Category Archives: 2023-24

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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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Watts power: Chargers sting Vols in OT

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Keaton Watts’s power-play goal early in overtime gave the UAH club hockey team its first victory of the season, a 4-3 decision over Tennessee on Friday night at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center.

The Chargers got a four-point night from Keaton’s brother Kolton and 43 saves from goaltender Cameron Crawford to win the College Hockey South opener for both teams.

Tennessee (0-3-0 overall, 0-1-0 CHS) scored the opening goal halfway through the first period on a close call. Connor Frazer’s shot in the slot was just before a whistle, and the officials determined that the puck crossed the goal line past Crawford in time.

BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

The Chargers (1-1-1 overall, 1-0-0 CHS) tied the game at 1-1 just under five minutes remaining in the second period when Matteo Siciliano’s blast from the left point found its way home. Kolton Watts and Henry Hoff got the assists on the power-play goal.

The Vols regained the lead about six minutes later on a Michael Consentino tally, but UAH equalized again with 1:07 to go in the period. Kolton Watts followed up a rebound from the right circle after a Charger breakaway to make it 2-2 after two.

Kolton scored his second goal of the night halfway through the third, taking Keaton’s pass from the defensive zone up the right wing and beating Patrick Green for UAH’s first lead.

The Chargers committed back-to-back tripping penalties, and Louis Gimbert tied the game for Tennessee at 3-3 with 2:19 left in regulation.

Then the Vols got the penalty bug, with boarding and roughing calls to set up a two-man advantage in the final 1:22 of regulation.

The game did go into overtime, and with a 5-on-4 advantage, Keaton Watts found the puck in the slot and wristed it home for the winner 52 seconds in.

The Chargers won despite the Vols holding a 46-30 advantage in shots.

UAH sees its first road action next weekend at Middle Tennessee State.

Pictured: Cameron Crawford, Josh Campbell, and Zachary Wolfe celebrate UAH’s overtime victory. Photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography.

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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

Hoof Beats: Talbot’s 11th NHL season leads UAH pros

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It’s been over two years, but here are some news and notes regarding UAH hockey. We call them Hoof Beats.

First, a look at Chargers in the pros.

There may not have been much ice hockey at UAH recently, but there are still several Charger alumni still playing professionally.

It seems hard to believe it’s been nearly 10 years since Cam Talbot (’10) made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers. Now the 36-year-old goaltender is on his seventh NHL club, signing a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings in July.

Cam Talbot
Cam Talbot with UAH in 2010.

Last season, Talbot had a 2.93 goals against average and .898 save percentage with a shutout in 36 games with the Ottawa Senators. He’s currently projected to split time with Pheonix Copley to start the season.

AHL

Brennan Saulnier signed a one-year, one-way contract extension with the Belleville Senators on July 1. Saulnier had six goals and 15 points with 79 penalty minutes with the Senators last season, his third in the AHL.

Mark Sinclair also signed a one-year, two-way AHL contract with Belleville a week after Saulnier. The goaltender, who spent two seasons at Michigan Tech following three years at UAH, spent most of last season with Cincinnati of the ECHL with a 2.70 goals against and a .915 save percentage.

ECHL

Kurt Gosselin signed a contract with Kalamazoo last month after being acquired in a trade with Toledo in February. The defenseman and former Charger captain, entering his third pro season in the ECHL, scored four goals and six assists in 27 games after joining the Wings last season.

Tyler Poulsen returns to the Tulsa Oilers, who acquired him from the Allen Americans just before last season’s Kelly Cup playoffs. Poulsen, entering his fifth ECHL season, had seven goals and 11 points in 33 games with Allen.

Jay Powell signed with the Orlando Solar Bears for his seconds season. Powell, who played one year with the club team and two with the varsity team, was acquired by Orlando from Kansas City in March. The defenseman scored a goal with each team last season.

Jake Theut announced his retirement last week. Theut had a .907 save percentage and 2.98 goals against in 34 regular-season games with Adirondack last season.

Around the world

Josh Kestner will be in the Czech Republic for his sixth professional season, playing for HC Sparta Praha in Prague, one of the oldest franchises in Europe. Last season, Kestner scored 10 goals in 48 games with Lukko in Finland’s Liiga.

Matti Järvinen is also in Czechia, playing his 14th pro season with BK Mlada Boleslav. Järvinen, 33, had spent nine of the last 10 seasons in Liiga in his native Finland, scoring 12 goals in 45 games with HPK last season.

Bauer Neudecker is entering his second season with EV Füssen in the Oberliga, the third tier of hockey in Germany. The former Huntsville Havoc scored 33 goals last season.

Matt Salhany is back in Denmark for another season with Aalborg.

Complete list of Chargers in the pros

Puppa to enter UAH Hall of Fame

Derek Puppa, who was the Chargers’ wall for the 1996 NCAA Division II national champions, will be inducted into the UAH Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony during Alumni Weekend.

Puppa ranks in the top three of the program’s career records for goals against average (2.73), save percentage (.911), games played (94), minutes played (5291), saves (2480) and shutouts (7). He had a record 66 wins in his UAH career, helping the Chargers win the 1996 title and finish as runner-up in 1994.

