Category Archives: Charger Hockey News

Corbett Named Head Coach

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Mike Corbett, an assistant coach at Air Force for the past 10 seasons, was named UAH’s sixth head hockey coach on Monday. Corbett was part of a recruiting effort that helped the Falcons win five Atlantic Hockey titles and earn five NCAA tournament berths.

Mike Corbett (Credit: Air Force Sports Information)

Mike Corbett (Credit: Air Force Athletics)

“Mike Corbett has spent the last decade recruiting elite young men to the United States Air Force Academy and winning championships,” said UAH Director of Athletics Dr. E.J. Brophy. “We are very confident that he is the man to lead Charger Hockey into the prestigious WCHA and back to winning on a consistent basis here at UAH.”

Corbett, a defenseman and two-time alternate captain at Denver from 1992-97, will be leading the Chargers into their first season in the WCHA this fall.

Read UAH’s full press release. Corbett is expected to be in Huntsville next week for a formal press conference and to meet with players and fans. More to come as it develops.

Former Denver head coach Gwozdecky interviews for opening

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(AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

 

UPDATE (6/21, 7 p.m. CT): George Gwozdecky will not be taking the UAH hockey head coaching job, reports Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal. “The way my career has evolved, it wasn’t the right fit,” Gwozdecky said.

UAHHockey.com has confirmed from multiple sources that former Denver head coach George Gwozdecky was in town this week to interview for the head coaching vacancy created last month when Kurt Kleinendorst stepped down to pursue opportunities in professional hockey.

One of the biggest names in college hockey and a WCHA veteran, Gwozdecky won a pair of national championships at Denver and posted 12-straight, 20-win seasons with the Pioneers before he was let go at the end of the 2012-13 season with one year remaining on his contract.  He made a base salary of $221,000 in his final season with DU.

While at Denver, Gwozdecky was a friend to the UAH program hosting the Chargers a number of times for nonconference series and had a visit scheduled to Huntsville during the 2012-13 season before the program’s turmoil caused the schedule to be scrapped.

The 59-year old owns a career mark of 443-267-64 in 19 seasons including five seasons at Miami. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native guided the Pioneers to the NCAA tournament five of his last six years.  Gwozdecky is also the only coach in NCAA history to win a national title as a head coach, an assistant coach (Michigan State) and as a player (Wisconsin).

The Huntsville Times has reported that UAH director of athletics E.J. Brophy hopes to have the new coach in place by mid-July at the latest and has had as many as 75 candidates express interest in the position.

Hoof Beats: Frenchy Open recap, plus a WCHA media deal?

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Four months to go. Here’s some news and notes as we head into the long, Southern summer.

Frenchy Open: Thank you to all who participated and donated to the 2013 UAH Hockey Golf Tournament, also known as the Frenchy Open. The annual summer fundraising event, held at the Hampton Cove Highlands Golf Course on June 8, was a huge success.

Participants and volunteers for the 2013 Frenchy Open.

Participants and volunteers for the 2013 Frenchy Open.

Eighteen teams participated in this year’s tournament, won by the team from SportsMed. Second place was a team familiar to most Charger hockey fans, as Jared Ross, Keith Rowe, Craig Bushey and Todd Bentley finished one stroke behind the winners. Assistant Coach Bruce Garber celebrated his first year in Huntsville by taking home third place along with UAH professor Les Brol.

WCHA officials meet in Bemidji: With three months left until the first puck drop, presidents, athletic directors, and officials from the 10 WCHA programs met in Bemidji, Minn., on June 17 to discuss many of the outstanding issues facing the revamped league.

One of the main topics was a league-wide media deal. The WCHA will be working with Fox Sports Go, Fox Sports’ Internet streaming answer to ESPN3. Each school would still have its own productions, but they would all be available on one source. In recent years, UAH has had internet streaming deals with America One.

Officiating and budgets were also discussed. Jack Hittinger of The Bemidji Pioneer has more details from the WCHA meetings.

Harris a Hall of Famer: Jim Harris, UAH’s athletic director from 1995 until his death in 2010, was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame on June 14. As A.D., the Charger hockey program won two Division II national championships, two College Hockey America regular-season championships, and two CHA Tournament titles. More information from UAHChargers.com.

Kurt Kleinendorst Resigns

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I’m a wee bit blown away:

The University of Alabama in Huntsville Department of Athletics announced today that Kurt Kleinendorst has stepped down from his position as the program’s head hockey coach. Kleinendorst guided the Chargers through the team’s final season as a Division I independent as the program begins play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in the upcoming 2013-14 year.

“Kurt Kleinendorst has steadied the rough waters during our transition into the WCHA, and we will always be grateful to him for that,” said UAH Director of Athletics Dr. E. J. Brophy. “He has signed nine quality recruits for next fall, and he has done a fantastic job with our program. Now that we have our program on firm footing, we will start the process of identifying the coach who will lead our hockey program into the WCHA.”

Go read the full press release if you like.  The rest of it reads as you’d expect.

Wow.

The 2013 Frenchy Open

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Get ready for the summer’s fundraising tradition. The 2013 UAH Hockey Golf Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, June 8 at the RTJ Hampton Cove-Highlands Golf Course.

Jean-Marc Plante (#17 on the right) with Stu Vitue.

Jean-Marc Plante (#17 on the right) with Stu Vitue.

The tournament is also known as “The Frenchy Open,” named after Charger left wing Jean-Marc Plante, who died in 2001. Also known as “Frenchy,” the Laval, Quebec, native played for UAH from 1988-92, scoring 15 goals and 26 assists in 92 games. Plante worked at the front office of the Florida Panthers and became the athletic marketing director at UAH. A memorial scholarship is awarded in his honor to the Charger hockey player who demonstrates leadership, sportsmanship, and team spirit, and who participates in community and university volunteer service.

