Tyler Poulsen scores his second-period goal. (Photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography)

The Chargers got a huge win Sunday in their battle for a WCHA playoff spot, beating No. 19 Northern Michigan 4-2 at the Von Braun Center to earn a series split.

The Chargers (10-18-2 overall, 9-13-2 WCHA) got their first double-digit win season since the 2009-10 campaign, and moved back into sixth place in the WCHA standings with four games to go. UAH is five points behind fifth-place Michigan Tech, one point up on Alaska, and two up on Ferris State.

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“When you play the top teams in the league, the best players have to be your best players,” UAH head coach Mike Corbett said. “And our best players were our best players, starting with Uhelski to Gosselin and Knight to Kestner and Poulsen. And Hans Gorowksy was his normal self.”

Goaltender Jordan Uhelski fought off a fierce NMU attack, stopping 34 of 36 Wildcat shots on goal.

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“I feel tired, but ecstatic for the team and the guys,” Uhelski said. “I thought that was one of the best games we played all season, from the drop of the puck, to when we were up by two and they get one, to really be resilient and make sure we get that next one.”

“He played fantastic,” Corbett said of Uhelski. “And we need that in order to beat the top teams in the league.”

The Chargers got huge contributions from their top offensive players, Josh Kestner and Tyler Poulsen, who each got two goals.

“Our coach always said this is playoff time, even though it’s not necessarily the playoffs,” Kestner said. “We like to treat these last remaining games as playoffs. After last night’s loss, we moved to eighth, and after tonight’s win, we moved to sixth, so that’s a huge push going into the Mankato series next weekend.”

NMU, which stayed one point ahead of Minnesota State atop the league standings, fell to 18-11-3 overall and 16-6-2 in the WCHA.

The Chargers wanted to be faster after Saturday night’s 4-3 loss, and they were at the start.

Poulsen put UAH on the board first at the 2:05 mark, a snapper during a 2-on-1 break. Max McHugh got the assist.

“Getting the first goal is always an objective of our team,” Poulsen said. “I just put one off the glass, their D pinched and he bounced off the wall and it just came to me and we had a 2-on-1. He took the pass, and I took the shot, then it went in and the boys got hyped right away.”

Northern Michigan tied the game up with 6:43 remaining in the first. Philip Beaulieu fired from inside the blue line, just getting under the crossbar.

The Wildcats had several chances to take the lead in the second period with four power plays. Seven of NMU’s 15 shots in the period were with the man advantage.

Seven of those shots were also by NMU’s and the WCHA’s leading scorer, Troy Loggins, who was denied twice by Uhelski on breakaways.

“When someone gets a breakaway and you’re the goalie, you know that it’s a one-on-one,” Uhelski said. “It’s you versus him. Just with the support from the team that I get on a daily basis, I try to do a little extra and focus a little harder to make that save. If they score, that’s a difference maker. You make the save, that’s a difference maker.

“It’s just trying having your team’s back like they have had mine all year.”

The Chargers only got three shots on goal, but also had the only goal to retake the lead. On the power play, Kestner blasted a one-timer from the left circle for his 19th goal of the season at the 11:31 mark.

“It’s just my one-timer side,” the right-winger Kestner said. “Usually the left-handed guys are on the other side, too. I’ve a lot of good D partners that feed me a pass right in the slot, and I just let it go and hope it goes in.”

That D partner this time was Brandon Parker, who tallied his sixth assist of the year, and Poulsen got his team-leading 14th assist.

Poulsen got his second goal of the game and ninth of the season on a breakaway with 9:47 left in the 3rd, giving UAH a 3-1 lead.

“I saw the puck in the middle and the D was trying to beat me to it,” Poulsen said. “I just poke checked it past him and was off to the races after that. I ended up breaking free, making a good move, and he bit.”

NMU would not go quietly in the third period. Robbie Payne knocked in a rebound on the power play to cut UAH’s lead to 3-2 with 5:27 left.

The Wildcats pulled goaltender Atte Tolvanen (11 saves) late for an extra attacker, and UAH got a power play after a Denver Pierce boarding penalty with 41 seconds left.

From there, after a couple of close calls with NMU having the extra attacker, Kestner was able to get a breakaway and score on the empty net for his 20th goal of the season with 3.7 seconds left to seal the victory.

“Not even close,” Kestner responded when asked if he imagined getting 20 goals at this point of the season. “I go day to day, game to game.”

Kestner is the first Charger to get 20 goals since the 2004-05 season when Bruce Mulherin had 24, which is also UAH’s modern Division I record, and Jared Ross scored 22.

“It was a good game,” Corbett said. “We didn’t chase the scoreboard tonight. We were ahead of the scoreboard most of the time, and it was nice for us to be able to play that way.

“We executed better. Our boys play hard. When the puck’s moving and we’re more efficient, we’re playing faster. It’s moving the puck and getting the puck up the ice. We moved the puck a heck of a lot better and forced them to chase us a little bit.”

UAH hosts Minnesota State, which was ranked No. 7 in the country in last week’s poll and is fighting for the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular-season champion, next Friday and Saturday nights at Propst Arena. The Chargers will be looking to carry the result of this series as they fight to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in three years.

“This is a huge confidence booster,” Kestner said. “It’s one of those things where if we had gotten swept, we wouldn’t have been too motivated, too prepared for the upcoming weekend, but we’re ready to go. We don’t want to embarrass our fans on our home ice.”

“We’re looking forward to them coming in,” Uhelski said. “Although this was a great win, we’re not satisfied until we have an ‘x’ next to our name and we have a playoff spot.”

“We got to keep working on our fundamentals and keep everything simple,” Poulsen said. “The more we complicate things, the more we turn pucks over and get in trouble. They’re a good team coming in, so we’re looking to get one against them.”

Bemidji State controlled the game almost from the start, beating the Chargers 5-1 at the Von Braun Center and getting a series split.

UAH (9-17-2 overall, 8-12-2 WCHA) honored the 1998 NCAA Division II national champions during the first intermission, but unlike Friday’s 5-1 Charger win, this game didn’t resemble those good times.

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UAH dropped to seventh place in the WCHA standings with the loss and Ferris State’s win, while Bemidji State (14-8-6 overall, 11-5-4 WCHA), in fourth place, clinched a spot in the WCHA playoffs.

The Chargers managed only 12 shots on goal to the Beavers’ 36 in the 86th meeting between the rivals. And they were in a hole just 33 seconds in.

Brennan Saulnier checked Myles Fitzgerald into the boards chasing the puck. Saulnier was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, the ninth of his UAH career. For refusing to leave the ice, Saulnier was called for abuse of officials, for a total of 25 penalty minutes. The incident will likely be reviewed by the WCHA, which could hand down his fourth career suspension.

After that, the Beavers were relentless. Charlie Combs scored during the major power play to give BSU a 1-0 lead.

UAH had a chance to equalize with 6:10 left in the 1st, when Dillon Eichstadt also got a five-minute checking from behind penalty and a game misconduct for running Josh Kestner.

But Kestner, who leads the WCHA in goals with 17, had to be escorted to the locker room, and without him and Saulnier, UAH could not set up anything on their major power play.

If it weren’t for goaltender Jordan Uhelski, the Chargers could have found themselves in much deeper trouble. But the senior made 15 saves in the period to keep it 1-0 at intermission.

Kestner did return to action in the second period, and UAH did have a few more scoring opportunities (six shots on goal) and a more cohesive power play.

The Chargers still had to weather the storm of two shorthanded situations and a late flurry in the second period, but still found themselves down only a goal heading into the third.

That would be short-lived as BSU put up three unanswered goals in the third. Justin Baudry scored twice, at 7:05 and 12:19, sandwiching a power play goal by Aaron Miller and the Beavers led 4-0.

The Chargers didn’t get their first shot on goal of the third period until it was nine minutes remaining.

UAH averted a shutout for BSU’s All-American goaltender Michael Bitzer with 6:57 to go, as Max McHugh got his first goal of the season, deflecting a Cam Knight shot. It was McHugh’s second game of the season, coming back from a preseason injury.

T.J. Roo added an empty-net goal with 1:22 remaining.

Uhelski finished with 31 saves, adding to the 30 he had on Friday. Bitzer had 11 saves.

Notes: Saulnier has 325 career penalty minutes, moving him into fifth-most in UAH history. He now has 15 penalties counted as 10 minutes: Five misconducts, nine game misconducts, and one game disqualification.

Jordan Uhelski makes one of his 30 saves. (Photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography)

Just like old times?

This weekend, the Chargers are wearing throwback jerseys commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 1998 NCAA Division II national championship team, who defeated Bemidji State for the title.

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Friday night had the feeling of that time. The Chargers took down the Beavers again, a 5-1 decision in their first game at the Von Braun Center in two months.

UAH (9-16-2 overall, 8-11-2 WCHA) got a stalwart performance from senior goaltender Jordan Uhelski, who stopped 30 of 31 shots to snap the eight-game WCHA winning streak of Bemidji State (13-8-6, 10-5-4).

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The Chargers stayed in sixth place in the WCHA standings, moving to seven points behind fifth-place Michigan Tech (a 4-3 loser to Ferris State).

Also making a long-awaited appearance was Max McHugh, who hadn’t seen action this season because of injury. The senior captain got an assist in his debut, a nifty pass from the left circle to a scoring Hans Gorowsky in the second period for UAH’s third goal.

The rivals will meet again Saturday night as members of the 1998 championship team will be honored during the first intermission.

UAH pulled out to a 4-0 by 3:10 of the third period, getting to Bemidji’s All-American goaltender Michael Bitzer early.

Josh Kestner breaks away in the first period. He would score his 17th goal of the season for a 1-0 UAH lead. (Photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography)

John Teets intercepted a Beaver pass near the benches in the neutral zone, and forwarded the puck to Josh Kestner. Kestner made a move around a BSU defenseman for a breakaway, and wristed the puck over Bitzer. His 17th goal of the season came at the 6:36 of the first period.

Bemidji State picked up the pace afterward, and kept Uhelski busy. The Beavers picked up the next 11 shots on goal, including five during a power play.

But Uhelski kept his cool, and finished the first period with 14 saves.

The Chargers got two more in the second period.

At 3:34, Madison Dunn ripped a one-timer off a faceoff win by Christian Rajic to make it 2-0. It was Dunn’s fourth goal of the season.

UAH made it 3-0 with 2:51 on the power play. Hans Gorowsky in the slot deflected McHugh’s pass from the bottom of the left circle for his fourth goal of the season and McHugh’s first point. Kurt Gosselin also got his seventh assist.

In the third, Tyler Poulsen notched his sixth goal of the season with an assist by Dunn at the 3:10 mark and UAH led 4-0.

Bemidji State ended the shutout attempt 56 seconds later on an Aaron Miller goal.

With 4:34 to go, Adam Wilcox upended BSU’s Brendan Harris, who was favoring his left leg as he was helped off the ice. Wilcox got a five-minute major for kneeing, giving the Beavers a power play the rest of the way.

UAH’s penalty killing was solid from there. BSU pulled Bitzer for a 6-on-4 situation with under two minutes to go.

Dunn then scored his second goal of the game and third point of the night when he found the empty net clearing the puck from the UAH zone. The shorthanded finished the 5-1 score.

Three stars of the game:
1. Jordan Uhelski, UAH (30 saves)
2. Madison Dunn, UAH (2 goals, 1 assist)
3. Josh Kestner, UAH (1 goal)

The Chargers scored in the first minute, but couldn’t muster much afterward in a 2-1 loss at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.

The disappointing loss finished off a long road trip for UAH (8-16-2 overall, 7-11-2 WCHA). The Chargers went 2-4-0 in the continuous Bemidji-Fairbanks-Anchroage trip, and 3-8-1 in the 12-game stretch on the road.

Alaska Anchorage earned just its second win of the season and broke a 9-game losing streak.

UAH had won back-to-back games after a 4-2 victory Friday in the series opener.

The Chargers will have next week off before playing at the Von Braun Center for the first time in two months against Bemidji State (Jan. 26-27).

UAH pounced on a turnover in the UAA zone to take a lead just 48 seconds in. Tyler Poulsen got the steal, fed the puck to Brennan Saulnier, who found Connor Merkley in the slot, and Merkley scored his second goal of the season.

It was a team-leading 12th assist for Poulsen, and the sixth helper for Saulnier.

The Chargers had a 8-2 shots advantage at one point, but the Seawolves asserted themselves and started making life difficult for UAH goaltender Jordan Uhelski. UAA outshout UAH 13-2 the rest of the first period, and at 12:43 tied the game as Alex Jackstadt poked the puck through a pileup in front of Uhelski.

The second period had a lot of hard hits, and the worst may have been on UAH sophomore winger Jordan Larson, who had just made his season debut Friday after a preseason injury kept him sidelined.

During a 2-on-1, Larson’s backhand shot went wide, and he was soon hit high by UAA defenseman Aaron McPheters. Larson was slow to get up, but eventually made it back to the bench. A few minutes later, however, Larson had to be escorted off the ice and to the locker room with his head down.

Late in the second, Hans Gorowsky received an elbow to the face by UAA’s Corey Renwick, who would get a major penalty. Gorowsky was shaken, but skated to the bench on his own power.

UAH couldn’t score on the major power play that bled into the third period, nor could the Chargers score on another major power play after David Trinkberger cross-checked Saulnier. Somehow Saulnier got an embellishment penalty, which shortened the power play by two minutes.

Anchorage killed the penalties unscathed, and with 10:19 to go, took its first lead of the series when Trey deGraaf’s second attempt got over Uhelski’s pad.

The Seawolves withstood the Chargers’ final barrage on shots on UAA senior goaltender Olivier Mantha, who stopped all 12 UAH shots in the third period.

Shots for the game were tied 29-29. Uhelski finished with 27 saves.

Levi Wunder’s goal with 2:55 to go was the game-winner as the Chargers grinded a 4-2 win at Alaska Anchorage on Friday.

The second line of Wunder, Hans Gorowsky, and Josh Kestner was the spark of the offense for UAH (8-15-2 overall, 7-10-2 WCHA), which has won back-to-back games.

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Wunder had a goal and an assist, Gorowsky had a goal and an assist, and Kestner had two assists before his empty-net goal, his 16th of the season, in the final second.

Alaska Anchorage (1-16-4 overall, 1-11-3 WCHA) has lost nine straight.

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UAH scored first at the 3:54 mark. Kestner found Levi Wunder wide open driving down the left wing. Wunder centered the puck to Hans Gorowsky, who had an easy third goal of the season. It was the fifth assist of the season for both Wunder and Kestner.

UAH took a 2-0 lead on a two-man advantage early in the second. Brennan Saulnier whipped a nasty shot from the high slot, hitting the bottom of the crossbar at 4:14. Kurt Gosselin got his sixth assist, and Cam Knight his 10th.

Like UAH’s last game in Fairbanks, that 2-0 lead did not last long as UAA got on the board 1:19 later. The rest of the Charger power play was killed via a hooking penalty, and on the resulting power play for Anchorage, Austin Azurdia cut it to 2-1 as a puck came to him in front of a wide open net after UAH’s Jordan Uhelski made a save on Tad Kozun.

Anchorage tied the game at 2-2 just before the halfway point of the third period. Brandon Switzer prevented a UAA icing, then found Nicolas Erb-Ekholm all alone in front of the UAH net. Erb-Ekholm beat Uhelski high.

Then came Wunder’s game-winning goal, the second for the freshman. Kestner passed the puck ahead to Gorowsky on the left of Mantha. Gorowsky’s shot was saved, but the rebound went right to Wunder, who put it away.

UAA pulled Mantha for the extra attacker in the final minute, and Kestner scored unassisted with :00.2 left.

Uhelski had 18 saves in the win.

UAH shotout UAA 25-20 in the power-play-filled game. UAH had eight opportunities and UAA had six.

The series finale — and the final road game of UAH’s 12-game road swing and the regular season — is Saturday night at 10:07 p.m. Central.

Notes: Kestner now has 22 points on the season, giving him back-to-back seasons of 20 points or more. … Jordan Larson made his season debut, coming back from a preseason injury.

Jordan Uhelski made 35 saves as UAH held on for a much-needed 3-1 victory over Alaska in Fairbanks on Saturday night to earn a series split.

UAH (7-15-2 overall, 6-10-2 WCHA) snapped a six-game losing streak, and leaped back into sixth place in the WCHA standings.

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Alaska (8-12-2 overall, 6-9-1 WCHA), coached by UAH alum Lance West, saw its three-game win streak end.

The Chargers will now head to Alaska Anchorage for a series next weekend against the Seawolves and finish off their 12-game road odyssey.

There was no scoring in the first period, although it was the Chargers who had the bulk of opportunities, outshooting the Nanooks 13-5.

However, Alaska goaltender Anton Martinsson continued where he left off at the end of Friday night’s game, making the big saves to keep UAH out of the net.

The second period was Uhelski’s time to shine as the Nanooks started to get the most scoring chances. Uhelski stopped all 19 Alaska shots on goal in the frame.

The closest Alaska came to scoring was after an initial Uhelski save, but the UAH defense was able to clear the puck from the crease after it started to trickle through.

UAH made nine shots of their own in the action-packed second period, and one of them gave the Chargers its first lead in weeks. Josh Kestner got the puck in front, went backhand to forehand to put the puck past Martinsson for this 15th goal of the season with 5:41 left.

John Teets, playing in his hometown Fairbanks, got the primary assist, his sixth of the season. Levi Wunder tallied his fourth helper.

UAH made it 2-0 with 9:18 to go when, right out of the penalty box from a tripping penalty, Austin Beaulieu broke away and deked Martinsson for his second goal of the season.

Alaska cut UAH’s lead to 2-1 just 24 seconds later, as Tayler Munson found Justin Young all alone in the slot, and Young was able to beat Uhelski.

That would be the only goal he would allow, making 11 saves in the third period for a total of 35.

Christian Rajic scored his eighth goal of the season, putting away the empty netter with 43 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Andrew Dodson was not in the lineup after suffering a concussion in Friday night’s game. Tyler Poulsen was also a late scratch for UAH.

Alaska scored with 55 seconds left in regulation to hand UAH a 3-2 loss on Friday in Fairbanks, Alaska.

UAH (6-15-2 overall, 5-10-2 WCHA) has lost six straight games, falling to eighth place in the WCHA standings. Alaska (8-11-2, 6-8-1) moved up to sixth.

Game two of the series and 10th game in this long road swing is Saturday night at 10:07 p.m. Central Time.

Alaska took the early 1-0 lead at 6:17 of the game. Ross Heidt put in a rebound during a scramble in front of UAH goaltender Mark Sinclair. Heidt was assisted by UAF captain Justin Woods.

The Chargers then put on the pressure, and tied the game on the power play with 1:39 left in the first period. After he was boarded by Steven Jandric, Kurt Gosselin one-timed a Brennan Saulnier pass from near the right point for his fourth goal of the season.

Saulnier and Brandon Salerno each got their fifth assists of the season.

Alaska regained the lead at 5:35 of the second period, as Kyle Marino beat Sinclair on a semi-breakaway.

