Matt Salhany scored with 1:06 left in overtime, salvaging a 3-2 UAH victory and a series sweep over Alaska Anchorage.

It was first-ever sweep in Anchorage for UAH (4-7-1 overall, 4-3-1 WCHA), which swept a second road series in a season for the first time since 2004-05. With 13 points, the Chargers moved into third place in the WCHA standings.

BOX SCORE

UAH had a 2-0 lead and was in control throughout most of the first two periods, but Anchorage (1-7-0 overall, 0-4-0 WCHA) rallied for two in the third to force overtime. The Chargers outshot the Seawolves 34-16.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MTK0TQR_Fw[/embedyt]

The first period was similar to Friday’s first period, except on Saturday there were no goals. The Chargers kept most of the action in the Seawolf end, but the difference was UAA didn’t make the critical mistakes, and goaltender Olivier Mantha made the stops — 14 in fact. Meanwhiel, UAA only mustered three shots on goal in the period.

The second period was full of penalties, the most crucial being a vicious hit on Brennan Saulnier by UAA’s Mason Mitchell. Saulnier was on his back for a few minutes as Mitchell received a five-minute major penalty for contact to the head, a two-minute penalty for roughing, and a game misconduct.

Saulnier was able to go to the bench on his own power, and was back in action on the ice as the Chargers had over six minutes of power play time to work with. He was quickly stoned by Mantha, who pounced on a wrap-around attempt.

UAH would finally not be denied on the major power play. Hans Gorowsky, from the left circle, ricocheted the puck off the left post and in at the 8:26 mark of the second period. It was Gorowsky’s third goal of the season, with Max McHugh got the primary assist, his fourth, for his nice pass from the slot. Josh Kestner also notched his fifth helper.

The power play would end on a too many men on the ice penalty on UAH, and Adam Wilcox’s elbowing call gave the Seawolves a chance to equalize with a two-man advantage. However, the Chargers were able to cleanly kill those penalties.

A penalty was called on each team in the final minutes of the period, and on the ensuing 4-on-4, Kurt Gosselin wristed a shot to beat Mantha with 48 seconds left to give UAH a 2-0 lead. The goal was confirmed on a lengthy video review, although the referee confused matters as he made a wave-off motion as he came back on the ice, followed by a point to center ice for the face off.

McHugh and Cam Knight got the assists on Gosselin’s goal.

UAA thought it got its first goal at 2:39 of the third period, but Jarrett Brown’s shot was found to hit just the cross bar and was ruled no goal.

The Seawolves did get their first score for sure at 5:19. Matt Anholt puts in a rebound UAH goaltender Jordan Uhelski could not catch or cover a high save on Jarrett Brown’s shot, cutting UAH’s lead to 2-1.

UAA would tie an a costly turnover. The Chargers turned it over in their own zone while on the power play, and Nick Rygaard got the puck all alone in front, beating Uhelski to tie the game at 2-2 with 5:53 left in regulation.

In overtime, Salhany drove to the net, and around Anholt, beating Mantha high, for the game winner. It was Salhany’s second goal of the season. Gosselin got the assist after a steal that led to the winning play.

Uhelski finished with 14 saves.

The Chargers, after playing five of their first six series on the road, play their next three series at home over the next four weeks. UAH hosts Alaska next Friday and Saturday.

Matt Larose (Photo by UAH Athletics)

Two Chargers earned WCHA weekly honors on Monday for their contributions to the Chargers’ season-opening sweep at Ferris State.

Max McHugh was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week after scoring a goal in each game. The junior center and alternate captain put UAH up 1-0 on Saturday while falling to his knees in the slot, and broke a 2-2 tie on Sunday while on the power play. It’s his first Offensive Player of the Week award after earning two Rookie of the Week awards in his freshman season.

Matt Larose won his second WCHA Defensive Player of the Week award between the pipes. The senior stopped 37 of 38 Bulldog shots as the Chargers won 2-1 on Saturday. On Sunday, he made 30 more saves in UAH’s 4-3 win, giving him a .944 save percentage.

The Chargers, 2-0-0 to start the season, visit Connecticut on Friday and Saturday for their first non-conference series of the year.

The Chargers may just be shedding that pushover label once and for all.

UAH played another solid game at Ferris State on Sunday, beating the Bulldogs 4-3 in Big Rapids and earning a WCHA sweep on the road to start the season.

BOX SCORE

UAH is 2-0-0 for the first time since 2001. Ferris State, ranked No. 20 in the USCHO.com preseason poll, fell to 0-2-0. It was also UAH’s first-ever series sweep over a ranked opponent.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkNv6I_UVUc[/embedyt]

However, like it has been and will still be, it wasn’t easy.

