group last year did,” Lennon said.
Sophomore Jay Powell of Nashville becomes the first player from UAH’s new club hockey team to join the varsity squad.
Mark Sinclair (Photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography)
Goaltending
Mark Sinclair is coming off a breakout sophomore season. He played in 28 games, starting 26, posting a 2.89 goals against average and a .915 save percentage (fifth-best in the WCHA). He had two shutouts, the first Charger multi-shutout year since Scott Munroe had three in the 2004-05 season.
“My freshman year, I didn’t play too much,” Sinclair said. “I just watched Jordan Uhelski, and that helped out a lot, too. Having the opportunity to watch the game and see how quick it is. After that, I just tried to have a good summer and came back ready to play, getting more of a workload and be prepared for that.
“I had a little bit of an injury at the end of last year, so I did a lot of recovery stuff this summer. So far in training camp, it’s been working with our goalie coach and getting back on the ice, trying to keep it basic and continue working on the same things I was working on last year and the previous summer.”
“Mark’s going to be big,” Corbett said. “Mark got a lot of solid minutes for us. With potentially three freshman, three sophomores and a senior on our back line, he’s going to be very important. It’s great when you have a guy back there you can trust.”
Two freshman goaltenders are joining Sinclair.
David Fessenden is big at 6-6 and 230 pounds. The Parker, Colo., native had a 2.74 goals against average and a .915 save percentage with the Northeast Generals of the NAHL.
George McBey just announced his commitment on September 3. McBey, who was committed to Division III Augsburg, had a 3.79 GAA and .908 save percentage in the NAHL last season, mostly with the Brookings Blizzard.
The season
The Chargers open the season on Saturday with a two-game set with UMass Lowell. Next week, UAH heads to Omaha to face the NCHC Mavericks.
“I like our matchups,” Corbett said. “I like our energy coming out of the gate and I think we’re going to be a heck of a lot more prepared. We’re going to be more prepared than in years past.
“We’re getting double the ice time and we’re utilizing that to the best of our ability. The good part is our guys came in in pretty darn good shape, so we’re excited about that.”
UAH hosts WCHA favorite Minnesota State on Oct. 25-26 to open the home and conference schedule. The last non-conference series is at North Dakota on Jan. 3-4.
The question is how well this young team can handle the new style they want to play during UAH’s typically-rigorous WCHA schedule.
“Are they going to handle that physically? We’ll see,” Corbett said. “We’ll see after we start grinding through some of the season, but right now we’re going to be able to skate with anyone.”
Beaulieu, Lennon, and Sinclair feel positive about the makeup of the team.
“For team, we obviously can continue to get better, improve our record, and make the playoffs again,” Beaulieu said. “Once you get into the playoffs, you never know what can happen.”
“With the whole realignment thing, we’ll just try and prove everyone wrong,” Lennon said. “That’s a big motivation for us.”
“We feel pretty good,” Sinclair said. “The guys look great. Everyone’s snapping the puck around and moving their feet. I think we have pretty high expectations and we’re hoping to have a breakout year as a team.”
It’s been almost three months since seven WCHA schools announced plans to leave the conference and form their own league in the 2021-22 season.
The announcement caught UAH by surprise. The future of the WCHA was suddenly in doubt, which makes the future of Charger hockey uncertain.
UAH officials are confident they will find a new conference for hockey to play in, whether it’s with the WCHA, the Group of Seven, or elsewhere.
There haven’t been any formal talks with the Group of Seven to possibly be the new league’s eighth team, but if the WCHA dissolves, that’s where UAH would currently like to go. UAH head coach Mike Corbett says there are several factors that can change things further.
“For lack of a better term, the seven schools are looking to become free agents,” Corbett said. “There’s so many shoes that can drop. Whether it be overall realignment, the Alaska schools and their viability, and you have some other schools that many not be necessarily happy in the current league that they’re in. And you’ve got (independent) Arizona State, who can be a very viable player in the college hockey world.”
