WEST CHESTER, Pa. — The UAH club hockey team lost 6-4 on Monday to the No. 2 seed Florida Gators, who erased a 4-1 Charger lead, in the AAU College Hockey national quarterfinals.

UAH finishes the season at 12-12-1. Florida (18-7-0) heads to the semfinals against High Point.

“And the end of the day, we were shorthanded,” UAH head coach Tim Flynn said. “Four games in four days is just too much. We didn’t have what we needed to close it out.

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“I’m very proud of the guys, the whole game, all weekend, the whole year, really. It’s been a big step forward for the program and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”

Florida got the quantity of chances in the first period, but it was the Chargers who made most of the quality chances.

Kolton Watts put the Chargers up 1-0 with a rebound goal in the slot with almost 11 minutes remaining, assisted by Henry Hoff and Keaton Watts. It was Kolton’s team-leading fifth goal of the tournament.

Three Florida penalties helped, and UAH capitalized on the last one with 3.5 second left in the period on a Josh Corrow blast from the right point for a 2-0 lead at the first break.

UAH went up 3-0 on a nifty tic-tac-toe play, Josh Corrow to Kolton Watts to Keaton Watts at point-blank range with 16:42 remaining in the second period.

It took Florida’s 28th shot on net to finally get one past goaltender Cameron Crawford with 6:54 left in the second.

But it only took 20 seconds for the Chargers to answer, with Jackson Herman’s drive up the middle through traffic finding the back of the net and putting UAH up 4-1, which was the score at the final intermission.

Then the Gators’ potent offense, which scored 24 times during their three pool games, wore the Chargers down in the third. Parker Mara, who scored Florida’s first goal, got two more for a hat trick in the third period’s first six minute to cut UAH’s lead to 4-3.

Michael McCoy tied the game up with 6:41 remaining, the Michael McKatz gave UF the lead with 2:05 to go. Kegan Lampinen added an empty-netter with 20 seconds remaining for the final of 6-4.

“Full credit to Florida, too. I know they had a stomach bug going through the rink. Not making excuses but our guys played hard and I’m proud of them.”

The Gators finished with a 52-18 shots on goal advantage for the game. Crawford had 47 saves, giving him a total of 139 in three games for the tournament, a .910 save percentage with a shutout.

“That’s exhausting,” Crawford said. “We gave it our all out there. We tried our best to focus on defense and force their shots from outside. It was working there for a good minute against a good offense, but we just got worn down.”

“He’s been awesome,” Flynn said. “All year…every time we’ve needed him he’s been big for us. Today, included. (The loss) was definitely not on him. We just ran out of gas at the wrong time. Very thankful he played this year and helped us make this step.”

Even though this will be Crawford’s only season between the pipes, he wants to keep helping the program moving forward.

“I played four years of college lacrosse (at UAH) before this and this was far and way the most fun I’ve ever had playing a college sport, even if it is club,” Crawford said. “I want to try to stay with the team and maybe coach next year and see what I can do to help out.”

While it was a disappointing end, just reaching the quarterfinals showed the program’s promise of restoring a winning hockey tradition at UAH.

“I think it shows, coming into the tournament, what UAH hockey can be,” Flynn said. “To be that close to moving on to a semifinal, to compete for national championships, that’s what the program is and that what we’re trying to get it back to. Today hurts, but big picture, very proud and we’re going the right way for sure.”

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — The UAH club hockey team did what they needed to do: beat Farmingdale State in their final pool play game at the AAU Division 2 championships, and then hope it was enough to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Chargers rolled over FSC 8-3 on Sunday, finishing with a 2-1 record and four points in Pool C. After the dust settled on the other four pools, UAH qualified by allowing just nine goals in their three games. The Chargers shut out Central Florida 2-0 on Friday, which turned out to be critical, and lost to top seed High Point 6-4 on Saturday.

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“Our focus was goals against,” UAH head coach Tim Flynn said after the game and before the announcement. “We weren’t too concerned with scoring once we got a little bit of a buffer. We had a number in our head: I think we hit it, and we’ll see what happens.”

The remaining eight teams will be reseeded based on their final national ranking. This will pit UAH (12-11-1 overall), the No. 13 overall seed, against Florida, the No. 2 seed and winner of Pool B, on Monday at 12:45 p.m. CDT. The Gators allowed only two goals in their three wins in pool play.

