So we’re going to think of positive things here.  You have to do these things when you’re recapping the 11th loss of the season.

1.  This was a solid Friday night in our season.  9-1, 6-1, 5-0 3-1, 10-0.  This game is a good comparison to Friday night in Anchorage, minus the shorthanded goal.

2.  While the offense was a little underpowered tonight, the defense was better than it’s been on Friday nights. Yes, the team was shut out, even when Matt Larose was pulled for an extra skater in the last minute.  But the team forced shots to the outside for the most part.  The goals allowed came when the defense didn’t give Larose as much support as he perhaps needed.

3.  Larose looked very good in net.  He had some big leg and glove saves all night.  He made all the positional stops that he needed to make.  All in all, Larose stopped 38-of-41.

But two early goals made it hard for the Chargers to get back in the game.

If we’re going to take heart from tonight, it’s that the consolidated gains of Friday nights to Saturday nights.  If you think that it’s not possible, just remember: UAH had the #3 team in the country tied at 3 in the third period last Saturday night.

It’s going to happen.  Keep the faith.  We’ll link to the box score and any photo galleries that come out.  If you want to read the official Athletics story on the game, UAHChargers.com has it.

Doug Reid stares down Bemidji State’s Charlie O’Connor before a face-off.
Photo credit: Jazzmine Jordan

Doug Reid isn’t a big city guy, so life in Huntsville suits him pretty well.  “I lived there my entire life,” Reid said of Innisfil, Ont.  “Technically I live in Barrie, but it’s more of a country-style town and not a big city.  It’s a pretty quiet town, but it’s getting bigger.”

Family was the foundation of his life growing up. “My family is very close,” Reid said.  “All of my cousins live in the same town.  We do a vacation every year that the whole family would go up to the cottage.”  Sports is a key component, too.  “My whole family is pretty competitive,” Reid said.  His sister, Samantha, was a four-year defenseman at UConn.

The Reid family had bedrock values for their children. “They always taught me respect, hard work, and to never give up on anything,” Reid said.  “My father always pushed me and used to always say to me, ‘If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.’  They taught me so much that it’s incredible.  They have molded the person I am today, and I can’t thank them enough for doing so.”

Doug Reid, your UAH Movember captain.

Reid started playing hockey early in primary school.  “I think I was 6.  I didn’t play real, competitive hockey until I was 11 or 12,” Reid said.  “Since day 1, I’ve been a forward.”  Reid has bounced around the ice as a Charger, but he’s made a home at the pivot.  “I like playing center.  It’s a hands-on role, and you get to do more.  Nine times of out ten, I play center during the year, and I’m more used to that mentality.”

After a year with the Couchiching Terriers of the OPJHL, Reid went out west to the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Grande Prairie Storm, which was an adjustment for him.  “At the time it was kinda tough for me.  I’d lived in the same house for my entire life,” he said.  “Looking back at it now, I’m glad that I did it, because it gave me that escape from my family and being able to live on my own.  I think that it was a great experience for me.”

After a year in the largest city between Edmonton and Fairbanks, Reid returned to Ontario and played two years for the Markham Waxers of the OJHL. “It was great to play out there, but I always thought that I would go away and play school hockey [after juniors], so I figured that I might as well be close to home and spend time with my family.”

Playing college was always the prime option for Reid.  “My older sister had a scholarship to play at UConn,” Reid said.  “Pretty much since I can remember, my dad put that thought in my head that it’s what I was going to do.  I got drafted into the OHL, but that was the path that they wanted to take, and it’s obviously worked out well nicely for me.”

Doug Reid
Photo credit: Jazzmine Jordan

What brought Doug to UAH? “I think it was the change to start off,” he said.  “It’s so much different than back home.  I like snow, and I like everything back home, but it’s nice to be down here for a few years in this weather.  I thought that it would be a good opportunity for me.”

Reid is a junior business management major. “I’ve never been a huge school guy, but I’ve got a pretty good GPA, so I’m doing pretty well.”  There you go, Mr. Reid.  You’ll understand that we didn’t lead with that quote.

I asked Reid to assess his development in his first two-plus years as a Charger. “I would hope to think that in all aspects of hockey and as a person that I’ve developed,” he said.  “I’ve gotten physically stronger and more confident on the ice.  Having different coaches has given me a look at a lot of different systems and ways to play.  I feel that I’ve learned quite a bit since I’ve been here.”