“The focus of most of our conversations right now are about having everything in place to have a good season,” said Cade Smith, who became UAH’s interim athletic director in June. “Now that we know at least where Alaska is for this season, it’s business as usual right now.”
In the meantime, UAH is preparing for future change by looking inward, reviewing the hockey program and its support structure.
“Anytime you have that opportunity to reassess what you’re doing, it can be a positive thing,” Smith said. “These are the things we think we’re doing well, but there are great opportunities for us to improve. At the end of the day, it’s how can we best impact the student-athlete experience of the 30 or so hockey players and every athlete we have on campus.”
The Group of Seven stated in their announcement that they want members who display “a level of institutional investment that demonstrates significant commitment to their hockey programs and facilities.”
Does this imply that, beyond geographical challenges, UAH does not invest enough in its hockey program?
UAH president Dr. Darren Dawson says the university’s financial support of the hockey program is above the WCHA average.
“For instance, we provide $560,000 for the hockey program’s base operating budget,” Dawson said. “That’s fourth out of the 10 teams in the WCHA. The average school in the league spends $433,359, so we’re well above average. Regarding athletic aid awarded to our players, we also rank fourth with a budget figure of $586,678. The average spent in this category for WCHA teams is $527,571.”
“The support has been great,” according to Smith. “We had a good meeting with some donors, and the outlook is really positive and committed. I don’t think people are worried. I think they’re just want to know what the next step is going to be so they can be all in.”
“Our alumni support is fantastic,” Corbett said. “Our alumni is giving more money to the athletic department than all the other teams combined.”
While that is good news, the rest of the college hockey world can only perceive what they see on game nights.
“I think one thing other schools want to see is a different commitment level to hockey,” Smith said. “And I think that’s fair.
“Whether their perception is reality or not, they want to see commitment in a different way. So we’re working now to define what that is, and then to make it evident that we’re committed to hockey.”
One sign many of taken for university commitment is a plan for a multi-use facility on campus that would be the new home for hockey, basketball, and volleyball. UAH president Dr. Bob Altenkirch, whom Dawson took over for last month, unveiled the plan back in April, and the University of Alabama System board of trustees approved the development’s addition to the campus master plan in June.
However, a new arena is still a long way from reality.
“It is our hope that we can move quickly on various aspects of the development, including the multi-purpose facility,” Dawson said. “However, the truth is that it will take private support for these developments, which takes time, and the planning and construction of such a facility is a lengthy process as well.”
“While the arena does show commitment to hockey, we can still show commitment to hockey right now,” Smith said.
The Chargers’ opening series at Propst Arena is October 26 and 27, starting WCHA play against league favorite Minnesota State. UAH has 14 home dates this season.
UAH athletics administration has been taking steps to increase attendance, which has slowly declined since its first season in the WCHA, and giving fans a better experience at the Von Braun Center.
UAH’s recent record at home has been poor (11-29-4 over the last three seasons), but there was no boost when the Chargers were playing better. There’s more to increasing attendance than just on-ice performance.
“We’re having meetings about how to make the fan experience better and more engaged,” Smith said. “Number one is trying to get a more intimate hockey venue, even though we’re in a large room. We’ve been working to change how general admission tickets work, and it’s not just all going to be in the upper bowl. We’re going to try to fill the lower bowl every night. That’s going to hopefully increase engagement to get people where they bleed from the bottom up instead of the opposite.
“The Pep Band is going to 100-plus, so they will have to move up to the upper bowl. I think there’s already some things that are going to be better just naturally.”
Smith said they are looking at having an emcee, somebody in charge of music, and somebody in charge of promotions and fan contests, to make they game more fun even for those who do not know much about hockey. The staff has also had meetings with the Huntsville Havoc, which has done well filling the arena, about fan engagement.
“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Smith said. “We’ve got somebody here in town who’s got a pretty good idea of how to do it. We can figure out what things work in the SPHL that are allowed with the NCAA.
“It’s not always about how much money do you put into it. Sometimes it’s about how many humans you have available to do things.”
The video streaming of home games is also getting a focus. “One thing we’ve talked about is hopefully having a partnership with the Havoc on some of their equipment, increasing our visibility.” Such improvements would include replays that would also be shown in the arena and different audience camera angles.
“We’re making some progress with just the quality of our cameras and the quality of the image that they’re able to stream.”
“We’re just trying to make things current, for lack of a better term,” Corbett said. “We’ve been trying to put the program on a level that we feel the WCHA is.”
When all is said and done, UAH is confident that the program will show that it will bring something to a conference and keep its place in Division I college hockey.
“I think we have a lot to offer,” Smith said. “Just the financial standing as an institution, I would think we are in probably as good a shape as anyone, if not better than most.”
“I think the place to start these conversations would be internally,” Dawson said. “We need input from our coaches and players. We also need to get the views of our hockey boosters on what they see as a direction for our program and the support they are willing to provide. We need to determine what is going to be in the best interest of the UAH hockey program for our long-range future, so that means we should be very deliberate about our plans and not get lured into a decision made in haste that would lead us to another dead end.”
Both the coaches and media have UAH finishing just out of the WCHA playoffs this season, picking the Chargers to finish ninth in the standings. The WCHA coaches and media polls were released Wednesday during the conference’s preseason teleconference.
The Chargers have a lot of freshmen on a club that won eight games last season and finished eighth in the league. That leaves a lot of uncertainty.
But UAH head coach Mike Corbett is high on this recruiting class, quite possibly the highest-rated since his tenure began in 2013.
“I like their speed, and we’ve also added a little bit of size,” Corbett said “We’ve got some guys in the 6-0 to 6-2 range that can get up and down the rink.
“There’s guys who have played a lot of junior hockey who can not only contribute in college hockey but also be leaders for our team.”
Returning players such as senior Austin Beaulieu and junior Christian Rajic will also provide that leadership, Corbett said.
Junior goaltender Mark Sinclair, who posted two shutouts last season, will be very important with several underclassmen on the back line. “It’s great when you have a guy back there you can trust,” Corbett said.
A more in-depth preview on this year’s Charger squad will come in the next two weeks. The season starts on October 5 with UAH visiting UMass Lowell.
Minnesota State was easily the top pick in both polls, getting all 10 first-place votes in the media poll and nine in the coaches poll (because coaches couldn’t vote for their own team).
The Mavericks won both the regular-season and playoff championships last season, and three stars from that team return to make the preseason All-WCHA team (player of the year pick Marc Michaelis, forward Parker Tuomie, and goaltender Dryden McKay).
Bowling Green was picked second in both polls, while there was some fluctuation from third to eighth place.
Season tickets and Blue Line Club memberships are now on sale for the 2019-20 season.
Lower bowl reserved and ice-level suite season tickets are worth $208 for 14 home games.
A Flex Pack of 10 reserved tickets that can be redeemed at the Von Braun Center box office for any games you wish cost $120.
The Blue Line Club, UAH hockey’s booster program, has new levels this season. At least two season tickets with access to the VBC hospitality room are included with each Blue Line Club membership, which starts at $500. Higher levels include free access to coaches’ lunches, parking passes, and UAH President’s Council membership.
Kids 12 and under can become members of the Corbs Kid’s Club. For $30, kids receive a season pass, a T-shirt, a hockey team photo, and a schedule poster.
Supporters can order season tickets or BLC memberships in two ways:
Refer to the brochure for more information or contact Jason Rucker at Jason.Rucker@uah.edu or 256-824-6584.
The Chargers’ home opening series is on October 25 and 26 against Minnesota State. UAH opens the 2019-20 campaign on October 5 at UMass Lowell.
Recent home schedule changes: The series against Bemidji State has been moved from Jan. 10-11 to Jan. 9-10, with both games starting at 7:37 instead of 7:07. The Feb. 29 home finale against Bowling Green is now at 3:07 matinee start.