Puppa is the second Charger hockey player to be inducted into the hall, which was established in 2020. He joins Taso Sofikitis, another member of the 1996 champions and who was in the hall’s first class of inductees.

Tickets are available for the ceremony, which will take place Saturday, Sept. 23, at 5:30 p.m. at the Student Services Building.

Zirnis joins staff at RPI

Karlis Zirnis, who was associate head coach with the Chargers in the last varsity season of 2020-21, has been named an assistant coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Zirnis played for the Chargers from 1999-2003, helping them win two College Hockey America regular-season titles. His 119 career points is 14th in UAH’s varsity history and second in the school’s modern Division I era. He also ranks third in goals (46) and second in assists (73) in UAH’s modern D-I era.

After his coaching stint at UAH, Zirnis was the head coach of the 18U AAA Nashville Jr. Predators, and director of personnel for the NAHL’s Amarillo Wranglers. Zirnis was also a player development coach at Total Package Hockey Academy.

Volleyball earns win over…Bemidji?

Back on September 1, the UAH volleyball team defeated an old hockey rival. The Chargers took out the Beavers of Bemidji State three sets to one at the Ray Thrasher Classic hosted by Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville.

It was the first time that UAH played Bemidji State in a sport other than hockey.

The Chargers and Beavers battled in hockey 94 times from 1994 through 2021, with BSU holding a 57-32-5 advantage in the series. Each school took two NCAA Division II titles from the other in the 1990s, sparking a fierce North vs. South rivalry.

Chargers fall 6-1 to AU

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The UAH club hockey team lost 6-1 to Auburn on Saturday to finish its season-opening two-game set.

Keaten Watts scored the Chargers’ lone goal with 4:09 remaining in the second period after Auburn (1-0-1) staked a 5-0 lead.

Elijah Howard got an assist.

UAH (0-1-1) will next host Tennessee to open conference play in College Hockey South’s Division 2 North.

BOX SCORE

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Chargers survive ferocious Auburn rally in 5-5 tie

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The UAH club hockey team survived a furious Auburn rally and held on for a 5-5 tie in its season opener for both teams at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center on Friday night.

The Chargers held a 5-1 lead early in the third period, scoring five straight before Auburn countered with four of their own. Cameron Crawford had a stalwart 62-save performance, including stopping seven Tiger shots in overtime.

Game two of the series is at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

BOX SCORE

Auburn took a 1-0 lead with 47 seconds remaining in the first period with Henry Lange’s power-play goal. The Tigers outshot the Chargers 16-3 in the frame.

The second period was all Chargers. UAH tied the game at the 4:18 mark when Kolton Watts beat Camden Denk on a 2-on-none break with Henry Hoff.

Watts would leave the match on a game misconduct along with Auburn’s Jordan Pakuris following a scrum in front of the Charger net. UAH did get a resulting power play, and Hoff slipped the puck between Denk’s pad and the post for a 2-1 Chargers lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the second.

Hoff made it 3-1 over two minutes later on another power play as the Tigers were racking up penalties. His snapper from the left was assisted by Bradly McDonald and Keaton Watts.

McDonald made it a four-goal period in the final minute, with Tyler Trombly and Josh Corrow with the helpers.

UAH made it five unanswered when Jackson Herman scored early in the third. Auburn cut the Chargers’ lead to 5-2 with a power-play goal two minutes later.

Auburn then took advantage of three consecutive UAH penalties to complete the rally. The Tigers tied the game at 5-5 with 3:17 remaining.

The Tigers outshot the Chargers 67-29.

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Club Chargers ready for more after last year’s late surge

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Building on a late charge last season and veteran experience, the UAH club hockey team is ready to build momentum and enthusiasm in the 2023-24 season.

The Chargers open the new campaign this weekend against Auburn at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday.

UAH has nine home games in its 19-game regular-season schedule. The Chargers will host the College Hockey South Veteran’s Cup on November 10-11 with Alabama, Auburn, and Middle Tennessee State. The CHS Division II playoffs will also take place in Huntsville on February 15-18.

The Chargers made strides last season, finishing with a 9-6-1 record. It was the best showing for the club team since its 2018 re-establishment.

UAH finished hot, winning six straight. However, the Chargers finished just short of making the College Hockey South D2 playoffs. UAH head coach Tim Flynn knows there’s some unfinished business.

“Our goal for the season is to make the playoffs and compete for a championship,” Flynn said. “I don’t know if there is a specific number of wins in mind to get there, but the goal is to improve over last year’s total. We understand that while we had a strong finish to last season, we ultimately fell short of our goal. I think we have a better understanding of how difficult it is to win games in this league and the amount of work it is going to require to get to where we want to be.

“So far I’ve been impressed with our pre-season skates. The team has been driven and they’re ready to get started. If we can build on that and get better week in and week out, I think we’ll have a great chance of being in a good spot at the end of the year.”

Senior Bradly McDonald, who had a team-high 23 assists to go with his 10 goals last year, will be the captain and team president.