The other matchups are: Top seed Florida Atlantic vs. No. 17 Union (N.Y.); No. 3 High Point vs. No. 11 Clemson; and No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Penn State-Harrisburg. That makes five College Hockey South teams out of the eight.

“We feel pretty good, but regardless, it’s a great weekend for us no matter what happens,” Flynn said. “The guys worked extremely hard. Very proud of them, and they deserve it.”

The first nine minutes saw non-stop action with no stoppages, and then the Chargers (12-11-1 overall) scored two quick goals.

First, Kolton Watts led a 3-on-1 break down the right side, burying the puck with 9:35 left in the first. Forty-one seconds later, Josh Corrow roofed it from the left side for a 2-0 UAH lead.

“It was a must win for us,” Watts said. “Coach talked to our leadership, talked to our goaltending, talked to our whole line, and we just really wanted to get the win and be prepared.”

Farmingdale State scored its first on a gimme, as goaltender Andrew Sledge misplayed the puck right to Brendan Dixson, the overall scoring leader in AAU Division 2, in the slot. Dixson scored with 1:05 remaining in the period.

That was one of the few errors Sledge made, however, as he stopped 23 of 26 shots in his first action of the tournament while giving Cameron Crawford a rest.

“It felt really good. I love playing under pressure,” Sledge said. “Makes me have to get focused more and make me play good. The boys were very supportive of me in the net. The D-lines did a pretty good job of boxing out so I could see shots.”

UAH scored three goals in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Corrow notched his second of the game on a drive to the net 3:45 in, and nearly three minutes later Bradly McDonald sank in a rebound on a Corrow shot. Then with 3:19 remaining, Henry Hoff tucked one through the FSC goalie’s five hole.

The Watts brothers pushed three more for the Chargers in the third. Kolton Watts scored his second of the game in the middle of the period, sandwiched between two Keaton Watts goals and the beginning and the end.

If there was any blemish that might cost the Chargers, it was the two shorthanded goals they gave up in the third period, including one by Dixson.

Still, the game was primarily UAH’s from the opening faceoff, as the Chargers outshot the Rams 45-26.

While Kolton Watts led the team with five points, the offense was shared around the usual suspects: Corrow had two assists for a four-point game, Hoff also had four points thanks to three helpers, and McDonald and Keaton Watts pitched in three points as well.

“We talked last night and we really wanted to motivate the guys on the team,” Kolton Watts said. “We wanted to push our team so we could be the best we could be. And I think bringing Hoff and Corrow back really helped us today.”

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — The UAH club hockey team showed resiliance Saturday against the No. 3 team in AAU Division 2, but the Chargers will be in a must-win situation to stay alive in this national tournament.

High Point defeated UAH 6-4 to take full control of Pool C and likely have earned a spot in the quarterfinals. But the Chargers, who cut a three-goal deficit to one at one point, never went quietly.

“I’m definitely proud of how the guys battled and responded,” UAH head coach Tim Flynn said. “Lot of guys played a lot of minutes and worked very hard. Ultimately, we knew they were a good team with good players, and we made one too many mistakes and couldn’t get all the way back in it.”

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“First and foremost, I’m really proud of how the guys played today,” said UAH captain Bradly McDonald. “We try to win each period, just getting pucks low and playing gritty. We had a short bench, so that’s what we have to do.”

The Chargers (11-11-1) must beat Farmingdale State on Sunday, and perhaps get some help, to be one of the three wildcards among second-place teams in the five pools to qualify for the quarterfinals.

“Us playing a good game today really fires us up to play tomorrow,” McDonald said. “It’s a game we have to win and all the boys are excited to play. We’re ready to get to bed and get after it tomorrow.”

The Chargers took the early lead by crashing the net. Adrian Mai scored to put UAH up 1-0 with 16:31 left in the first, assisted by Elijah Howard and McDonald. It was Mai’s first goal of the season.

High Point (29-4-0) came right back, as Nick Sasso had an open net from a cross-ice pass to tie the game at 1-1 three minutes later.

The Panthers took the lead near the halfway point of the first, scoring on the power play following a Henry Hoff tripping penalty.

With 2:55 left in the period, Jacob Newman was called for roughing after checking High Point’s Joseph Di Martino, who had shot the puck on Crawford following an offsides whistle.

UAH scored on the ensuing 4-on-4 situation, with Josh Corrow sliding in front of and beating HPU goaltender Brian Scopel to tie the game at 2-2. He was assisted by Hoff and Crawford, his first point as a goalie.

But the Panthers regained the lead almost immediately with 1:08 left, and then took a 4-2 lead on a breakaway goal 38 seconds into the second.

High Point extended its lead to 5-2 with an odd angle goal from the left side. But even with the large deficit, it didn’t feel like the Panthers were dominating the Chargers. And that left confidence that UAH could rally.

Penalties started piling up for the Panthers in the final minutes of the second, resulting with three straight power plays for UAH. This included a 1:23 stretch of two-man advantage, when Keaton Watts scored on a centering pass from Henry Hoff to cut High Point’s lead to 5-3.

“It was a greasy goal,” Keaton Watts said. “We were all just battling in front of the net. Hoff was able to center it right to me in the slot and I was able to put in, but it was definitely a battle for sure.

“That’s been the story all year. We’ve been trying to persevere.”

Another tripping penalty extended into the third period, and UAH drew within one at 5-4 as Kolton Watts’ shot from the slot found its way through the Scopel’s five-hole.

“Power plays are strange for us, so we know we have to capitalize when we get them,” Flynn said. “Couple of 5-on-3s that we scored on and able to get back early in the third. We were trying to keep it tight and hopefully just find the chance.”

High Point finalized the 6-4 score with a goal with 9:27 remaining, and the Chargers could recover after that.

“Tough break off the faceoff towards the end there and they got their sixth one,” Flynn said.

Now UAH must focus on defeating Farmingdale State, the No. 18 overall seed, playing their third game in three days. FSC lost its pool play opener to High Point 3-0 on Friday, and lost 10-1 to Central Florida on Saturday night.

“Three games in three days is hard, especially with the travel,” Flynn said. “We are fortunate in that our game times are pretty spread apart. A couple of hours can go a long way.”

“For us, we need to play our game and to our strengths,” Keaton Watts said. “We’re a pretty quick team and we have a lot of skill as well. Try to get that first goal and just keep going, going, going the rest of the game.”

Pictured top: Bradly McDonald talks with AAU College Hockey’s Siobhan Nolan after UAH’s game with High Point. Photo by Tim Newman.

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — Cameron Crawford says he is not a morning person. His performance Friday morning to open the AAU College Hockey Division 2 championships did not show it.

Crawford stopped all 53 shots he faced as UAH opened play in Pool C with a 2-0 victory over Central Florida at the Ice Line Quad Rinks.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Crawford said. “I’ve got a lot of adrenaline going right now and can’t wait to go sleep. I’m not a morning person. I was a little bit concerned (about the early start). I woke up this morning and had a lot of energy.”

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The Chargers (11-10-1) take the early lead in Pool C with High Point taking on Farmingdale State later Friday night. UAH faces High Point, the top seed in the pool and No. 3 overall, on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. CST.

UAH had to deal with an atypical 9:15 a.m. local start, right after 13-hour bus ride into Pennsylvania last night.

“I don’t think we’ve played a 9:15 game since probably youth hockey,” UAH head coach Tim Flynn said. “Very proud with how everybody came out and competed. We got a lead and were able to just defend. That’s our mindset going into this tournament: Defense first, and then try to create offense that way.”

Kolton Watts got the Chargers on the board late in the first period, rifling the puck top shelf over UCF goalie Jackson Barton with 25.6 seconds remaining. It was Kolton’s 18th goal of the season.

“Kolton’s goal came off a transition play in the neutral zone that we practice a lot,” Flynn said. “You give them a little bit of ice and they will take advantage.”

UAH pushed the lead to 2-0 just 24 seconds into the second period after UCF got back-to-back penalties to end the first. Keaton Watts, on the doorstep after UCF failed to secure position in the circle, scored his 21st of the season on assists by Josh Corrow and Bradly Mcdonald.

The Chargers didn’t get many offensive chances in the third period — or any shots on goal for that matter. Central Florida (16-10-3), with the help of some power plays, got 22 in the final frame, more than the 20 UAH had for the game.

“We were killing a lot of penalties, and that just wears you down even more,” Flynn said. “They did a great job getting pucks out, making smart plays, and really making the most of their energy. It was desperate, but obviously ‘Craw’ was fantastic.”

Crawford attributed today’s performance to staying loose even as everything was frantic around him.

“I just try to stay in a good mood, and as long as I’m in a good mood, I just stayed in the zone,” Crawford said.

The shut out was the second for UAH’s current club program since it was re-established in 2018. Michael Fairbanks had the first, stopping 26 shots in a 5-0 win over Florida State on November 8, 2019.