UAH gave Ferris State numerous opportunities in the first period, committing four penalties for four Bulldog power play opportunities.

The Charger penalty killing unit was mostly effective while busy, but FSU eventually struck on the fourth chance as Tyler Andrew got one between the legs of UAH goaltender Matt Larose at 10:45.

But UAH fought right back 32 seconds later, as off the faceoff Matt Salhany got two backhand shots on FSU goalie Darren Smith, and the second one found the net to tie the game 1-1.

Brandon Salerno and Jordan Larson got the assists on the goal for their first UAH career points.

Ferris State quickly took the lead in the second period, as WCHA preseason player of the year Gerald Mayhew caught Larose out of position and scored on a wide open net just 36 seconds in.

The special teams took over to propel the Chargers into the lead. After a Richard Buri hooking penalty put UAH shorthanded, Brent Fletcher puts in the rebound of a Cody Marooney shot to tie the game at 2-2 with 8:54 left in the second period.

Then UAH took the lead on the power play with 2:39 left in the second. Max McHugh notched his second goal of the series and season, assisted by Kurt Gosselin and Cam Knight, after Ferris State’s Chris Allemon went off for tripping.

The Chargers weren’t content to go into a shell, pressing the issue in the third period. UAH extended its lead to 4-2 when Brennan Saulnier deflected a Josh Kestner pass to the slot, beating Smith with 13:27 to go. It was Saulnier’s first goal since Oct. 30 of last season at Lake Superior State.

Of course, the Bulldogs would not go quietly. Mayhew poked in a rebound past Larose with 2:37 to go to cut UAH’s lead to 4-3.

FSU pulled Smith for an extra attacker with 1:20 left, and had a flurry of chances the rest of the way, but could not find the equalizer.

Larose had 29 saves in the contest as Ferris State outshot the Chargers 33-27.

Ferris State finished 1-for-7 on the power play. UAH went 1-for-2.

UAH visits Connecticut for its first non-conference series of the season next weekend (Oct. 7-8).

UAH came into this season planning to “turn the corner” — as in turning the ties and one-goal losses into victories, using the experience of the last three years to achieve it.

It’s just the opener and there’s a long way to go, but the Chargers showed they mean business Friday night in Big Rapids, beating No. 20 Ferris State 2-1 in the WCHA’s and men’s college hockey’s first official game of the season.

BOX SCORE

UAH (1-0-0) won its season opener for the first time since 2009, when the Chargers stunned No. 5 Notre Dame in South Bend. It was also the first time UAH beat a ranked opponent in 39 attempts, dating back to a 2-1 win at No. 11 Denver in 2012.

Matt Larose made 37 saves in net for the Chargers, who, particularly in the third period, had to weather a talented Ferris State (0-1-0) offense featuring WCHA preseason player of the year Gerald Mayhew.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bWDRiYho0Q[/embedyt]

Mayhew was kept off the scoresheet, although he had six shots on goal.

UAH’s offensive star, Max McHugh, got UAH on the board early with the first goal of the season at the 5:21 mark. McHugh went to his knees in front of the net to beat Ferris State goaltender Darren Smith and give UAH a 1-0 lead. Josh Kestner and Brennan Saulnier got the assists.

FSU tied the game at the 9:00 mark, as Mitch Maloney had a shot deflect off the skate of UAH defenseman Cam Knight past Larose.

Ferris State had chances to take the lead early in the second after back-to-back penalties on Kestner and Cody Marooney.

But it was the Chargers who would take the lead again at the 9:19 mark of the second, as Hans Gorowsky, on a breakaway from a pass by Kurt Gosselin, backhanded the puck past Smith.

Larose and Smith traded big saves for the rest of the middle period. Smith denied Kestner with his glove, and Larose used his shoulder and glove to stop FSU’s Chad MacDonald, who was all alone in the left circle. After two periods, UAH had a 2-1 lead with both teams having 18 shots on goal.

If the third-period strategy was to get more pucks on Larose, then it was successful. The Bulldogs fired 20 shots on net in a wild period, but Larose made all the critical stops, including one on a wide-open Corey Mackin with under a minute to go.

Game two of the series is at 2:07 p.m. Central Time and can be seen on WCHA.tv.

Using the experience gained from three tough years in the WCHA, the Chargers head into their fourth league campaign looking to climb the standings and back into the playoffs.

The season starts Saturday in Big Rapids, Michigan, as UAH faces a Ferris State club looking to build upon its WCHA tournament championship and NCAA tournament appearance last season and challenge the upper echelon for the MacNaughton Cup. Puck drop is at 4:07 p.m. Central on Saturday and 2:07 p.m. Sunday and can be seen on WCHA.tv.

It is UAH’s 32nd varsity season and 38th overall.

All-time series: Ferris State leads 13-3-1, including an 8-1-1 advantage in Big Rapids. Last season, the teams met twice in Big Rapids, with a 3-3 tie (FSU getting an extra-attacker tying goal with 1:03 left in regulation) and a 4-1 Ferris State win. The clubs face off in Huntsville on Dec. 3 and 4.

Max McHugh (Photo by UAH Athletics)

Charger recap: UAH finished last season with an 7-21-6 record overall and a 5-17-6 record in the WCHA. The Chargers finished in 10th place and missed the playoffs. They are expected to finish ninth according to the WCHA coaches’ and media preseason polls.

UAH bumped its scoring output to 2.15 goals per game last season, but the Chargers will need more to get back into the postseason. They’ll rely on a set of core veterans led by junior Max McHugh, who was UAH’s leading scorer in each of his first two seasons. In 2015-16, McHugh had 22 points on seven goals and 15 assists.

Huntsville native Josh Kestner, now a junior, also had seven goals last season, while Brandon Parker and Brennan Saulnier, also juniors, had 11 assists apiece. Saulnier had six goals in the first five games of 2015-16.

Senior Matt Larose will be the likely starter in net. He had a .921 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average in 16 starts last season. Senior Carmine Guerriero will sit out the first 12 games of the season by NCAA rules, because he played junior games past his 21st birthday. Junior Jordan Uhelski will be the backup.

About the Bulldogs: Ferris State finished the 2015-16 season with a 20-15-6 overall record and a 13-11-4 WCHA record. The Bulldogs finished fourth in the league in the regular-season race, but defeated both co-MacNaughton Cup champions, Michigan Tech and Minnesota State, at the Final Five to win the conference tournament and a spot in the NCAA tournament. At the West Regional, they took out St. Cloud State before losing to Denver in the final.

The Bulldogs were picked to finish fourth again in the WCHA in both the coaches and media preseason polls. Ferris State is ranked 20th in the USCHO.com preseason poll.

Senior Gerald Mayhew, who scored 16 goals and 41 points last season to earn All-WCHA second team honors, was picked by the coaches and media to win the Preseason Player of the Year. Sophomore Corey Mackin scored 10 goals and 25 points to win the league’s Rookie of the Year crown. Chad MacDonald also returns as a senior after scoring 10 goals last season.

Sophomore goaltender Darren Smith played 33 games for the Bulldogs in his freshman season, posting a .919 save percentage and 2.33 goals against average.

UAH in season openers: The Chargers haven’t won a season-opening game since 2009, when UAH stunned No. 5 Notre Dame 3-2 in South Bend. UAH is 11-18-2 all-time in openers, but 4-12-1 in the modern Division I era.

Around the WCHA: UAH-Ferris State is the first conference series of the season. Michigan Tech is at Minnesota Duluth for a big non-conference series, while some other league teams are playing preseason exhibitions.

All times Central. Games featuring WCHA teams at home can be seen on WCHA.tv.

Friday, Sept. 30
Simon Fraser at Alaska Anchorage (exhibition), 10:07 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 1
UAH at #20 Ferris State, 4:07 p.m.
#17 Michigan Tech at #6 Minnesota Duluth, 7:07 p.m.
Windsor at #14 Bowling Green (exhibition), 11 a.m.
Regina at #19 Minnesota State (exhibition), 7 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 2
UAH at #20 Ferris State, 2:07 p.m.
#17 Michigan Tech at #6 Minnesota Duluth, 4:07 p.m.
Laurentian at Lake Superior State (exhibition), 4 p.m.
Victoria at Northern Michigan (exhibition), 6:08 p.m.
Simon Fraser at Alaska (exhibition), 10:07 p.m.

The NCHC said no today to expansion bids from Arizona and Minnesota State.

Statement from @Fenton_JC on #NCHCHockey membership expansion pic.twitter.com/bZwtbiS7kl

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) August 31, 2016

The word on the street is that the Alaska situation is a concern, although not a primary one.

This obviates the recovery for a 7-team WCHA that I proposed the other day, but an 8-team WCHA would have some travel issues as well.  The question is going to be very simple: if the Alaska schools drop Division I athletics at both campuses, will the WCHA be comfortable with an 8-team scheduling matrix?