Reid was a solid scorer in juniors, netting 75-106—181 in 213 GP over four seasons, but in 64 games in Blue and White, he has just two goals and six assists for a team that has truly struggled to score during his tenure.  “It’s in the back of your head every single game,” Reid said.  “I had no trouble scoring in juniors, but I’m not sure what it is.  I think that we just need to get that monkey off of our back and let the flood gates open.  It’s not just me.  A lot of the other guys put up some big numbers in junior hockey, so hopefully we can get the ball rolling.”

As with our other upperclassmen, it was impossible to interview Reid and not talk about the coaching carousel. “It’s pretty up and down,” Reid said.  “In juniors, you get used to it in a sense, but at the same time, you come to school and think that you’ll have one coach and be stable.  It’s nerve-racking because every year you’ve got to come in and earn your spot again.  You don’t know what the coaching staff is thinking.  But I like where we are now with our coaching staff, and we’re going to succeed with them here.”

If you believe in the future of this team, and we do, then the focus starts with Reid, the team’s captain.  Reid is the fourth consecutive junior to be named captain, following Curtis deBruyn (2011-13), Ryan Burkholder (2009-11), and Scott Kalinchuk (2007-09). “I’m a leader with the way I play,” Reid said.  “I play my physical game and get the guys energy.  I lead by example, and I know that the coaches and the guys in the room make sure that it’s not all on me.”

It’s a tough spot right now, as the standings show “UAH — 0-10-0”.  But five minutes in a room with Doug Reid leaves you feeling that things will change, and that a large part of the load will rest across his broad shoulders.

Doug Reid and Anderson White
Photo credit: Jazzmine Jordan

How are some former Chargers doing in the pro ranks this season?

It’s easy to see how goaltender Cam Talbot is doing. The New York Rangers have won four of Talbot’s five starts. On Saturday, Talbot notched his first NHL shutout, making 22 saves in a 1-0 win over the Canadiens in Montreal. 

Talbot has a 1.58 goals against average and a .943 save percentage serving as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. All five starts have come on the road.

Here’s a look at how some other alumni are faring this season:

Justin Cseter has a goal and seven assists in nine games with the Huntsville Havoc of the SPHL. His goal came in the Havoc’s home opener on Nov. 8.

Curtis DeBruyn has already played 21 games this season for Miskolci Jegesmedvék in Hungary, also posting a goal and seven assists.

Sebastian Geoffrion has two goals and two assists with the Arizona Sundogs of the Central Hockey League. He was suspended three games for excessive fighting in a game on Oct. 26.

John Griggs has played six games for the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the SPHL with a 2.83 goals against average and an .891 save percentage.

Scott Munroe, who had dressed for the Flyers but did not play, has a 2.10 goals against and a .912 save percentage in 20 games for the Växjö Lakers in Sweden.

Jared Ross, the other former Charger to see ice time in the NHL, has yet to play for IRC Ingolstadt in Germany this season as he recovers from a herniated disc.

And Tyler Butler is still at it, signing with the Brampton Beast of the CHL. The defenseman from the UAH class of 2003 got an assist in his first game, but has been on injured reserve.

For updated statistics of all former UAH players in the pros, visit our In the Pros page.

Atlanta meet-up: Fans and alumni in Atlanta can meet up at Hudson Grille Brookhaven on Peachtree Street to watch the Chargers take on Northern Michigan on Friday night. The party, hosted by the UAH Atlanta Charger Alumni Chapter, starts at 6:30. Click here to RSVP.

Nike gear fundraiser: A reminder that through the end of  November, a portion of the sales of UAH Hockey Nike brand gear from NSG Team Sports will go to the program. Click here to see what’s available.

Movember update: There’s 10 days left as the Chargers participate in Movember and raise money and awareness to promote men’s health and fight prostate cancer. Click here to donate to the UAH team.

Once again, the Chargers came back from a beat down to play a better game the next night. Considering the opponent, this was no small feat this time around.

One night after getting pasted by third-ranked St. Cloud State 10-0 on Friday, UAH was never out of it Saturday, rallying from two goals down but falling 4-3 to the Huskies on Saturday.

St. Cloud State still held a decisive edge on puck possession in the UAH zone, and in shots on goal at 42-15. But thanks to Matt Larose’s glove and some timely passes, the Chargers didn’t make it so easy for Nic Dowd on the second night of his Huntsville homecoming.

St. Cloud State dominated most of the first period, peppering Larose with the first 10 shots on goal through the first seven minutes of the game. The Huskies took the early lead as Cory Thorson punches in a rebound at the 6:16 mark, and confirmed after a lengthy video review.

