Category Archives: 2013-14

Hoof Beats: TV time for UAH

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NBCSN will broadcast Friday's game at Notre Dame.

NBCSN will broadcast Friday’s game at Notre Dame.

Friday’s game at Notre Dame will be televised by NBC Sports Network (6:30 p.m.). It will be the third time the Charger hockey will be featured on national television.

You may be wondering how UAH got on national TV. NBC Sports has been the home of Notre Dame home football games, and in recent years the partnership has grown to include Fighting Irish hockey (and some Hockey East) games on NBC’s cable and online channels. Friday’s game was scheduled to go on NBCSN before the start of the season.

You may also be wondering when UAH has been this visible on television. Both NCAA Division I Tournament appearances (the 3-2 double-overtime loss to Notre Dame in 2007 and the 2-1 loss to Miami in 2010) were on ESPNU. The College Hockey America championship game victories that led to these berths were on CSTV (2007), which eventually became CBS Sports Network (2010).

What about the series at Wisconsin two weeks ago, which was shown on Fox College Sports Pacific and Central? It depends if you want to call those networks “national.” Although you could have watched the games in Huntsville with the proper cable or satellite sports package, those games were a relay of Fox Sports Wisconsin, a regional network. This was also the case when UAH went to Wisconsin early in the 2010-11 season.

We believe the only other times the Chargers were on TVs in Huntsville was when they were broadcast on WAAY-TV Channel 31 in the 1990s. The 1994, 1996, and 1998 NCAA Division II championships, along with a couple of regular-season games in 1996-97, were on WAAY.

Other UAH sports that have been on national TV are men’s basketball, which was on ESPN2 during the 2012 NIT tip-off against Kansas State, and softball, which was on CBS Sports Network for the 2009 and 2011 NCAA Division II championship games.

Talbot update: New York Rangers goaltender Cam Talbot now has 14 games and 12 starts under his belt, and the former Charger netminder continues to play well. Talbot has a 9-3 record with a 1.66 goals against average and .938 save percentage. On Saturday, he stopped 25 of 26 shots as the Rangers rolled at Toronto 7-1.

Around the WCHA: It’s been cold.

Alaska-Anchorage could surely enjoy the relative warmth of home, whenever they finally get there. After a surprising split at No. 13 Wisconsin — ending the Badgers’ 10-game home winning streak — the Seawolves won’t get back to Anchorage until Thursday, thanks to the cold and snow in the Midwest causing canceled flights and missed connections.

When they do get home, they’ll host Minnesota State, which has been in Alaska for a week, splitting a series with the Nanooks in Fairbanks. The Mavericks are two points behind Ferris State, which beat RPI but was shutout by Colgate in the Mariucci Classic.

The Bulldogs, still undefeated in WCHA play at 10-0-2, dropped a spot to No. 3 in this week’s USCHO.com poll. Lake Superior is the only other league team ranked at No. 19, with Minnesota State and Bowling Green receiving votes.

In other action, Michigan Tech split its series at Lake Superior State, and Northern Michigan went into Bemidji and swept the Beavers. The league has created a “Plays of the Week” video this week.

Also, Bowling Green defenseman Ralfs Freibergs will represent Latvia at the Olympic Games next month in Sochi, Russia.

WCHA Standings Conference Overall
GP W L T Pts W L T
Ferris State 12 10 0 2 22 15 3 3
Minnesota State 14 10 4 0 20 12 8 0
Bowling Green 16 8 6 2 18 11 9 4
Lake Superior State 14 7 7 0 14 11 8 1
Michigan Tech 14 5 5 4 14 7 11 6
Bemidji State 16 5 7 4 14 5 11 6
Northern Michigan 12 6 5 1 13 8 10 2
Alaska-Anchorage 14 5 7 2 12 9 9 2
Alaska 14 5 8 1 11 8 9 3
Alabama-Huntsville 14 1 13 0 2 1 21 0


THIS WEEK IN THE WCHA
All times Central.
* WCHA game.

Friday, January 10
UAH at Notre Dame, 6:35 p.m. (NBC Sports Network)
* Alaska at Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Michigan Tech at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
* Bemidji State at Lake Superior, 6:37 p.m.
* Minnesota State at Alaska-Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.

Saturday, January 11
UAH at Notre Dame, 6:05 p.m. (NBC Sports Live Extra)
* Alaska at Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Michigan Tech at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
* Bemidji State at Lake Superior, 6:07 p.m.
* Minnesota State at Alaska-Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.

Bowling Green 4, UAH 1

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It wasn’t the one-goal game we’re used to on Saturday, as the Chargers fell to Bowling Green 4-1 at the Von Braun Center.

For what it’s worth, it was an improvement over Friday’s disappointing 7-0 loss. Despite playing with more energy on the offensive end, the Falcons simply capitalized on their chances while the Chargers did not. UAH outshot BG 27-26 for the game, the first time the Chargers had more shots on goal against a Division I opponent since Dec. 31, 2011 (a 4-3 loss to Mercyhurst).

Bowling Green didn’t waste time taking the lead. Adam Berkle redirected Mike Sullivan’s blast through traffic and past UAH goaltender Carmine Guerriero just 21 seconds into the contest.

The Falcons, using a similar plan as Friday night, fired away, getting seven of the first eight shots on goal. In the latter half of the first, however, UAH started to close the shooting lanes, and the Chargers were able to get some chances of their own.

BG netminder Tommy Burke, who got the shutout in game one, made the saves to keep it a 1-0 score after one period.

UAH had a better second period, but still saw its deficit grow. The Chargers had two overlapping power plays to start the period, but after they expired, Brent Tate wrists a shot from the top of the slot to give Bowling Green a 2-0 lead at the 3:58 mark.

With 10:53 left, Dan DeSalvo found a loss puck off of Guerriero and knocks it in to make it 3-0. Rusty Hafner made it 4-0 three minutes later.

The Chargers finally got on the board with 3:50 left in the second. Stephen McKenna earned his second goal of the season when he directed a Steve Koshey shot past Burke. Craig Pierce got the second assist.

Despite outshooting the Falcons 10-6 for the second period, BG outscored UAH 3-1. UAH continued to provide offensive pressure in the third period with a 11-9 shots on goal advantage, but none would find the net.

The Chargers next travel to Notre Dame for a two-game series next Friday and Saturday. The next home series is Jan. 16-17 against Alaska-Anchorage for Military Appreciation Weekend.

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.

Catching the Game: vs. Bowling Green, Jan. 3-4

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The Chargers’ renovated locker room at the VBC was unveiled on Thursday.
Photos by UAH Sports Information. More photos here

Happy New Year! The Chargers start the second half of the season back at the Von Braun Center, hosting the Bowling Green Falcons in WCHA play. Puck drop is 7:07 p.m. both Friday and Saturday nights.

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

  • Kids 12 and under get free admission for all remaining home games this season.
  • Friday night, the first 500 fans receive a set of UAH hockey trading cards.
  • Saturday night, the first 1,000 fans receive a mini hockey stick.

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

TEAM COMPARISON
UAH_logo_100 2013-14 Stats
WCHA rank in parentheses
1-19-0 Overall record 9-9-4
1-11-0 (10th) WCHA record 6-6-2 (T-3rd)
1.05 (10th) Goals per game 2.91 (3rd)
4.25 (10th) Goals allowed per game 2.73 (6th)
14.5 (6th) Penalty minutes per game 15.4 (5th)
8.1% (10th) Power play 18.3% (5th)
66.7% (10th) Penalty kill 83.3% (6th)
Matt Salhany (2-5-7)
Frank Misuraca (1-5-6)
Chad Brears (4-1-5)
Alex Allan (3-1-4)
Jack Prince (3-1-4)		 Leading scorers Bryce Williamson (9-9-18)
Dan DeSalvo (4-12-16)
Mark Cooper (8-6-14)
Brent Tate (7-6-13)
Ben Murphy (8-2-10)
Carmine Guerriero
(10 GS, 3.51 GAA, .907 SV%)
Matt Larose
(10 GS, 4.93 GAA, .883 SV%)		 Goaltending Tommy Burke
(12 GS, 2.59 GAA, .909 SV%)
Tomas Sholl
(10 GS, 2.58 GAA, .899 SV%)

 

The last time these teams met was a wonderful time. But enough about that, because the Falcons are itching to get rid the taste of that overtime loss just four weeks ago in Bowling Green.

