Category Archives: Recaps

Lake Superior State 2, UAH 1

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The Chargers held a lead for the longest time they’ve had all season, so it feels like one that got away.

UAH (1-31-1, 1-21-1 WCHA) lead by a goal after the first period, but Lake Superior State (15-15-1, 11-12-0 WCHA) netted two in the second to win 2-1 in front of 2,488 at the Von Braun Center on Friday.

The Lakers dominated possession for the first 10 minutes of the game, but the Chargers gradually started to put on pressure. It eventually paid off on the power play, as Brandon Carlson beat LSSU goalie Kevin Kapalka give him his first goal of the season and the Chargers a 1-0 lead with 1:56 left in the period. He was assisted by Graeme Strukoff and Regan Soquila.

UAH was playing with just its fifth lead of the season, and first since taking a 1-0 lead at Alaska-Anchorage on Nov. 9.

The Chargers tried as they could to extend their lead in the second, but they would give up the lead instead. Colin Campbell tied the game with 13:42 left, and Stephen Perfetto put in a rebound to give the Lakers a 2-1 lead with 4:08 to go.

Lake State, as it did at the start of the first two periods, continued with the puck possession. The Lakers finished with a 44-23 shots advantage. UAH goaltender Matt Larose had a good night despite the two goals in the second, stopping 42 of those shots and earning the second star of the game.

The Chargers killed a big penalty after Cody Marooney crashed into Kapalka for a goaltender interference penalty. UAH then made it interesting the rest of the way with numerous scoring opportunities, but could not get the right shot and net the equalizer.

The same two teams play tomorrow night at 7. Again, general admission is free, courtesy of Huntsville International Airport.

Commentary by Geof Morris: This is the kind of game that a young team has to learn how to win. They’ll go home tonight, play it over in their heads, and be ready to watch film in the morning. Then they’ll see that they flat-out dominated portions of this game, and they’ll see what went poorly for three minutes. They’ll learn, they’ll adjust, and they’ll play better on Saturday night. Count on that. This team has a lot of heart, and they’re going to figure this game out. It’s been three years since we’ve beaten a Division I team at home, but I don’t think we’re going to go more than three more games.

Stars of the Game:
1. Stephen Perfetto (LSSU, game-winning goal)
2. Matt Larose (UAH, 42 saves)
3. Colin Campbell (LSSU, goal)

Photos from Chris Brightwell:

Photos from Timothy Burns:

Carmine Guerriero 61, Minnesota State 4, UAH 0

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Who cares who scored for Mankato?  Freshman goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montreal, Que.) stopped 61 of the 65 shots that he faced tonight.  He got peppered all night long, including 28 shots seen in the third period (a school record), stopping 27 of them (a school record).  Guerriero’s 61 saves set the modern D-I record, breaking Clarke Saunders’s 58-save record in a 2-1 win over Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 29, 2011.  Saunders retains the modern and school records for most saves in a winning effort.  Guerriero falls just one short of the all-time, all-classification school record set by Barry Friedman at Geneseo State in Nov. 1986 (68 SOG).

We’ll probably do something on records after the season is done.  Michael is a wizard at these things.  But when we talk about a school record, we mean that: no one else has done it better. You’ll also see us talk about the modern D-I record, which is games starting in the 1999-2000 season, the first one playing a full-time Division I schedule.  Most schools who’ve played at multiple classifications do this, and it’s our standard as well.

But man, 61 saves.  Sleep well tonight, Carmine.  You earned it.

Carmine Guerriero set the modern record for saves with 61 in a 4-0 defeat by Minnesota State-Mankato. (Photo courtesy UAH sports information.)

Carmine Guerriero set the modern record for saves with 61 in a 4-0 defeat by Minnesota State-Mankato. (Photo courtesy UAH sports information.)

Minnesota State 4, UAH 0

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The nation’s #2 power-play units scored on both opportunities tonight, as Bryce Gervais (1 PPG, 1 SHG) and Sean Flanagan each scored with the man advantage to lead the home-standing Minnesota State Mavericks (18-13-0, 16-7-0 WCHA) won 4-0 over the visiting UAH Chargers (1-29-1, 1-19-1 WCHA).

This game should not have been played tonight.  Corbs said that he wouldn’t make excuses, and to their credit, the boys worked hard and well all throughout the game, which one would generally not expect from a team that bused 20 hours overnight and got to Mankato 2:31:00 before puck drop.

You read that right.  Mike won’t make an excuses, but I will register my complaint.

This series should’ve been postponed into Saturday-Sunday.  The WCHA needs these two games to be fair and competitive, and that involves UAH being in a better position to win than their travel woes allowed.  Is UAH likely to pick up points this weekend?  Given that Mankato is 1) the #2 team in the league and 2) now 12-1 at home, that seems unlikely.  But ask Bowling Green about hosting UAH.  That game may cost the Falcons home ice, as our prediction for the final standings has them in fifth on a tiebreaker.  If that loss is a win, the brown-and-orange crew leapfrog Tech into #3.

Alex Allan and Doug Reid enter the offensive zone. (Photo credit: AJ Dahm, SPX Sports)

Alex Allan and Doug Reid enter the offensive zone. (Photo credit: AJ Dahm, SPX Sports)

Now, there aren’t a lot of scenarios where the Mavericks fall into third.  But what if Ferris falters?  Should an unfair advantage for the Mavericks tonight factor in then?

What was the plan if the bus had been delayed another hour?  Two hours?  At what point would the game have been postponed?  At home, our guys get to the rink at 5:00 p.m. for a 7:00 p.m. game.  This was cutting in close on that.  With flights to Minneapolis cancelled both Wednesday and Thursday due to weather, the boys were left to scramble for buses.  But they were kinda okay.

Here’s to a good night of sleep for the boys and a better result tomorrow.  All of these games matter, and the boys are going to play up to that.

Michigan Tech 10, UAH 4

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If you’d told me at 2:00 p.m. today that UAH would score two power-play goals and four overall, I’d have felt pretty good about the boys’ chances of winning.  Instead, the Michigan Tech Huskies (12-14-6, 10-8-4 WCHA) potted seven second-period goals, which set the UAH school record for most goals allowed in a period.  In all, the teams combined for a modern D-I record 14 goals, with ten of them going to the Huskies (tying the UAH season high for goals allowed) while the boys in Blue and White (1-28-1, 1-18-1 WCHA) scored just four, also a season high.

Let’s just not discuss the goals allowed.  It’s better that way.

The UAH goals were scored by:

  1. Regan Soquila (Maple Ridge, B.C., 2nd goal), who took a feed from Jack Prince (Leicester, England, 3rd assist) low in the slot that gave him an open net for a hot wrister just :44 after the Huskies’ first marker.  Chad Brears (Cold Lake, Alta., 2nd assist) also picked up an assist.
  2. Prince (4th goal), who picked up a feed from Steven Koshey (Trail, B.C., 6th assist) behind the net, skating just along the top of the crease while waiting for Pheonix Copley (19 sv, 8-8-5) to open up; when he did, the Prince of Huntsville back-handed the puck along the ice and into the Tech net.
  3. Prince again (5th goal) on the power play early in the third, tipping a Brears (3rd assist) shot from the point set up by a feed from Koshey (7th assist).  The boys thought that Chad had scored this one, but it was credited to Jack on the video review.
  4. Brears (5th goal) scored a power-play goal on a rebound of a Prince (4th assist) shot.  Alex Allan (Calgary, Alta., 2nd assist) picked up the other assist.

But otherwise, it was a nightmare.  Matt Larose (Nanaimo, B.C., 0-14-1) picked up 35 saves on 42 shots on before leaving the ice in favor of Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Québec, 12 sv on 15 shots).  Larose was visibly upset as he left the ice, and that’s understandable.

This one was ugly.

Michigan Tech 4, UAH 1

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Blake Pietila and Tanner Kero each scored two goals to lead the host Michigan Tech Huskies (11-14-6 overall, 9-8-4 WCHA) over UAH (1-27-1 overall, 1-17-1 WCHA) by a 4-1 score at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Mich.