Registration for the tournament starts at 7 a.m., shotgun start at 8 a.m., and meal and awards to follow. You can register a player or a team, or have your company sponsor a hole.

To register, return this form with your payment to 205 Spragins Hall, Huntsville, AL 35899.

For more information, contact Tim Flynn, UAH Director of Hockey Operations, at 256-824-2485 or tim.flynn@uah.edu.

Hoof Beats: Tourney tidbits, Chargers join the pros

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News and notes from around the WCHA and college hockey. I call them “Hoof Beats.”

  • Remember that the 2013 UAH Hockey Banquet is Friday, April 5! Reservations must be received by next Monday (April 1).
  • The WCHA also unveiled an updated logo to go along with its updated roster of teams.

    The WCHA also unveiled an updated logo to go along with its updated roster of teams.

    The WCHA confirmed its postseason tournament plans starting next year. The top eight teams in the 10-team league will make the playoffs. Higher seeds will host lower seeds (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc.) for the quarterfinals in best-of-3 series. The single-elimination semifinals and championship, which will retain the name “WCHA Final Five”, will be held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2014 and 2016, and the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2015 and 2017.

  • The NCAA Tournament field has been announced. Soon-to-be league foe Minnesota State earned an at-large bid as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region in Toledo and will face No. 2 seed Miami on Saturday. Minnesota State is one of four teams in the tournament UAH played this season (St. Cloud State, Wisconsin, and Boston College are the others).
  • Chargers join the pros: Sebastian Geoffrion has four goals, an assist, and 25 penalty minutes in eight games with the Arizona Sundogs (CHL). Justin Cseter has a goal and an assist in six games with the Huntsville Havoc (SPHL). John Griggs stopped 31 of 32 shots in his pro debut with the Pensacola Ice Flyers (SPHL) on Sunday.
  • As posted on Twitter this week: If you want some more hope for the UAH future, look at UMass-Lowell: 5-25-4 two years ago, 26-10-2 this year and 2013 Hockey East champions.

 

Kyle Lysaght Critically Injured in Automobile Crash

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Kyle Lysaght
Tough news from Atlanta: MyFoxAtlanta and EastCobbPatch are reporting that UAH sophomore forward Kyle Lysaght was critically injured in an automobile accident on Friday afternoon.

Police said Lysaght was a frontseat passenger in a gray 2007 Lexus heading southbound on Johnson Ferry shortly before 5 p.m. Friday.

As the vehicle approached the intersection of Woodlawn, it was struck by a white 2005 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck turning left onto Woodlawn from northbound Johnson Ferry.

The Lexus then collided with a utility pole in a traffic island, seriously injuring Lysaght, Pierce said.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Kyle.  I’ve been in contact with a couple of his teammates, and they have filled me in on some of his injuries.  I would term this situation very worrisome.  Out of respect for Kyle’s privacy, I believe that the best thing for all of us to do is show our concern for our him and not pass around rumors/facts about how he’s doing.  We should just all focus on a full recovery.

Get well, Kyle.

Update: Coach Kleinendorst has been told by Kyle’s father that Kyle’s “stablilized” and it “looks like the worst is behind him,” according to Budd McLaughlin at The Huntsville Times.

A look at the 2013-14 schedule: Welcome to the WCHA!

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Today, UAH released its 2013-14 hockey schedule, and it’s a beaut. We’re getting 16 home games to go with a full 28-game WCHA schedule. Here’s some highlights:

  • WCHAlogoWith 38 games scheduled, UAH will set a record for most games played in a season, even if the Chargers do not qualify for the WCHA playoffs. The record is 37 set in the 2001-02 season.
  • What better way is there than to open up the WCHA era at home against rival Bemidji State? UAH has faced BSU 70 times, well more than any other opponent.
  • UAH played the Alaska teams regularly in the late ’80s and early ’90s. The Chargers will visit the 49th state twice, something they did in the 1992-93 season. Anchorage will visit Huntsville for the first time since 1992.
  • Michigan Tech is one of four current Division I programs UAH has never faced. The Huskies will come off that list, leaving Boston University, Dartmouth, and Union.
  • The Chargers will head to South Bend twice: at Notre Dame’s tournament in November and a two-game set against the Irish in January.
  • Nic Dowd’s coming home: The Huntsville native and his St. Cloud State team come down for a non-conference series in November.

Here’s the full schedule in list form. All home games are Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m. (* WCHA series.)

October 11-12 at Northeastern
October 25-26 vs. Bemidji State*
November 1-2 vs. Ferris State*
November 8-9 at Alaska-Anchorage*
November 15-16 vs. St. Cloud State
November 22-23 at Northern Michigan*
November 29-30 at Notre Dame Tournament (UAH, Northeastern, Western Michigan)
December 6-7 at Bowling Green*
December 13-14 vs. Minnesota State*
December 27-28 at Wisconsin
January 3-4 vs. Bowling Green*
January 10-11 at Notre Dame
January 17-18 vs. Alaska-Anchorage*
Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Alaska*
February 7-8 at Michigan Tech*
February 14-15 at Minnesota State*
February 21-22 vs. Lake Superior State*
Feb. 28-March 1 at Bemidji State*
March 7-8 vs. Northern Michigan*
March 14-16 WCHA first round playoffs (at campus sites)
March 20-22 WCHA championship semifinals and final (TBA)

The top eight teams in the league qualify for the WCHA playoffs. The league will announce post-season tournament sites, dates and details on Saturday, March 23.

Let the countdown begin!

UAH Will Be in the WCHA for the 2013-14 Season

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The UAH Chargers hockey program has finally found its home. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association voted to accept UAH, which will start league play as soon as next season.

Here are the reports coming in: