Lake Superior State scored six first-period goals and cruised to a 7-2 win over UAH on Friday in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

The Chargers (4-19-0 overall, 4-11-0 WCHA) could only play better in the second and third periods to get ready for Saturday night’s series finale.

The 18th-ranked Lakers (14-6-1, 9-5-1) won their seventh straight game.

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UAH found themselves in a hole right away when Diego Cuglietta scored just 26 seconds in to put Lake Superior up 1-0. Cuglietta has been red hot for the Lakers with his seventh goal in the last five games.

The Chargers answered with Cam Knight’s shot from the blue line trickling between the pads of Laker goalie Nick Kossoff at 2:16 to tie the game at 1-1. Adam Wilcox got the assist.

But things fell apart quickly when the Lakers got another two goals before the halfway point of the first period.

The Lakers took a 2-1 lead after two straight saves by UAH goalie Jake Theut left an open net for Max Humitz at 4:15. Then Gage Torrel beat Theut from the left side of a 2-on-1 break at 9:22.

After allowing three goals on six shots, Theut was replaced in goal by Mark Sinclair.

It didn’t get any better. Melvin Karlsson made it 4-1 at 12:03. Jacob Nordqvist made it 5-1 at 14:32.

A Steven Ruggiero goal in 4-on-4 play with five seconds left completed an utterly disastrous period for the Chargers. It was the worst period for UAH since also allowing six goals in the third period against Bowling Green on Nov. 19, 2016.

UAH played better in the second period to stop the bleeding, but couldn’t chip into the deficit.

The Chargers continued to play well in the third period and Austin Beaulieu scored a power play goal with 11:57 remaining, his fourth goal in the last three games, to cut LSSU’s lead to 6-2.

Humitz’s second goal of the game put the Lakers up 7-2.

Sinclair finished the game with 27 saves. The Chargers were outshot 37-20.

The Chargers needed this in so many ways.

UAH scored twice in the final 3:25 of regulation, then Austin Beaulieu’s tip found the back of the net 3:13 into overtime, lifting the Chargers to a 4-3 win over Ferris State at the VBC on Saturday.

The Chargers (4-18-0 overall, 4-10-0 WCHA) regained eighth place in the WCHA standings over the Bulldogs, who took game one by a 6-5 score on Friday, also in overtime.

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UAH finally got a victory at Propst Arena this year, the first in 10 games. And, the Chargers ended on the good side of a one-goal affair, improving to just 2-9 in a tough season of several close calls.

The first period was up-and-down, with Ferris State (6-15-1, 3-10-1) again getting the first goal of the game.

Nate Kallen took a centering pass in the slot from Cooper Zech, and directed the puck past UAH goaltender Jake Theut with 2:43 remaining in the period.

UAH answered right back on the power play following a Jason Tackett roughing penalty. Kurt Gosselin fired a one-timer from the right point to tie the game at 1-1 with 1:37 to go.

It was the first goal of the season for Gosselin, who returned to action Friday after missing over two months with a broken hand. Bauer Neudecker fed Gosselin for his second assist of the year, and Cam Knight got his fourth assist.

Ferris State took a 2-1 lead at 5:02 of the second when Trevor Recktenwald tucked the puck under Theut from the right doorstep.

FSU had its first multi-goal lead of the weekend after starting a 4-on-1 break from its own end. Cooper Zech finished the job for a 3-1 Bulldog lead with 8:43 left in the second.

FSU also won the possession battle in the second period, outshooting the Chargers 14-6.

The Bulldogs kept the Chargers at bay for a chunk of the third period, keeping Theut busy making 13 of his 33 total saves on the night. But they could not do it for all of the third period.

With 3:25 remaining in regulation, Beaulieu scored from the slot after taking a centering pass from Hans Gorowsky to cut the deficit to 3-2.

That gave the Chargers a boost, and they used that energy to put more pressure on FSU goalie Roni Salmenkangas (30 saves).

It eventually paid off. With just 11 seconds to go, Brandon Salerno tied the game from about the same spot, this time Beaulieu providing the feed after Connor James barely tipped the puck from a Ferris State player at the blue line and preventing the puck from leaving the offensive zone.

In overtime, FSU’s Cameron Clarke was called for a hook as Madison Dunn put a shot on net. It was just the third penalty called all game, but it gave the Charges a power play at the most opportune time.

UAH capitalized 25 seconds into the man advantage, as Beaulieu’s stick deflected Cam Knight’s shot from the left point. Beaulieu’s second goal of the game and fourth of the year sent the announced crowd of 1,308 home happy.

The Chargers travel to Lake Superior State next week. They return home in two weeks, hosting Alaska Anchorage.

Three Stars: 
1. Austin Beaulieu, UAH (2 goals, 1 assist, GWG in OT)
2. Brandon Salerno, UAH (game-tying goal with :11 left in regulation)
3. Bauer Neudecker, UAH (2 assists)

Notes: Gosselin now has 17 career goals, tying him with Mike Salekin (2004-07) for fourth place among UAH defensemen in the Division I era. … Charger forward Andrew Dodson had to leave the game after his hand was hit by a puck. The sophomore missed a chunk of last season with an injury. … UAH scored a total of nine goals in the series, the most since scoring 10 at Lake Superior State in Oct. 2015. The nine goals also accounts for 28 percent of the Chargers’ scoring this season.

File photo of Austin Beaulieu by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography

The 2018-19 season continues to find new ways to bite the Chargers.

Dominic Lutz scored 56 seconds into overtime to lift Ferris State to a 6-5 victory over UAH at the Von Braun Center on Friday.

The five goals were a season high for UAH (3-18-0 overall, 3-10-0 WCHA), who fell to 1-9-0 in one-goal games this season, though most of them of the 2-1 variety.

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Ferris State (6-14-1, 3-9-1) moved ahead of the Chargers for eighth place in the WCHA standings. UAH will try to return the favor Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Propst Arena.

The Bulldogs fired the first six shots on goal in an early game flurry before the Chargers finally cooled things down.

But Ferris State would strike first on a 3-on-1 break following a turnover, as Jacob Hetz beat Mark Sinclair from the left side with 5:15 left in the first period.

Sinclair couldn’t do much to stop that one, but was up to the task on 14 other FSU shots in the period. UAH was able to step it up thanks to a power play, but still ended up empty by intermission.

It was an off night for Sinclair overall, however, as the sophomore allowed a season-high-tying six goals to making 29 saves.

Things really opened up in the second period, with each team scoring three times.

UAH tied the game up at 1-1 at 4:43. Hans Gorowsky stole the puck in the offensive zone and drove through the slot toward FSU goaltender Roni Salmenkangas’s right. Just before reaching the goal line, Gorowsky deflected the puck off Salmenkangas’s skate and in for his second goal of the season.

Nate Kallen regained the lead for Ferris State with a five-hole goal at the 7:42 mark.

The Chargers equalized again at 2-2 at 10:38. On a 3-on-1 break, John Teets’s shot was stopped by Salmenkangas, but the rebound was knocked in mid-air by Bauer Neudecker. It’s the fourth goal of the season for the freshman.

FSU took the lead for the third time just 16 seconds later when Coale Norris beat Sinclair on a breakaway.

UAH then tied the game for the third time with 5:28 left in the second period. During a delayed penalty, Adam Wilcox tipped Kurt Gosselin’s shot through traffic for a 3-3 game.

It was Wilcox’s first goal of the season. Gosselin, playing in his first game since Oct. 27 after being out with a broken hand, got his third assist, and Jesper Ohrvall got his seventh helper.

The Bulldogs had the lead yet a fourth time when Lutz scored from the high slot with 59 seconds left in the period.

UAH tied it up for yet a fourth time at 5:39 of the third period. Brandon Salerno breaks away and tucks the puck around a sprawling Salmenkangas for his third goal of the season. Ohrvall and Andrew Dodson with the assists.

This time, the Chargers would not give the lead back. Thirty-six seconds later, UAH took its first lead at 5-4 when Austin Beaulieu finished a tic-tac-toe goal with Christian Rajic and Gorowsky.

Ferris State answered with 8:52 left in regulation, when Jake Transit scored from the right circle without an assist to tie the game at 5-5.

Salerno thought he had won the game for the Chargers with about 49 seconds left in regulation. The goal light had gone on but the officials quickly waved it off, allowing play to continue to the end of the third period. Video review confirmed the call.

Lutz then scored his second goal of the game in overtime to take the win for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State outshot UAH 35-30 for the game. Salmenkangas finished with 25 saves.

Three Stars:
1. Dominic Lutz, FSU (2 goals, 1 assist, GWG in OT)
2. Hans Gorowsky, UAH (1 goal, 1 assist)
3. Jesper Ohrvall, UAH (2 assists)

Photo: Brandon Salerno scores his second period goal. Photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography

Jake Theut did all he could to keep his former team at bay, but the Chargers didn’t have anything else for 11th-ranked Northeastern.

Theut, a graduate transfer from Northeastern, made 41 saves in UAH’s 2-0 loss to the Huskies on Saturday in the second game of the Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vt. It was the fourth time in eight starts this season Theut has made 40 or more saves.

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The Chargers (3-17-0) couldn’t do much to support Theut, getting shut out for the fifth time this season. Northeastern (12-3-1) outshot UAH by a 43-13 margin in winning its eighth straight game.

Northeastern couldn’t score on an early power play, but took advantage of a tired Charger team pinned in their own end not long after. Matt Filipe found the net from an odd angle in the right circle at the 6:19 mark for a 1-0 Husky lead.

The Huskies would get 10 shots on goal before the Chargers got their first, a Dayne Finnson shot from just inside the blue line. UAH would manage just three shots on goal in the opening frame.

Theut would keep the Chargers in the game throughout the second period, when he stopped another 11 shots. UAH would get a little more offensive with six shots on goal in the period, but was still scoreless.

The pucks came coming toward the UAH net in the third period, and Northeastern finally scored its second goal with 9:23 remaining as Austin Plevy’s deflection right in front of Theut found the back of the net.

The Chargers have finished the non-conference schedule and will host Ferris State for WCHA play at the Von Braun Center next Friday and Saturday.

File photo of Jake Theut by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography

Critical turnovers cost the Chargers on Friday in their 4-1 loss to Vermont in the opening round of the Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vt.

UAH (3-16-0) will play Northeastern on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Huskies beat RPI 3-2 in overtime in the first game on Friday.

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Vermont outshot the Chargers 33-15 in improving to 6-8-1.

There was no scoring in the first period, but Vermont did win the possession battle, outshooting the Chargers 10-3 with a couple of crossbars hit.

UAH also lost forward Christian Rajic, who was hit hard while taking a shot. He was immediately attended to by trainers on a stoppage of play and did not return.

Vermont took a 1-0 lead at the 3:41 mark in the second period on a bad UAH turnover near the Charger net. Joey Cipollone slipped the puck between Mark Sinclair’s legs in the ensuing scramble.

Another UAH turnover led to a 2-0 Vermont advantage with 2:09 left in the period. Ace Cowans buried a centering pass in the slot from Craig Puffer.

The Catamounts rolled to eight quick shots on goal early in the third period, and eventually took a 3-0 lead with 12:25 left. This time, Sinclair let in a rare soft goal, as Vlad Dzhioshvili’s shot hit his glove but trickled in anyway.

UAH got on the board with 8:31 to go when Bauer Neudecker scored on a wrister for his third goal of the season. Jack Jeffers and Andrew Dodson got the assists.

Vermont finished the game with an empty-net goal by Matt O’Donnell with 12.6 seconds to go.

Sinclair finished with 29 saves. His Catamount counterpart, Stefanos Lekkas, stopped 14 of 15 shots.

File photo of Bauer Neudecker by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography. 

Mark Sinclair is developing into one of the top goaltenders in the WCHA.

The sophomore stopped all 39 shots he faced, leading the Chargers to a 1-0 win over Michigan Tech in Houghton on Friday, giving UAH its first shutout victory in three years. It’s Sinclair’s first collegiate shutout.

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Bailey Newton scored in the first period, and Sinclair made it stick as the Huskies threw all they could at him. It was the first UAH shutout since Matt Larose blanked Lake Superior State on Oct. 31, 2015.

The 39 saves tied a UAH record for saves in a shutout, joining Derek Puppa (against Minnesota State in 1995) and Scott Munroe (against Robert Morris in 2005). It was also the first 1-0 win for UAH since March 12, 2010, a shutout by Cam Talbot also against Robert Morris.

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UAH (3-14-0 overall, 3-8-0 WCHA) has won two in a row, following up on its win last Saturday at Bemidji State. The Chargers moved into eighth place in the WCHA standings as Ferris State lost to Northern Michigan.

The loss was a blow to Michigan Tech (9-7-1, 8-2-1), who came into the game one point behind Minnesota State for the WCHA lead.

UAH got its goal with 9:30 left in the first period. Newton, a freshman defenseman, got his first collegiate goal and point with a one-timer blast up the middle from just inside the blue line.

John Teets gave him the feed for his fifth assist of the season. Connor Merkley earned his second helper.

The Chargers withstood a surge of pressure by the Huskies immediately afterward, but Sinclair was able to keep the UAH lead at intermission with nine saves.

The Tech barrage kept going in the second period, as the Huskies put 18 shots on goal to the Chargers’ five. And most of those five occurred during a UAH power play around the midway point of the period.

However, thanks to some quick saves from far and near by Sinclair — and a crucial post hit by Jake Lucchini — the Chargers kept Michigan Tech off the board and their lead into the third.

The Huskies got another 12 shots on goal in the third period, thanks in part to three power plays. The last one started with 51 seconds left, after they had already pulled their goaltender Robbie Beydoun (16 saves) for the extra attacker.

Tech had one final flurry in the final ten seconds, but Sinclair made point-blank stops on the Huskies top scoring threats. The Chargers were finally able to clear the puck to secure the win and the shutout.

Michigan Tech outshot UAH 39-17 for the game. Each team had four penalties and four failed power plays.

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

Featured file photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography.

What a time to have a scoring burst.

UAH scored four unanswered goals, three in the third period, to defeat Bemidji State 4-2 on Saturday in Bemidji and get a series split.

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It was a big turnaround for the Chargers (2-14-0 overall, 2-8-0 WCHA), who had a season high in goals after a lackluster 4-0 loss Friday.

The Chargers came out with more energy at the start, even though it was the Beavers (7-7-2, 5-4-1) were able to score two quick goals.

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Charlie Combs’ backhander from just inside the right circle put BSU up 1-0 at the 7:04 mark. It was Combs’ fourth goal of the series after a natural hat trick on Friday.

Dillon Eichstadt followed up with a blast from inside the blue line 65 seconds later.

UAH got on the board right after their first power play expired. Connor Wood followed up on an Adam Wilcox shot to score his first goal of his UAH career with 7:45 remaining in the first.

The second period had no scoring, and not many scoring chances. Shots were 5-all in the period.

UAH then went on an unexpected scoring burst, getting two goals in 38 seconds early in the third period to take a 3-2 lead.

On a delayed penalty call, Bauer Neudecker took a centering pass from Christian Rajic, who beat BSU goalie Zach Driscoll to tie the game at the 3:56 mark.

On the ensuing power play, Cam Knight’s shot from the high slot found its way to the net at 4:34. Jesper Ohrvall got the assist.

The Chargers withstood two Bemidji power plays, and then extended their lead to 4-2 on Connor Merkley’s first tally of the year. He put in a rebound off a John Teets shot. Teets and Ohrvall got the assists.

BSU pulled Driscoll and had the extra attacker for the final 3:34 of the game. Bemidji State used that time to get a final 23-17 shots on goal advantage.

UAH goaltender Jake Theut gets his first collegiate victory, making 21 saves.

UAH travels to Michigan Tech next Friday and Saturday.

Three Stars of the Game:
1. Cam Knight, UAH (Game-winning goal)
2. Jesper Ohrvall, UAH (2 assists)
3. Charlie Combs, BSU (1 goal, 1 assist)

Cam Knight (pictured) scored the game-winning goal. File photo by Todd Thompson/RiverCat Photography.

Bemidji State defeated UAH 4-0 on Friday at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn.

UAH was never really in it, being outshot 40-15 as the Chargers fall to 1-14-0 overall and 1-8-0 in the WCHA.

Charlie Combs had a natural hat trick for Bemidji State (7-6-2, 4-2-1), and Hank Johnson got the shutout with 15 saves.

Bemidji State dominated the first period, outshooting UAH 18-2, but could only get one goal past Mark Sinclair. Alex Ierullo deflected a Dillon Eichstadt blast for a 1-0 lead.

The Chargers came out stronger in the second period on the opening faceoff, which lead to a 2-on-1 and a scoring chance for Bauer Neudecker.

Buoyed by a 5-on-3 power play, UAH was able to get some shots on Hank Johnson, but failed to score.

The Chargers’ next best chance to score came shorthanded. After a Jack Jeffers roughing penalty, the Beavers turned the puck over just outside their zone, and Hans Gorowsky was able to get a breakaway, but he too was stopped by Johnson.

BSU scored with five seconds left on that same power play, as Combs made it 2-0 with 4:31 left in the second.

Bemidji went up 3-0 just 59 seconds into the third as Combs drove up the right side toward Sinclair and scored his second goal of the game.

Combs finished his natural hat trick almost five minutes later on another power play.

Sinclair finished with 36 saves.

If it weren’t for a sliver of good luck, the Chargers would have no luck at all.

The 12th-ranked Falcons of Bowling Green defeated UAH 2-1 at the Von Braun Center on Sunday to complete a series sweep.

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The Chargers’ lone goal was an own goal, and technically one of only 14 shots on net for UAH (1-13-0 overall, 1-7-0 WCHA). Meanwhile, Bowling Green (10-3-2, 5-2-1) fired 37 on goal.

UAH goaltender Jake Theut had a solid outing with 35 saves to keep the game close. Meanwhile, Bowling Green goalie Eric Dop stopped all 13 shots he faced, though the empty net goal prevents him from officially recording a shutout.

The Falcons opened scoring again with nifty passing on a 3-on-1 break. Casey Linkenheld buried the one-timer with 8:55 left in the first period.

Some not-so-nifty passing by the Falcons resulted in a tie game with 6:20 remaining in the frame. With the Bowling Green net empty for an extra attacker because of a delayed penalty against the Chargers, the puck deflected off a Falcon defenseman near the UAH blue line and traveled all the way down the ice into the BG goal.

HIGHLIGHT: Ran the ol' delayed-penalty-empty-net-goal play again. Good times.#UnitedWeCharge @Buccigross @NCAAIceHockey @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/wJHmjZN9HM

— GameDayUAH (@GameDayUAH) December 2, 2018

It was the second time in almost three years that UAH was the benefactor of an own goal during a delayed penalty. The other time was Feb. 12, 2016 at the VBC, where a similar play cost Minnesota State in a 3-3 tie.

The goal was credited to Jack Jeffers, his fourth of the season. The Chargers killed the ensuing hooking penalty on Drew Lennon.

There was no scoring in the second period. The Falcons ratcheted up the pressure, however, outshooting the Chargers 14-6.

Bowling Green regained the lead at 2-1 just 48 seconds into the third period on Lukas Craggs’s backhander.

From there, the Falcons continued to dominate possession and prevent the Chargers many chances at a real goal to tie it up. Bowling Green outshot UAH 14-4 in the third for the 37-14 total.

UAH travels to Bemidji State next weekend, not returning to the VBC until Jan. 4-5 against Ferris State.