The Chargers’ lone goal came at 9:28 of the third period just as a Husky penalty expired.  A shot into the pads of MTU netminder Pheonix Copley (20 sv, 7-8-5) settled at the feet of senior winger Alex Allan (Calgary, Alb.), who skated right-to-left across the goal mouth to beat Copley to the left-wing post to net his team-leading fifth goal of the season.  Jack Prince (Leicester, England) and Doug Reid (Innisfil, Ont.) picked up the assists, their third and fifth, respectively.

Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, QC, 38 sv, 1-14-0) got the start in net for the Chargers, leaving for an apparent groin injury with 11:05 left in regulation.  Matt Larose (Nainaimo, B.C., 9 sv) came in to relieve his fellow freshman, allowing Pietila’s second marker.

In all, the Chargers killed four of their five power plays, including a checking-from-behind major on Chad Brears just 0:40 into the second period.

The Chargers face the Huskies at 4:07 p.m. Huntsville time on Saturday afternoon.

Alaska 6, UAH 1

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The Alaska Nanooks (11-12-4, 8-11-2 WCHA) stormed out to an early lead and rode three third-period goals to win going away hosting our beloved UAH Chargers (1-25-1, 1-15-1 WCHA) in Fairbanks.  Six different Nanooks scored goals on the evening.

The story of this game is one that we’ve told you once or twice before: UAH quickly goes down by two, rallies, hangs in there, and fades at the end.  It is Friday, after all.  Here’s the story:

  1. The Nanooks went out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first 7:10 off of goals from Jared Larson and Marcus Basara.
  2. The boys put the clamps down at that point, and while Matt Larose (38 sv) was getting it done in the Chargers’ end, the boys started to leak out offensively.  And then BEHOLD! A MisuROCKET appeared, beating Sean Cahill (12 sv) over the shoulder with 1:04 left in the first.  Assists on the goal went to Matt Salhany and Joakim Broberg.
  3. The buzz you might have expected coming into the second didn’t appear to be long-lived, as neither team had much life for most of the second period.
  4. A tired Chargers squad took an icing penalty late in the second, and the Nanooks capitalized when Jared Linell banged a puck home just outside the crease.
  5. The Nanooks pulled away in the third on goals from Garrick Perry (9:15), Colton Parayko (10:45, PPG), and Colton Beck (13:42).

Larose falls to 0-13-1 on the season.  The two teams face off to conclude the season series at 10:07 p.m. Huntsville time on Saturday.   This week’s Catching the Game has all the information you need to stay in tune with the Chargers on these late nights.

Alaska-Anchorage 4, UAH 1

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The good news: A season-high crowd of 3,614 was in attendance for the second night of Military Appreciation Weekend.

The bad news: They didn’t have much to cheer about as the Chargers lost 4-1 to Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday. The teams tied 1-1 on Friday.

UAA (12-9-3 overall, 8-7-3 WCHA) dominated puck possession most of the game en route to a 44-19 shots on goal advantage over UAH (1-24-1, 1-14-1).

The Seawolves came out aggressive and controlled possession in the UAH defensive zone. But it wasn’t until coincidental roughing penalties to UAH’s Cody Marooney and UAA’s Ben Matthews that the Seawolves got the open ice to capitalize. Matt Bailey pounced on two loose pucks off of Carmine Guerriero, scoring twice 17 seconds apart during the 4-on-4, to give Alaska-Anchorage an early 2-0 lead.

UAH did little to answer, not getting its first shot on UAA goaltender Chris Kamal until 4:46 left in the first period. It was the Chargers’ only shot for the period to UAA’s 14.

The Chargers did come out of the second period with more energy — and shots on goal thanks to two Seawolf penalties, but UAH was unable to score.

After killing a Derek Docken cross-checking penalty, UAA regained control of the contest. The Seawolves eventually put a third goal past Guerriero from Jordan Kwas with 2:36 left in the second.

UAH got its goal in the third on a great goal by Matt Salhany, who sped through the offensive zone, into the slot, and lifted the puck over UAA goalie Chris Kamal with 6:42 left. The goal fired up the crowd.

However, Kwas scored his second goal of the game with 2:12 remaining for the final score.

After taking next weekend off, the Chargers go on their second Alaska trip, facing the Nanooks in Fairbanks on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. It’s the first of three road trips, as the Chargers don’t play at home until Feb. 21 and 22 against Lake Superior State.