Last week, the Falcons finished third in the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh. BG lost to No. 7 Boston College 5-0 in the semifinals before beating host Robert Morris 3-2 in the consolation game. The Falcons’ last WCHA series was at Michigan Tech three weeks ago, earning a 3-2 win and a 4-4 tie. With 14 points, Bowling Green is tied with Bemidji State for third place in the WCHA.

The Chargers have lost four straight since the win, losing 4-1 twice at home to Minnesota state, and losing 5-0 and 3-2 at No. 14 Wisconsin.

The all-time series is 8-3-1 in favor of Bowling Green. The Falcons are 3-2 in Huntsville.

More previews:

Hoof Beats: Penalty kill gets a boost

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When you’re 1-19, you don’t expect many good-looking statistics. But if there’s one statistic for UAH this season that has been particularly woeful, it’s been penalty killing. Coming into last weekend’s series at Wisconsin, UAH had the worst penalty killing percentage in the nation at 62.9 percent.

So it was fabulous to see the Chargers go into a tough place like the Kohl Center and kill all 10 Badger power plays. And just like in KRACH, UAH isn’t last anymore (sorry Robert Morris).

The last time UAH held an opponent scoreless on the power play in a two-game series was against Bemidji State at the VBC back in October, but the Beavers only had four power play opportunities.

Coaches’ luncheon: Another home series means another pre-game coaches’ luncheon at the Varsity Room in Spragins Hall on Friday. Bowling Green coach Chris Bergeron will be the guest to talk about his Falcons and the weekend’s games.

The luncheon starts at noon and will be catered by Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Tickets are $8 at the door, and Blue Line Club members get in free.

Bergeron speaks: Bergeron talked about the Chargers in his weekly press conference. Regarding the last time the teams met last month at Bowling Green, he was very complimentary of UAH’s defense, especially the blocked shots.

Injury update: Matt Larose started Friday’s game at Wisconsin, stopping 23 of the Badgers’ 25-shot barrage, but he didn’t return after the first period because of a laceration on his hip that required 10 stitches. He dressed in Saturday’s game but didn’t play as Carmine Guerriero minded the net the rest of the series.

Jeff Vanderlugt will remain out for this weekend against Bowling Green.

Around the WCHA: Most of the league stayed quiet during the holidays. Outside of UAH’s visit to Wisconsin, Michigan Tech and Bowling Green participated in holiday tournaments.

At the Great Lakes Invitational — held outside at Comerica Park in Detroit — Michigan Tech tied Michigan State 2-2 in the semifinals, advancing to the championship in a shootout. On Saturday, the Huskies fell in the final to Western Michigan, 1-0 in overtime.

At the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh, Bowling Green had a rough time against No. 7 Boston College, losing 5-0 on Friday. The Falcons held off a late Robert Morris charge to win the third-place game 3-2 on Saturday.

Heading into the new year, Ferris State is ranked No. 2 in the USCHO.com poll. Lake Superior is 18th, while Minnesota State received votes (Vermont essentially replaced the Mavericks at No. 20 after winning the Catamount Cup).

This week, eight teams resume WCHA play, while Alaska-Anchorage visits Wisconsin and Ferris State plays in the Mariucci Classic (where they may face host Minnesota on Saturday in a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchup).

WCHA Standings Conference Overall
GP W L T Pts W L T
Ferris State 12 10 0 2 22 14 2 3
Minnesota State 12 9 3 0 18 11 7 0
Bowling Green 14 6 6 2 14 9 9 4
Bemidji State 14 5 5 4 14 5 9 6
Lake Superior State 12 6 6 0 12 10 7 1
Michigan Tech 12 4 4 4 12 6 10 6
Alaska-Anchorage 14 5 7 2 12 8 8 2
Northern Michigan 10 4 5 1 9 6 10 2
Alaska 12 4 7 1 9 7 8 3
Alabama-Huntsville 12 1 11 0 2 1 19 0


THIS WEEK IN THE WCHA
All times Central.
* WCHA game.

Friday, January 3
* Bowling Green at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
* Michigan Tech at Lake Superior, 6:37 p.m.
* Northern Michigan at Bemidji State, 7:37 p.m.
* Minnesota State at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Ferris State vs. Rensselaer, 4:00 p.m. (Mariucci Classic, Minneapolis)
Alaska-Anchorage at Wisconsin, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 4
* Bowling Green at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
* Michigan Tech at Lake Superior, 6:07 p.m.
* Northern Michigan at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
* Minnesota State at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Ferris State vs. Colgate or Minnesota, 4:00 or 7:00 p.m. (Mariucci Classic, Minneapolis)
Alaska-Anchorage at Wisconsin, 7:00 p.m.