UAH tied the game again, right after a power play expired. Austin Beaulieu notched his first goal of the season from the right circle dot with 3:57 left in the second. Salerno got another assist, and Brandon Parker also tallied a helper.

In a bit of a scoresheet oddity, Josh Kestner had a hat trick of tripping penalties in the second period.

UAH had chances to take the lead late in the third, including a power play. They peppered Anton Martinsson, who make scrambling saves in the final two minutes.

And then just like that, Zach Frye’s blast found its way past Sinclair with 55 seconds left in regulation. UAH pulled Sinclair for the extra attacker, but to no avail.

Sinclair made 21 saves in his fifth career start, still looking for his first win.

UAH outshot the Nanooks 26-24.

Bemidji State defeated UAH 4-1 on Saturday, completing a series sweep as both teams are moving in opposite directions fast.

UAH (6-14-2 overall, 5-9-2 WCHA) has lost five straight games and is winless in their last six. Bemidji State (9-6-5 overall, 6-4-4 WCHA) has won four in a row and is unbeaten in its last seven.

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The Chargers, sitting seventh in the WCHA standings, will head directly from Bemidji to Fairbanks, Alaska, where they will take on the Alaska Nanooks next weekend and continue their stretch of 12 straight road games.

UAH was able to get more scoring chances to start this game, a carryover from the third period Friday night, but still had trouble finding the net. The Chargers have only scored four goals in the last five games.

However, it was Bemidji State that got the first goal again with 7:08 left in the period. Myles Fitzgerald had a shot from the slot in front of Uhelski, who made the save. The rebound was short and right to Jay Dickman, who slid the puck between Uhelski’s legs before Uhelski got a chance to cover.

BSU asserted more puck possession the rest of the period, finishing with 15 shots on goal to UAH’s nine.

Bemidji pounced early in the second period, with Zach Whitecloud scoring just 18 seconds in for a 2-0 Beavers lead.

UAH got on the board at the 5:13 mark, when Josh Kestner tipped in a bouncing puck over BSU goaltender Michael Bitzer to cut BSU’s lead to 2-1. It was Kestner’s 14th goal of the season and second of the series (scoring UAH’s lone goal on Friday). Levi Wunder and Richard Buri got the assists.

The first power play of the game didn’t come until 4:22 left in the second, and Bemidji State didn’t waste time converting. Adam Brady, who scored twice on Friday, found the net just 19 seconds into the man advantage.

UAH got its first power play with 2:48 left in the second. The Chargers couldn’t score, and with Gerry Fitzgerald coming out of the penalty box, Bemidji State had a 3-on-1. Fitzgerald’s centering pass deflected off a UAH defender and past Uhelski for a 4-1 BSU lead.

The Chargers outshot the Beavers 9-7 in the third period, but no scoring occurred. BSU had the shots advantage for the game, 32-23.

Uhelski finished with 28 saves.

UAH’s offense has gotten as cold as the Bemidji, Minnesota air, which had a temperature of 15 below zero at game time.

The Chargers lost 3-1 at Bemidji State on Friday night, their fourth loss in a row. UAH has only scored three goals in the skid.

UAH (6-13-2 overall, 5-8-2 WCHA) was outshot 42-19 for the contest. In the losing streak, the Chargers have been outshot 157-62.

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The Chargers played their best period in the third, outshooting the Beavers 8-6 but failing to find the equalizer down 2-1. They can take this into the series finale Saturday night.

Despite dominating most of the game, Bemidji State (8-6-5 overall, 5-4-4 WCHA) needed an empty-net goal with 24 seconds left to extended its unbeaten streak to six games. BSU moved into fifth place in the WCHA standings, keeping the Chargers in sixth.

Jordan Uhelski was the prime reason UAH stayed in the game. The senior goaltender made 39 saves, 20 of them in the second period alone.