UAH 1, Alaska-Anchorage 1

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Photo Credit: Chris Brightwell

Photo Credit: Chris Brightwell

The largest home crowd of the season was treated to a show to start Military Appreciation Weekend.

UAH got a third-period goal from Brent Fletcher, and Matt Larose held on with 24 saves as the Chargers (1-23-1 overall, 1-13-1 WCHA) got a 1-1 tie with Alaska-Anchorage (11-9-3, 7-7-3) at the Von Braun Center on Friday night.

An announced crowd of 2,604 saw a back-and-forth third period and extra frame as UAH snapped an 11-game losing streak at home. It was also the first non-loss at home against a Division I opponent since tying Minnesota State on Oct. 13, 2012.

The Chargers wore black-and-camo jerseys to honor America’s veterans. They’ll do the same Saturday night, with the jerseys being auctioned off after the game. Game time is 7:07 and the first 500 kids 12 and under receive a free junior UAH camo jersey.

The excitement started early with lots of back forth in the first period, and a bit of power play time for both teams. UAH had three penalties — all served by Stephen McKenna (one for a bench minor for too many men), while UAA had two. On one of the Seawolves’ power plays midway through the period, Matt Salhany — also known as “Stealhany” — had a shorthanded opportunity that was denied by UAA goalie Chris Kamal.

The best opportunities for goals came with about 2:30 left in the period, when Anchorage’s Andrew Pettitt had a wide open net with Matt Larose out of position — but he hit the post. Heading the other way, Cody Marooney had a breakaway but was stopped by Kamal.

Graeme Strukoff looks toward the net from the point with Doug Reid low in the slot. (Photo credit: Chris Brightwell)

Graeme Strukoff looks toward the net from the point with Doug Reid low in the slot. (Photo credit: Chris Brightwell)

The Seawolves finally broke the scoreless stalemate halfway through the second period. Austin Coldwell from the left circle beat Larose top shelf for a 1-0 UAA lead. He was assisted by Blake Thatchell and Jordan Kwas.

UAH was laying some hits on the Seawolves, but was overzealous at times, leading to two penalties. Fortunately, the Chargers were able to evade the power plays unscathed. For the game, UAA was 0-for-6 on the power play, while UAH was 0-for-4.

UAH regrouped in the third and found more offensive pressure. It paid off at the 6:01 mark, as Salhany’s pass from the left circle found a charging Fletcher, who beat Kamal for his first goal of the season and UAH career. Steve Koshey got the second assist.

Larose then made the saves to keep UAA off the board the rest of the way. The Seawolves had a 25-18 shots on goal advantage.

In overtime, the Chargers had a couple of golden chances to win. Salhany couldn’t put stick to puck with Kamal on the ground, and UAH couldn’t convert after back-to-back Seawolf penalties gave them 22 seconds of two-man advantage.

UAA also had its big chance in the extra session, as Kwas’s shorthanded breakaway was stopped by Larose.

Notre Dame 5, UAH 0

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This one just wasn’t in the cards.  As with last night, the Irish skated out to a 3-0 first period lead and then added two more in the 2nd.  In all, the home squad peppered UAH goaltender Carmine Guerriero (1-11-0, 37SV) with 42 shots, while the Chargers mustered just 13 shots, all saved by Steven Summerhays (10-7-1, 13SV).

All weekend, we heard ND announcers talk about rebuilding, and let’s further that conversation just a little bit with some historical perspective.  I think that we need that right about now.

UAH has played varsity men’s ice hockey since October 1985.  In the first few years of the program, they played .500 hockey — in fact, the last time at .500 came when the Chargers defeated RIT on November 19, 1993.

From that point, the Chargers got as high as 132 games over .500, with the peak coming after a 6-1 win over Wayne State on February 25, 2006, a night where the boys scored five power play goals in eight opportunities, all by a unit of Bruce Mulherin (1-3—4) – Chris Martini  (1-0—1) – Brett McConnachie (3-0—3) / Jeff Winchester (0-2—2) – Jeremy Schreiber (0-4—4).  That’s an insane night.