The action remained mostly in the UAH end, but the Chargers finally capitalized on their rare offensive opportunities. Regan Soquila wristed the puck past SCSU goaltender Ryan Faragher on a feed from Matt Salhany in the left corner to tie the game at 1-1 at the 10:56 mark.

It was Soquila’s first goal as a Charger, and Salhany’s first assist. Wade Schools picked up the second assist, his second of the season.

Despite being outshot 16-7, UAH found itself tied with the third-ranked Huskies after one period.

It was mostly Huskies again the second. St. Cloud extended their lead to 3-1 after Dowd’s great stick work led to a goal at 8:56, and David Morley’s goal off a nice feed from the point at 13:40.

Larose had the glove working, however, to keep the Chargers in the game. He made several glove saves, including three critical stops during a two-minute, two-man advantage for St. Cloud late in the period after Craig Pierce was penalized for holding the stick and Code Marooney was called for slashing.

The Chargers rallied in the third with two unanswered goals. Frank Misuraca’s outlet pass along the far boards went to Craig Pierce, who centered it to Stephen McKenna, who scored his first goal for the Chargers. UAH cut St. Cloud’s lead to 3-2 with 16:29 left.

UAH tied the game on the power play with 6:09 left. Steve Koshey’s drive from the center point went to Jeff Vanderlugt, who found Matt Salhany, who got his second goal of the season.

However, Daniel Tedesco was able to beat Larose just 27 seconds later to regain the lead for the Huskies. UAH came up short after pulling Larose for an extra attacker in the final minute and a couple of last-chance rushes.

Larose made 38 saves as the Chargers suffered their fourth one-goal defeat of the season.

There were other bright spots: UAH’s maligned penalty killing had a good night, stopping all five of St. Cloud’s power plays (including the two-man advantage late in the second). This was the Chargers’ highest scoring output of the season as well.

The Chargers resume WCHA play next weekend when they visit Northern Michigan. The next UAH home games are December 13 and 14 against Minnesota State.

There’s not much to say about this one. St. Cloud State is the third-ranked team in the country, and UAH is struggling. It all came together for a 10-0 win for Huntsville native Nic Dowd and his Huskies on Friday night.

Dowd scored twice as the Chargers tied the record for the worst home defeat in the program’s history. Colgate beat UAH 12-2 at the Von Braun Center on November 30, 1986.

Despite still searching for their first victory, the Chargers have had one competitive game in each series this season. They’ll try to keep that going Saturday night against the Huskies. The puck drops at 7:07 and the first 1,000 fans receive UAH Chargers thunder sticks.

Unfortunately, all the thunder came from St. Cloud State and its senior captain from the Rocket City on Friday.

The Huskies scored their first goal just 2:19 in. Ethan Prow’s shot from inside the blue line somehow made its way through traffic and past UAH goaltender Carmine Guerriero.

At 11:51, Jonny Brodzinski made it 2-0 as he beat Guerriero from the slot on a nice pass from the left circle by Kalle Kosilla.

Despite the quick lead, UAH had a 5-3 shots on goal lead by the halfway point of the first. After that, St. Cloud State had the last eight shots on goal, and punctuated the period with Cory Thorson’s rebound goal with just 21 seconds left in the period. Meanwhile, the Chargers only managed a hit post.

In the second period, it was complete domination by St. Cloud State.

Dowd’s two goals lead off the frame. The second goal game during a major power play for the Huskies after Regan Soquila checked Ben Storm from behind and got the game misconduct.

Kosilla also netted one on that power play to make it 6-0, and Guerriero was replaced by senior netminder C.J. Groh, seeing his first action of the season at the 9:01 mark of the second.

Joey Benik, Brodzinski, and Garrett Milan proceeded to extend St. Cloud’s lead to 9-0 after two. The Huskies out shot the Chargers 22-2 in the period.

The Huskies, who got a third-period goal from Daniel Tedesco to finish the scoring, outshot the Chargers 47-11 for the game.

Guerriero stopped 16 of 22 shots, while Groh stopped 21 of 25.

This is one series where the boys can use all the support they can get. Third-ranked St. Cloud State comes to town as UAH’s lone non-conference home opponent of the season.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and the VBC box office. This week’s promotions are:

• Friday night, kids 12 and under bringing a canned food item gets free admission.
• Saturday night, the first 1,000 fans receive a pair of UAH Chargers thunder sticks.

If you can’t make the game, there are many ways to follow the action:

• VIDEO: WCHA TV on America One (subscription – remember that a subscription gets you ALL WCHA games for all teams)
• LIVE STATS: uahchargers.com
• AUDIO: KNSI radio
• TWITTER: @weloveuahhockey (us), @uahhockey (official), @uahchargers (official), @SCSUHUSKIES_MH (official)

TEAM COMPARISON
	2013-14 Stats
0-8-0	Overall record	6-1-1
0-6-0 WCHA	Conference record	3-1-0 NCHC
1.00	Goals per game	2.63
4.50	Goals allowed per game	1.88
16.1	Penalty minutes per game	9.1
3/40 (7.5%)	Power play	3/32 (9.4%)
25/41 (61.0%)	Penalty kill	21/24 (87.5%)
Alex Allan (3-0-3) Chad Brears (3-0-3) Regan Soquila (0-3-3)	Leading scorers	Nic Dowd (4-3-7) Jonny Brodzinski (1-5-6) Kalle Kossila (3-2-5)
Carmine Guerriero (4 GS, 2.94 GAA, .914 SV%) Matt Larose (4 GS, 6.27 GAA, .832, SV%)	Goaltending	Ryan Faragher (7 GS, 1.86 GAA, .931 SV%)

Not only is St. Cloud State the highest-ranked Division I team to ever visit the VBC, the Huskies are coming off a Frozen Four appearance last spring. St. Cloud lost to Quinnipiac in the national semifinals.

As you may have heard, the Huskies feature Huntsville native Nic Dowd. The senior captain has 34 goals and 54 assists in his St. Cloud State career.

At 3-1, the Huskies are currently tied for first place atop the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference with Nebraska-Omaha. St. Cloud is coming off a split at home with Miami last weekend.

UAH and St. Cloud State have one common opponent. The Huskies won 3-2 and tied 2-2 against Bemidji State to open the season in St. Cloud.

St. Cloud State has won all nine meetings against the Chargers. Six of those games were in St. Cloud, including two last season. The first four meetings came all the way back to 1988.

You may have heard that Nic Dowd is a star hockey player for St. Cloud State University, the highly-ranked team that comes to town this weekend.  You may have also heard that Dowd is from Huntsville.  Dowd, like the Geoffrion brothers before him, attended Culver Military Academy before playing junior hockey.  Dowd isn’t alone in Southern players leaving for northern climes to hone their game: notably, Jared Ross moved to Detroit to play for Detroit Catholic Central before coming back to Huntsville to play.

We asked Nic to talk to us about playing hockey in Huntsville, his move to St. Cloud, and what it will mean for him to play in front of friends and family this weekend.  My thanks go out to Nic, Tom Nelson at SCSU sports information, and my partner Michael for transcribing the audio.

At his roots, Nic is a Huntsville hockey kid.  “I grew up playing in the Huntsville Amateur Hockey Association with the Huntsville Chargers all the way up until my freshman year of high school,” said Dowd, “and then I played AAA hockey for the TPH Thunder in their first year of existence. They’ve been developing kids throughout the Southeast in a great way.”

We asked Dowd what it would take to keep players in the South during their developmental years, and he said that “it’s going to be pretty difficult. There are a lot of advantages to going to prep school. Realistically, I don’t know if there’s a high need for hockey-oriented prep schools in the South.”

But as a good alumnus should, Dowd has a lot of faith in his old organization. “I think the Thunder are doing a great job, and I think the amateur hockey associations in Huntsville have done a great job for providing kids with an opportunity to play. I know that TPH and Alabama-Huntsville join up throughout the year and the summers to produce summer camps to allow kids to play, so I think that’s a great start.”

Did Nic want to play at UAH?  “Definitely growing up I wanted to play for Huntsville. That was the goal for a lot of kids growing up and still is in Huntsville.”  When asked if he had a favorite Charger, Dowd replied, “One player I watched a lot was Jared Ross. Obviously, he was kind of the stud on Huntsville back in the day. I was pretty fortunate to get to know him personally, and we keep in touch when I come home over the summers. He guided me in the right direction and let me skate with him over the summers and worked out together.”

Dowd is among the many voices in the community that believe that UAH’s presence is vital to the area’s hockey development. “Without the Chargers being there, I’d say a lot of kids would not even realized college hockey existed,” said Dowd. “That was my first exposure to be able to watch great hockey.”

We asked Dowd about how he came to St. Cloud.  “In juniors, I only had a couple of schools that were talking to me at the time. Coach [Bob] Motzko came all the way out to Wenatchee, Washington, which was the team I was playing for in the North American League.”

Dowd was clearly impressed with Motzko’s interest. “For a coach to come all the way out there and take time away from his family and his friends and his current hockey team, it meant a lot to me and showed me that he was invested in me as a player. I felt very comfortable investing myself in St. Cloud State.”

If you ask Dowd about St. Cloud’s organization, his pride in it clearly shows through.  “I’ve been extremely privileged to be part of this organization and this university,” Dowd said, “starting from our athletics directors, both past and current, all the way down to our coaching staff and the professors here at the university. I could not have asked for a better experience in my four years and wish I could go back and do it all over again and really soak up my freshman year all the way up to my senior year.

UAH visited St. Cloud in 2012-13, games that the Huskies won in an 8-3, 4-0 series where Dowd scored the first goal in each game.  When asked about the experience, Dowd termed it “interesting”, but he’s clearly looking forward to playing at the VBC.  “To play down there is going to be a lot different than playing up here,” Dowd said. “I’m not playing kids who are from Huntsville — they’re from all over the country and the world.”

Dowd is clear on who he represents.  “As a visiting team, I look at St. Cloud State as the university I represent,” Dowd said, “and it’s my team. Although Alabama-Huntsville was my team growing up, St. Cloud State is going to be my alma mater when I graduate.

Dowd is ready for tomorrow night.  “It’s really come full circle to be able to play at a great university and represent St. Cloud and to be able to play my hometown university is definitely something special.”

As you may now, Nic Dowd is a Huntsville native who will lead third-ranked St. Cloud State against the Chargers this weekend at the VBC.

More on Dowd will come here on Thursday, but it brings up an interesting question: How many players from Huntsville have played college hockey but not for UAH?

Dowd is the third player to do so. The first was Carey Gandy, who played goaltender for Dartmouth from 1981-84.*

The second was James Patterson, who played four years for Denver from 1995-99. Patterson played 141 games for the Pioneers, scoring 45 goals and 94 points, and helped them win the 1999 WCHA playoff championship. Patterson played for the Huntsville Channel cats in 1999-2000 and 2003-04, and captained the Huntsville Havoc from 2004-08.

But Denver never played UAH during that time, so Dowd was the first to face his hometown team last season when the Chargers visited St. Cloud. He’ll be the first to do so in Huntsville this weekend.

Two other Huntsville natives are currently playing in Division III. Hunter Brown is a junior defenseman for St. Norbert, which won the national championship in 2012. Erick Ware is another junior defenseman for Potsdam.

So that’s five, which oddly enough is the number of Huntsville natives to see ice time for the Chargers since UAH hockey became a varsity program in 1985: Tacoma Kapustka*, Matt Parker, Jared Ross, Blake Thompson, and Troy Maney.**

High-ranking visitors: At No. 3 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 4 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll St. Cloud will be the highest-ranked Division I opponent to ever visit the Von Braun Center.

The highest until this weekend was Nov. 13-14, 2009, when No. 5 UMass Lowell came to town and won 3-1 and 4-0.

Rarely do top-10 teams — or ranked teams in general — come to Huntsville. UAH has hosted only 10 games (five series) against ranked opponents since returning to Division I in 1998. The Chargers are 1-8-1 in those games, with the one win coming against No. 20 Niagara on Feb. 23, 2008.

The tie came the last time a top-10 team visited Huntsville: A 2-2 draw against No. 8 Bemidji State on March 6, 2010.

The only time UAH beat a top-10 opponent was when the Chargers shocked No. 5 Notre Dame, 3-2 in South Bend on Oct. 9, 2009.

Promotions: For Friday night’s game, kids 12 and under can help local area food banks by bringing a canned food item and receiving free admission. This is sponsored by Spirit Coach.

On Saturday, the first 1,000 fans will receive a pair of UAH Chargers thunder sticks.

Friday luncheon: The third Blue Line Club luncheon of the year will take place this Friday at noon in the Varsity Room in Spragins Hall.

St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko will be the special guest speaker. UAH coach Mike Corbett will follow to talk about this weekend’s series.

Terranova’s will be catering the lunch, which is $8 at the door but free to Blue Line Club members.

* Thanks to UAH hockey alumni Paul Scott and Bud McLaughlin for providing corrections and updates. If you know of any others I may have missed, email me at m@uahhockey.com.
** This may be on the test.