If the Christmas break put some rust on the Chargers, it showed. UAH was not sharp in the first period, turning the puck over and giving the Beavers the bulk of scoring chances and the first goal of the game.

Adam Brady took a T.J. Roo pass, then beat Uhelski from the right side at the 6:04 mark. The Beavers outshot the Chargers 16-6 in the first period, and most of those UAH shots came late.

It didn’t get better during the second period, although the Chargers were able to tie the game on the power play.

Josh Kestner ripped a one-timer from the left circle at 5:45 of the period, his 13th of the season. With 13 games left in the regular season, Kestner has the most goals in a season by a Charger since Grant Selinger’s 17 in 2006-07.

Kestner was assisted by Tyler Poulsen with his team-leading 11th of the year, and Cam Knight, his ninth helper.

But UAH hardly sniffed the offensive zone the rest of the period, and Bemidji State reclaimed the lead with 4:03 left in the second. Zach Whitecloud beat Uhelski high from the slot as the Beavers relentlessly put 20 more pucks on net in the period while UAH only had five.

Hands down, the third period was the best for the Chargers, who finally applied some stretches of sustained pressure. That kept the Beavers from getting a shot on goal in the first eight minutes.

But UAH couldn’t tie the game against all-American goaltender Michael Bitzer, who had 18 saves.

Brady put the game away with his second goal of the game, an empty-netter with 24 seconds left after Uhelski was pulled for the extra attacker.

The schedule is what the schedule is, but if there was one WCHA team the Chargers did not need to see this week, it was Minnesota State.

UAH, playing for the ninth straight week and third straight on the road, had hardly anything again for the seventh-ranked Mavericks. The Chargers lost 3-0 on Saturday, getting swept in a WCHA series for the first time this season.

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The Chargers (6-12-2 overall, 5-7-2 WCHA) will get a much-needed Christmas break next week. Afterward, they go on a three-week odyssey from Bemidji to Fairbanks to Anchorage to finish their road season.

While that’s a long, arduous trip, UAH won’t see a team as potent as Minnesota State, the consensus preseason pick to win the WCHA title and the league’s lone ranked team. The Mavericks (13-5-0 overall, 11-3-0 WCHA) top the WCHA standings by four points over Bowling Green.

MSU is now unbeaten (20-0-4) in the last 24 meetings with UAH going back to 2002. A fresher Charger team on home ice will have a better chance when they host the Mavericks at the Von Braun Center on February 9-10.

UAH had a couple of decent scoring chances early, but Minnesota State controlled the bulk of the contest.

The Mavericks had a great chance to score when C.J. Seuss, who scored twice in Friday’s 5-1 MSU win, lead an odd-man rush, but Richard Buri got in front of Seuss to break it up.

However, it was also an interference penalty on Buri, and MSU ended up scoring anyway on the power play. Reggie Lutz blasted a one-timer from the right circle past UAH goaltender Mark Sinclair for a 1-0 Mavericks lead at the 12:45 mark.

Minnesota State took a 2-0 lead at 4:09 of the second period, when Jared Jaremko fed Seuss from one side of Sinclair to the other, and Seuss burying the puck in the open net.

Seuss scored yet again at 1:26 of the third, again with a clean look. This time Parker Tuomie found him for a 3-0 MSU lead.

UAH had a prime chance to score on back-to-back Maverick penalties. Dallas Gerads got an elbowing call, and then Riese Zmolek went off a minute later after getting a major charging call for his hit on Tyler Poulsen.

The Chargers had two shots on goal during the two-man advantage, but couldn’t get a puck on MSU goalie Connor LaCouvee in the remaining four minutes of the power play.

In the final minute, Brennan Saulnier checked Gerads hard into the boards, and got a contact to the head major and a misconduct penalty. Gerads held his head as he was attended to and then escorted off the ice. Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings took exception with the UAH bench, but did shake hands with coach Mike Corbett following the game.

Minnesota State outshot UAH 32-16. Sinclair, the freshman, had 29 saves in his fourth start of the season.