That’s a blowout win that came against a team that no longer exists.

That was a conference game for a league that no longer exists.

UAH’s present woes aren’t due solely to Mac Portera and dropping players and scheduled games two seasons ago.  UAH’s struggles don’t come from the CCHA kicking us in the teeth in August 2009.

No, they start before that, and the roots are in the instability of College Hockey America, UAH’s first D-I conference home.  The league never made it past six teams, and two programs left (Army and Air Force, both for what is now Atlantic Hockey) while two programs folded (Findlay and Wayne State) and another was roped into being in our league (Robert Morris) to keep the membership number up.  The CHA automatic qualifier bid was approved when UAH met the NCAA minimum of six teams.  As membership dwindled to five and then four, we got grandfathered in around the rule, as the CHA was the only route for western expansion, given that the WCHA and CCHA seemed pretty stable.

But the CHA gave way, as Bemidji State found a home in the WCHA with the UNO Mavericks joining them.  It seemed that UAH might replace the Mavs in the CCHA, but it wasn’t to be, mainly because the rumblings of the Big Ten Conference becoming real.  That shift changed the landscape of college hockey, and frankly, it’s why UAH exists today.

So all the losing didn’t start when Chris Luongo became coach, or when Kurt Kleinendorst took over.  No, it started because the CHA was an unstable league, and young men don’t want to base their collegiate choice on a maybe.  They want to know that there will be stability, continuity, and progress.  Starting back in probably the 2004 timeframe, you haven’t been able to sell UAH hockey to student athletes as a given: this is who we are as a stable and building program, this is the stable and growing league that we play in, and this is what we play for.

That blowout of Wayne State was a high water mark for the program to be sure, but the cracks in the foundation were getting wider by the day.  Since that game, UAH is now 47-180-19 in its last 246 contests.  That’s dreadful.

However, those games include both of the school’s NCAA tournament appearances.  They include Cam Talbot’s entire UAH career.  It’s a pile full of hard times, but we’ve gotten through it together.

So if you’re a long-time fan staring at 1-23-0 and wondering, “Why bother?” I respond, “You know where we’ve been.  You’ve hung in this long.  Keep hanging.”

To someone that only remembers the (second round of) D-I days, I say, “We saw the peak, and we’re going back down, but hang with us.  You know the story.”

To current students and recent graduates, I say, “Do you see those banners?  Do you see those NCAA tournament appearances?  The championships came in times of stability, and the appearances came in time of strife.  Don’t you think that we’ll do better in time?”

Don’t quit on the Chargers, because they won’t quit on you.

[This post isn’t possible without Michael’s work in diving throughout the history of the program to find those two inflection points.  Thanks, Michael.]

Bowling Green 7, UAH 0

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Bowling Green shot down any hope UAH had of posting its second win against them Friday night.

The Falcons spent the bulk of the game firing away, piling up a 45-22 shots on goal advantage and cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Chargers.

It was another disappointing Friday for UAH, who will try to bounce back on a Saturday again. Puck drop is at 7:07 at the Von Braun Center, and the first 1,000 fans receive a mini hockey stick.

The Falcons prolific shooting made for a tough game for UAH goaltender Matt Larose, who was back in action after suffering a lacerated hip last Friday at Wisconsin.

Larose made big the saves early, but rebounds eventually found their way in. BG’s Ben Murphy pounded in a rebound to give the Falcons a 1-0 with 11:34 remaining in the period.

It was the only goal Bowling Green would get in the first despite outshooting UAH 19-6, but the Falcons would find the net three times in the second.

Ralfs Freibergs made it 2-0 on a blast from the left point on the power play (ending a streak of 11 straight UAH penalty kills going back to last week) at 5:53. Matt Pohlkamp punched in a rebound that died in the slot at 12:56, and Mark Cooper gave BG a 4-0 lead just eight seconds later.

Meanwhile, the Chargers could not get much of an offensive flow going. Tommy Burke made 22 saves in his second career shutout. His first? Against UAH on Dec. 6 in Bowling Green.

Dan DeSalvo, Murphy, and Adam Berkle added goals for the Falcons in the third period.

Larose finished the game with 38 saves.