A Quick Peek at KRACH as 2013 Draws to a Close

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UAH is now just past the halfway point in the season, as we’ve played 20 games with 18 left.  It’s now instructional to spend a little time with KRACH to see how we measure up.  KRACH is a logistic regression method for looking at college hockey results.  If a team’s KRACH is twice as large as its opponents, you’d expect the team to win two games in three.  If the result were different, the regression would change.  It’s all very nerdy stuff, but we’re UAH people, so we’re equipped to noodling through it.  Google KRACH and you can get some pretty detailed information about it.

But let’s go look at the NCAA Division I Men’s KRACH on USCHO.com:

UAH isn’t in last!  That “honor” goes to the US Military Academy, who’ve won three games on the easiest Division I schedule to date; UAH’s one win comes on an 11th-best slate.  We have the second-toughest schedule in the league; unfortunately, we trail Bemidji in that one by 1.

Better, here’s who’s in a good place in the poll: our opponents!  WCHA members are in bold, teams we still have games with are in italics.

3 Ferris State, 4 St. Cloud State, 12 Wisconsin, 15 Notre Dame, 16 Minnesota State 19 Lake Superior State 21 Northeastern 27 Bowling Green 32 Western Michigan 33 Alaska 34 Alaska-Anchorage 35 Bemidji State 38 Michigan Tech 40 Northern Michigan

We’re the only WCHA team in the bottom-quarter of the KRACH rankings, which is a good thing for the league.  Also, the back half of our schedule consists of just one top-15 team (Notre Dame, who we’ll play the weekend after this), a Mankato trip that comes at the end of a Fairbanks-Houghton-Mankato swing, and the rest of our games against teams in the bottom half of the nation.  That won’t be easy, especially not that swing, but when it comes to the way that the rankings look right now, we’ve weathered the worst of the storm.

I don’t know, I guess I was just happy that UAH was 58th in KRACH.

Wisconsin 3, UAH 2

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With the Chargers having played one of their best periods of the season, I started to think of what UAH’s season was looking like at this point.  I came down to it: we’re Gipsy Danger in Pacific Rim.  In amongst all the various imagery of that mighty Jaeger, it’s the one at the breach that does it for me: left arm ripped off, right arm wielding a sword, bent down on one knee, sword in the sea floor, weathering the storm.

That’s what last night felt like.  It’s what tonight felt like.

The Badgers scored two goals just :49 apart in the first five minutes of the game, and you could just feel it coming on.

It didn’t.  Carmine Guerriero (42 sv) just wouldn’t quit in this one.  When he saw them, he stopped them.  The boys did a fantastic job of guarding the house and keeping the Badgers from slicing through the slot for goals.  Many of those 45 shots-on were from well outside the prime real estate.  That’s exactly what they’re doing: weathering the storm.  Take all the shots you want from outside, guys: we’ll get Carmine and Matt lanes to see the pucks, and they will stop them.

The Chargers’ first goal came when Chad Brears found a little time and space near the net on a 5×3 power play.  The goal is his team-leading fourth of the season.

Now after pitching a phenomenal game, you’d hope that it would be a one-goal deficit in time to pull Carmine and get the extra skater on.  Unfortunately, Chase Drake found Tyler Barnes right near the net with time and space, and Barnes found a small 5-hole opening to put the Badgers up 3-1.  A few seconds later, Mike Corbett took his timeout and put a sixth skater on the ice.

It worked!  While the Fox Sports Wisconsin cameramen were too busy listening to the announcers’ non-pertinent commentary about one of their skaters trying to extend a goal-scoring streak to 7, Jack Prince sliced through the defense and beat Landon Peterson (18 sv).  Suddenly it was :18.4 left and a one-goal lead facing down six blue jerseys.

Alas, it was not to be.  But if you watch Pacific Rim, you’ll see that Gipsy Danger takes a beating, gives a beating back, and eventually wins.  That “eventually wins” isn’t going to be this year, but you can see it coming.  With the team struggling to score goals, it’s all about supporting Guerriero and Larose in net, keeping pucks to the outside, and punching back when you can.

