Category Archives: 2012-13

UAH 10, UAT 0

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It was more than a little bit “same song, second verse” on Sunday afternoon at the VBC. After a 12-1 rout on Saturday night, the Chargers came out and shut out the Frozen Tide, 10-0.

It took the boys a little while to get started on the goal column, even though they were working Coach K2‘s system pretty hard. Jack Prince (London, England) kicked the scoring off with an unassisted goal, leading a barrage of five goals in 3:13. Following Prince were Doug Reid (Innisfill, Ont.) from Craig Pierce (Roswell, Ga.) and Stephen Hickey (Ancaster, Ont.), Pierce from Reid and Mat Hagen (Ottawa, Ont.), Prince unassisted, and Tyler Kotlarz (Hudsonville, Mich.) unassisted. Reid and Pierce’s goals came in such quick succession that PA announcer Taylor Flatt was unable to get Reid announced before Pierce scored.

The second period was another slow start for goal scoring before Hickey scored at 12:47 on an assist from Pierce. Prince picked up his hat trick at 14:55 on assists from Kotlarz and Michael Webley (Stittsville, Ont.). The Frozen Tide held the Chargers to just nine shots on goal while making five of their own count. Junior netminder CJ Groh (Cincinnati, Ohio), having not seen a shot in the first frame, stopped all five.

Scoring in the third was a little more spread out. Hickey scored at 7:14 on assists from Chad Brears (Cold Lake, Alta.) and Reid. The final Charger goals came 18 seconds apart: Kotlarz from Prince at 12:45, then Webley from Hagen at 13:03. Freshman goaltender Gregg Gruehl (Dublin, Ohio) saw just one shot in the final frame. On the weekend, the Chargers outshot the Frozen Tide 108-11.

Coach Ken Kleinendorst was happy after the game. “We tried to work on some things that will help us move forward.” When asked how the team is progressing, Kleinendorst, said, “I think so. I think that we definitely have the bodies to put together to put a pretty solid lineup on Friday night [against Mankato]. I’m getting a good feel for the guys, but I still need a better feel.”

When asked about the start to his career, Prince said, “It’s been a long wait. It’s hard to watch junior teams get ready to play and have to wait longer.” He was happy to have the opportunity to get to know his teammates’ tendencies on the ice, saying, “It was nice for us freshman. We got to see what everyone else was going to be doing. It helped us play along. We sorta know where to be based on watching video, but when you get into a game situation, it’s different. It was nice to have two games where to figure out where to be at the right time.” Asked about the speed of the college game, he said, “It’s a big step up from juniors. I’m looking forward to the challenge.

The Chargers have four days of rest and practice before facing Minnesota State University, Mankato on Friday night at Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center. Tickets at all levels of the arena are FREE, so please come out and support your Chargers and bring all of your friends (and some of your enemies).

Quick Hits

Have a great rest of the week, and be sure to come out to the game on Friday night! It’s free, you know.

Ticket Q&A for Friday, Oct. 12th Game v. Mankato

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As many outlets—including us on Facebook and Twitter—have noted, tickets for any seat in the Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center on Friday night at 7pm will be FREE. Any seat, upstairs or downstairs is FREE. I’ve had a number of questions via email, phone, and Facebook, so this is your Q&A on the ticket situation.

Q: Are tickets really free?

Yup. Would I lie to you? [I get this question in incredulity, and it’s a fair question.]

Q: How do I get tickets?

This answer depends on where you’d like to sit:

  • General Admission (Upper Bowl): You can get a ticket at the door. All we’re doing there is counting noses.
  • Reserved Seating (Lower Bowl): There’s a number of ways these go.
    1. Season ticket-holders have already been sold their seats, and please don’t take their seats. Cool?
    2. Your best bet is to call (256-551-2345) or visit the VBC Box Office (M-Th 10a-5p and F 10a-gametime). The tickets will still be free, but you’ll get a printed ticket with your seat assignment on it, and you’ll have the rights to your seat.
    3. Watch for open seats early in the game and move down from general admission if you like. Be prepared to relinquish your seat to someone with a ticket for it. Please be pleasant if this happens.
  • Ice Suites (at glass): The University has bought the remaining ice suites. I believe that these will be distributed to faculty and staff. Please plan on viewing the game from one of the bowls.

When should I try to get Reserved Seating?

I’d say that you should do it as soon as possible. I do not know for sure if the VBC will put reserved tickets at will call, but I fully expect that they will do so. You can always ask when you call—256-551-2345 is the number.

Where should I sit in General Admission?

Anywhere is fine. There’s a lot of noise from Sections 304 (Pep Band) and 305 (Crazy Alumni, including the TALAH Boys). These sections are a lot of fun, but the commentary can veer into off-color at times, so attendees with impressionable ears would best be staged no closer than 307 on the penalty box side. The VBC has a handy seating chart for the Propst Arena (PDF).

People generally accumulate along the sides opposite the player benches (307, 308, 309) and penalty boxes (322, 323, 324). This gives you a general view of the ice, but it does put you equidistant from each goal, meaning that you never see either goal terribly well. If you sit in the corners (303-305, 311-313, 318-320, 326-328), you’ll have a great view of action at one goal. If you want to see the goal that UAH shoots on twice, 303, 305, and 326-328 are your choice seating locations. The Pep Band sits in 304 because that gives them a reflector behind them to project throughout the area. Also, our sections like being in the goalie’s earhole.

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or call me at 256-542-1436.

Happy 24th Birthday, Curtis deBruyn!


Calgary’s Curtis deBruyn turns 24 today. The Chargers’ captain is a senior defenseman with a right-handed shot and a 23 on his back. Curtis is 3-17–20 in 95GP as a Charger, and when he’s not playing hockey, he is a Brad Pitt lookalike.

UAH 12, UAT 1

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Less than a year after retired UASystem chancellor Mack Portera relegated the program to club status after February 2012, and ten months to the day that UAH President Dr. Robert Altenkirch extended the varsity life of the program for the forseeable future, it just so happened that a team from Big Bad UAT would come to Huntsville to try and beat up on Little Sister UAH.

While the Chargers and Crimson Tide have tangled a little of late—men’s basketball has held their own in exhibition games each of the last two seasons, after which the Chargers would progress to the Division II Elite Eight—this was Huntsville’s chance to shine brightly, with UA’s Frozen Tide club team coming to play the varsity Chargers. It was the one-sided contest that everyone expected it to be; I’d joked for a good three weeks that it would be Alabama (+6.5) on the road, just to see if football fans noticed. Saturday night’s game would prove to be a 12-1 stampede of the sort that Nick Saban would appreciate.

With Kurt Kleinendorst still in his first month as UAH’s head coach, everyone was excited to see what would transpire. K2‘s charges scored early and often. Nashville’s Sebastian Geoffrion lit the lamp with just :30 gone with a back-hand shot between Sean Vinson’s pads. Atlanta’s Kyle Lysaght followed his linemate’s lead, scoring the first of his five goals just 2:17 later.

“I saw a lot of things that I liked,” Kleinendorst said. “We’ve only been together a little while, and we did some good things. We did some things that we’re going to have to find a way to do better. … It’s a win. We’ll take it, but I don’t want to get carried away with it.”

The Chargers kept building momentum, with goals from Lysaght and Curtis deBruyn (Calgary, Alb.) followed by shorthanded goals from Nashville’s Brice Geoffrion and Lysaght. From there, the Chargers cruised to victory. Freshman Chad Brears (Cold Lake, Alb.) scored twice, freshman Steve Koshey (Trail, BC) scored once, and junior Alex Allan (Calgary, Alb.) scored late in the second after knocking a guy through the corner door in the first period. The three stars of the game were deBruyn (1-3–4), Justin Cseter (Menomonie, Wis.) (0-4–4) and Lysaght (5-0–5).

Neither Charger netminder saw much work in the game. Freshman Gregg Gruehl (Dublin, Ohio) got the win, seeing only three shots on goal in two period, all in the second. Junior CJ Groh (Cincinnati, Ohio) saw one shot on goal in his 20:00 of action.

Alabama coach Mike Quenneville (UAH ’90) was clearly excited about the opportunity that playing the Chargers presents to his team. “We preach stuff every day, and when we get an opportunity to play a team that does everything so right, and have got the speed, it’s going to make us a better hockey team.”

Alabama scored midway through the second period, as 5’4″ Huntsville native Mark Wysock, an aerospace engineering student in Tuscaloosa found open space in the slot to push in a tumbling rebound for a power-play goal.

Kleinendorst seemed happy with his team’s effort. “For the most part, the guys went out and executed the plan that we’ve put in place up to this point. This is not about winning. This is about the process. When you play the game the right way, when you work your way through the process, winning is a by-product of that.”

The teams play the second game of the series at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, and Quenneville is ready to see his team face the challenge. “[The Alabama players] are going to get faster, they’re going to be smarter, they’re going to move the puck quicker. We’re definitely going to get better for this experience.”

Chris Luongo Out As Head Coach; Kurt Kleinendorst New Head Coach

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Here’s the press release:

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Kurt Kleinendorst, a former assistant coach in the National Hockey League, has been named head coach of the men’s ice hockey team at The University of Alabama in Huntsville following the resignation of the Chargers’ current head coach Chris Luongo.

Kleinendorst served as an assistant coach and scout for the New Jersey Devils for nine years, and most recently was the head coach of the Binghamton Senators in the American Hockey League where he led that team to a conference championship in 2011. He also coached the Under-18 USA Hockey National Team to a gold medal in the world hockey championship in 2010.

“We believe Kurt Kleinendorst’s experience coaching at the highest levels of the National Team Development Program and professional ice hockey, and the discipline he will bring to the program on and off the ice, will create an environment that will allow us to enhance our status in Division I hockey as he takes over the reins as head coach,” said Athletic Director E.J. Brophy. “Our program is at a critical juncture in its history, and our best opportunity to maintain our tradition of competitive ice hockey lies with Kurt Kleinendorst.”