“This upcoming season is probably the most excited we have been for a season in a very long time and I would say the other captains would agree with that,” McDonald said. “Coming off a positive record last year and going from a team with only 10 skaters to a full team of 25 is a huge step in the right direction and makes everyone excited to show up to the rink and work everyday. Not only do we have a full team, but we have a full team that can seriously play hockey and create depth throughout all four lines.”

The Chargers return their top two scorers from last season, Kolton and Keaton Watts. Kolton, now a junior, scored a team-high 22 goals and 41 points, while Keaton, a senior, had 37 points on 15 goals and 22 assists.

“This season we are definitely ready to be competitive against any opponents we face,” Kolton Watts said. “Our core guys have been through adversity over the past couple of seasons and are excited to keep the program moving the right direction.”

“I am excited for a great season and to play with a great group of guys,” Keaton Watts said. “This year we are going to have a strong team with a lot of talent. This year our team is really going to focus on the little things in practice and the games. Ultimately we hope to make the playoffs.”

Two former members of the varsity team sparked UAH’s late surge last season. Josh Corrow and Adrian Danchenko, who were on UAH’s last NCAA team in the 2020-21 season, combined for 30 goals over the Chargers’ final eight games.

Corrow and the Watts brothers will be assistant captains.

“We have more depth on our team than ever and great chemistry off the ice,” Corrow said. “Going into the season, we have high expectations for this group. This group of players and coaches is determined to bring a championship back to this university.”

Hence the Chargers will have veteran leadership experience, which will help their several newcomers this season. Flynn expects Kaleb Watts, Adrian Mai, and Nate Litton to “contribute meaningful minutes throughout the season.”

“We will rely on this group for their play on the ice, but the biggest thing they’ve done since coming on board is help create a culture in our locker room where everyone understands what our team goals are and what it is going to take to get us there. They’re working off the ice and after practice with some of our younger and inexperienced players to help everyone get better and contribute to the team’s success.”

“Despite the results of our last few seasons, I’ve been very impressed with the team leadership since I got here. Guys like Ralph Drensek Jr. and Nick Boyce, who have graduated, really pushed to keep this program going during the tough times and did more than anyone will ever know to make that happen. (Defensemen) Zach Wolfe and Jacob Harrison, who are still on our roster and a part of the leadership group, played through those tough times and stuck with it to help us get to this point where we’re able to compete and have playoff aspirations. We wouldn’t be here without those guys.”

Flynn said that the team wants to expand its reach at the university and community this season.

“I’m excited that we’re able to play at a more family-friendly hour this year to hopefully start attracting the youth hockey crowds,” Flynn said. “That’s really our goal for the program: Be a local team to cheer for and be an outlet for local players to realize there is a place to play college hockey at a high level while representing Huntsville with pride.

“We’ll be trying to get more involved with the alumni and youth hockey groups for out the year. If anyone is interested in sponsorship or donations you can reach out to the officers at ClubHockey@uah.edu.”

The team has also launched an online merchandise store featuring authentic and replica Charger jerseys for this season.

Opinion: Want UAH hockey? Join the club

A little background

If you are new to UAH club hockey, here is who and where the Chargers play.

The club was re-established in 2018, bringing back club hockey to UAH for the first time since the original club team was lifted to varsity status in 1985. This is the team’s sixth season.

The Chargers’ national affiliation is Division II of AAU College Hockey, a new partnership between the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and the original organization, the Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF). This is the first season of play for AAU College Hockey.

UAH’s conference is College Hockey South (formerly the South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference). CHS has multiple divisions based on its teams’ AAU College Hockey national division. The Chargers are in Division 2 North, which includes UAH, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. UAH will play two games against each division opponent (a total of 12) during the regular season, as well as series against Division 1 opponents Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia.

The CHS Division 2 tournament will take place at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center on February 15-18, 2024. The top four teams in the North and South divisions will qualify.

UAH’s 2023-24 schedule (home games at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center in bold). All times are Central.
* College Hockey South D2 North conference game.

  • Sept. 7 vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m.
  • Sept. 8 vs. Auburn, 6 p.m.
  • *Sept. 22 vs. Tennessee, 7:30 p.m.
  • *Sept. 29 at Middle Tennessee, 8:45 p.m.
  • *Sept. 30 at Middle Tennessee, 8:45 p.m.
  • Oct. 13 vs. Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
  • Oct. 14 vs. Alabama, 6 p.m.
  • *Oct. 20 vs. Clemson, 9:30 p.m.
  • *Oct. 21 vs. Clemson, 12:30 p.m.
  • Nov. 3 at Georgia, 8 p.m.
  • *Nov. 5 at Tennessee, 12:15 p.m.
  • Nov. 10 vs. Alabama (Veteran’s Cup), 8:30 p.m.
  • Nov. 11 vs. Auburn or MTSU (Veteran’s Cup), 4 or 6:30 p.m.
  • *Jan. 19 at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m.
  • *Jan. 20 at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m.
  • *Feb. 2 at Ole Miss, TBA
  • *Feb. 3 at Ole Miss, TBA
  • *Feb. 9 at Georgia Tech, 6:10 p.m.
  • *Feb. 10 at Georgia Tech, 6 p.m.
  • Feb. 16-18 CHS D2 Tournament