I’m sure that nobody in that locker room believes in moral victories.  I know that I believe in the victories to come.  You can see them off in the distance.

[I tried vainly to find screenshots and video clips, but the studios have it locked down.]

Wisconsin 5, UAH 0

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Wisconsin beat UAH 5-0 on Friday. There’s not much to say about this, but that the 14th-ranked Badgers dominated in just about everything, including shots on goal (55-9) and faceoffs (33-11).

The Chargers didn’t get a shot on goal until the second period, and narrowly avoided tying the record for fewest shots on goal in the game.

And despite all that, Wisconsin only led 2-0 after two periods, thanks in part to great goaltending. Joel Rumpel got credit for the victory and the shutout, but the Charger goaltenders were the ones who really saw action.

Matt Larose got the start, stopping 23 of 25 shots in the first period. He left the game after the first with a cut, and Carmine Guerriero came in and made 27 saves.

The maligned UAH penalty kill also had a good night, stopping all five Wisconsin power plays.

Both teams face off again tomorrow night at 8 p.m. The game can be seen on Fox College Sports Central.

 

Catching the Game: at Wisconsin, Dec. 27-28

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Happy Holidays! The team is back together from the holiday break and will resume the season with a two-game, non-conference set at Wisconsin of the Big Ten. The game start at 7 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday, and here’s how you can follow the action:

  • TV: Fox Sports Wisconsin, Fox College Sports Pacific (Friday), and Fox College Sports Central (Saturday). These channels can be found on these cable and satellite providers, typically requiring a subscription to a digital sports tier:
    • Comcast Xfinity: FCS Pacific 725, FCS Central 724
    • Wow!: FCS Pacific 192, FCS Central 191
    • DirecTV: Channel 670
    • Dish Network: Channel 440 (Friday), Channel 451 (Saturday)
  • ONLINE VIDEO: InsideBadgerSports.com (subscription, Friday only)
  • LIVE STATS: Friday | Saturday
  • AUDIO: WIBA
  • TWITTER: @weloveuahhockey (us), @uahhockey (official), @uahchargers (official), @BadgerMHockey (official)
TEAM COMPARISON
UAH_logo_100 2013-14 Stats
1-17-0 Overall record 8-5-1
1-11-0 (WCHA) Conference record 2-2-0 (Big Ten)
1.06 (59th) Goals per game 3.50 (T-10th)
4.28 (57th) Goals allowed per game 3.07 (42nd)
14.7 (17th) Penalty minutes per game 11.8 (38th)
7.3% (58th) Power play 18.9% (33rd)
62.9% (59th) Penalty kill 83.9% (20th)
Matt Salhany (2-5-7)
Frank Misuraca (1-5-6)
Alex Allan (3-1-4)
Chad Brears (3-1-4)		 Leading scorers Nic Kerdiles (8-9-17)*
Michael Mersch (10-6-16)
Mark Zengerle (1-13-14)
Tyler Barnes (5-7-12)
Joseph LaBate (5-6-11)
Carmine Guerriero
(9 GS, 3.48 GAA, .904 SV%)
Matt Larose
(9 GS, 4.89 GAA, .881 SV%)		 Goaltending Joel Rumpel
(7 GS, 2.14 GAA, .926 SV%)
Landon Peterson
(7 GS, 3.59 GAA, .881 SV%)

* Currently with Team USA at World Junior Championships.

Series preview from UAHChargers.com

The Chargers are back at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., where they haven’t fared very well. UAH is 0-8 all-time at Wisconsin (and overall, as the Badgers have never come to Huntsville). Last season, the Chargers lost 5-0 and 4-1.

UAH will have to go without Ben Reinhardt on Friday as he serves a one-game suspension for an illegal check on Zach Stepan late in the Dec. 14 game against Minnesota State. The Chargers will also be without  Jeff Vanderlugt due to injury, but captain Doug Reid is returning to action.

The 14th-ranked Badgers are on a four-game winning streak, sweeping Penn State and Colorado College at home. Wisconsin will not have their top scorer, Nic Kerdiles, who is with Team USA at the World Junior Championships.

UAH returns home next weekend, Jan. 3-4, against Bowling Green.