Kleinendorst played ice hockey for Providence College for four years, where he was an All-American and a Hobey Baker finalist. He was selected in the fourth round (77th overall) of the 1980 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers. He was a member of the Tulsa Oilers team in the Central Hockey League, and played minor league hockey in Germany, Finland and the Netherlands through 1990.

He joined New Jersey in the National Hockey League as an assistant coach and scout, serving for nine years with the Devils organization. In that role, he helped the Devils win the 2000 Stanley Cup championship. Kleinendorst also coached the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Lowell Devils, from 2006 to 2009.

“During my 30-plus year association with Kurt Kleinendorst, I have been fortunate to watch him develop as a student-athlete, player, scout and coach at various levels,” said New Jersey Devils President/CEO/General Manager Lou Lamoriello. “There is no question in my mind that Kurt will be a decided asset to the University of Alabama-Huntsville hockey team both on and off the ice, and help UAH in their pursuit of a major Division I hockey conference affiliation.”

The Ottawa Senators signed him to a two-year contract in 2010 as head coach for their AHL affiliate Binghamton Senators. Also, Kleinendorst’s brother Scott played in the NHL.

Kurt and his wife, Deon, have four children: Ryan, Kollin, Kaitlyn and Jake.

I have a lot of thoughts about this, and I’m hoping to put them together for you this week. I got an email from Lou at 4:22 p.m. yesterday; by 5:00 p.m., this press release was public.

This is a huge change on a number of levels. I encourage all of you to—no matter your feelings on this matter—continue to support the program. You don’t hire Kurt Kleinendorst with the idea that you’ll drop to club hockey. No matter what this move may be internally, externally it is a huge “we are committed” to the WCHA. That cannot be stressed enough. If you want to see UAH continue on as a varsity program, Kurt Kleinendorst is your head coach, and we must ride with him.

More later after things settle down a bit.

2012-13 UAH Hockey: A Look Ahread

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The 34th season of UAH Hockey is fast approaching! Here’s a quick look at each of the opponents the Chargers will face this season:

HOME vs. ALABAMA, Oct. 6-7 (exhibition): One could learn the difference between NCAA Division I hockey and club-level college hockey. The Frozen Tide is coached by former UAH assistant Mike Quenneville.

HOME vs. MINNESOTA STATE, Oct. 12-13: The regular season opens with a chance for the Chargers — and their fans — to show the WCHA what UAH hockey is made of. The Mavericks make their first visit to Huntsville since 2008. The Chargers were swept in Mankato last season.

At ST. CLOUD STATE, Oct. 19-20: The Chargers play the Huskies for the first time since the 2001-02 season. St. Cloud finished sixth in the WCHA last season.

At BENTLEY, at AIC, Oct. 26-27: UAH visits a pair of Atlantic Hockey teams. The Chargers have never lost to Bentley, and they’ll meet for the first time in 11 years. The Chargers are 5-1-1 all-time against AIC, last meeting the Yellow Jackets with a win in the 2007 RPI Holiday Tournament.

At ST. LAWRENCE, Nov. 2-3: The Chargers have never played the Saints, who finished eighth in the ECAC last season.

At NORTHEASTERN, Nov. 10-12: Another first-time meeting. The Huskies missed the Hockey East playoffs last year with a ninth-place finish.

At LAKE SUPERIOR STATE, Nov. 16-17: UAH makes the return trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., after opening last season with a pair of one-goal losses to the Lakers at the VBC.

At NEBRASKA-OMAHA, Nov. 23-24: The Chargers split with the Mavericks last season at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, stunning UNO 3-1 in the opener.

HOME vs. U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-18, Nov. 30-Dec. 1 (exhibition): The best of America‘s hockey future visit Huntsville once again.

HOME vs. FINLANDIA, Dec. 7-8: The Division III Lions are coached by former Charger winger and assistant coach John McCabe.

At WISCONSIN, Dec. 13-14: The Chargers are 0-6 all-time in Madison, including a pair of losses at the Kohl Center in 2010. The Badgers are looking to rebound from a 10th-place finish in the WCHA.

Vs. BOSTON COLLEGE, Vs. AIR FORCE, Dec. 28-29 (Mariucci Classic, Minneapolis): For the second straight season, the Chargers face off with the defending national champions. Boston College won the UAH-hosted Frozen Four in Tampa. UAH tied and lost to Air Force last season in Huntsville.

HOME vs. ADRIAN, Jan. 4-5, 2013: The Division III Bulldogs won 20 games last season and were the national runner-up in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

At PENN STATE, Feb. 8-9: The Nittany Lions will play their first season in Division I as a fellow independent until joining the Big Ten next season. UAH last visited Happy Valley as a club team in 1984, and defeated Penn State for the National Club Championship in 1983.

At MINNESOTA-DULUTH: March 1-2: The Chargers visit Duluth for the second straight season. Back in January, UAH battled hard with the then-defending national champions with 2-1 and 4-3 losses.