Eight teams drives you to play your seven opponents home-and-away: Huntsville every year, Bemidji every year, everyone every year.  Do you add two teams to ameliorate that travel?  You’d consider it, but who could come aboard?  The exit fee to leave the NCHC is $1.5MM per Brad E. Schlossman, and that means that you’re not going to see Western Michigan and Miami come back to a league that would look increasingly like the old CCHA.  [Also not happening: WMU and MU for BSU and MSU.  This isn’t a Yahoo! college hockey fantasy league.]

What about Arizona State?

Good question!  I know that the WCHA really wanted to get a name school into the league, and even with an uncertain arena situation (see the first link up top from CHN), it may be a good fit for the league.  I noted earlier today that the WCHA may want to get them and make it hard for them to leave.  While it may look bad to add a geographical outlier like the Sun Devils, the matter of fact is that a 9-team WCHA that loses the Alaska schools but adds Arizona State can easily put in a system where you generally don’t play in Tempe and Huntsville every year, the biggest flight for most schools.

Would the WCHA want to add Arizona State and another team to go stay at 10 teams?

That’s a big maybe.  Robert Morris is probably the most sensible option, as you can make UAH-ASU a scheduling pair and make BGSU-RMU a travel pair.  From Sunday:

BGSU-RMU: The two schools aren’t terribly far apart, and Ohioans largely hate Pittsburgh.  Also, losing the pairing with UAH keeps their travel costs down.  Keeping BGSU is key for the health of the league — probably moreso than any other team.

The resulting geographic pattern isn’t a terrible one:

What if the Alaska schools survive?  Will Arizona State get in anyway?

I’m going to bet yes, and I think that they’d look at add a 12th (e.g., RMU) to keep a core in the arc of the Midwest in order to keep travel costs down for schools that aren’t far-flung.

There’s a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous.  I did a lot of work on this the other night, and I’m sure that I’ll do more. But I’ll probably be pulling it off this site and onto another one.

It’s do or die for the Chargers as they face rival Bemidji State for the 79th and 80th times.

UAH will need wins and some help to avoid being eliminated from WCHA playoff contention.

UAH is five points behind Alaska Anchorage for eighth place in the WCHA standings, the final conference playoff spot. Meanwhile, Bemidji State, sitting in sixth place, looks to lock their spot in the playoffs.

Matchup history: Bemidji State leads the all-time series over UAH at 45-29-4, including a 25-9-1 record in Bemidji. The teams met in Huntsville around Thanksgiving this season, with the Beavers taking a pair of 4-1 wins. BSU has won 33 of the last 40 meetings.

Charger recap: UAH (6-19-5 overall, 4-15-5 WCHA) was swept at Northern Michigan last week in Marquette.

On Friday, three first-period goals was all NMU needed to win 3-0. Matt Larose stopped 28 of 31 shots but UAH could not solve goaltender Mathias Dahlstrom. Larose’s .929 save percentage this season is second-best in the WCHA and 14th-best in Division I.

On Saturday, Brent Fletcher put UAH on the board first in the first period, but NMU rallied with three unanswered for a 3-1 victory. Carmine Guerriero made 32 saves.

While the Chargers had a rough time offensively, they have already scored more goals this season then last. UAH has 63 goals in 30 games, compared to 62 goals in 38 games last season.

LEADING SCORERS: Max McHugh (So., 6-15–21, 30 GP), Chad Brears (Sr., 9-8–17, 26 GP), Brennan Saulnier (So., 6-11–17, 26 GP), Brandon Parker (So., 2-8–10, 30 GP), Matt Salhany (Jr., 3-6–9, 29 GP), Kurt Gosselin (Fr., 2-7–9, 25 GP)

GOALTENDING: Carmine Guerriero (Jr., 3.10 GAA, .904 SV%, 17 GP), Matt Larose (Jr., 2.30 GAA, .929 SV%, 14 GP)

	Tale of the tape (WCHA rank)
6-19-5	Overall record	14-13-5
4-15-5 (10th)	WCHA record	9-11-4 (6th)
2.10 (9th)	Goals/game	2.53 (T-5th)
2.97 (8th)	Goals allowed/game	2.38 (4th)
13.1 (4th)	Pen. minutes/game	10.2 (8th)
10.7% (10th)	Power play	19.8% (2nd)
83.6% (8th)	Penalty kill	88.9% (1st)

About the Beavers: Bemidji State (14-13-5 overall, 9-11-4 WCHA) is coming off a split at home against second-place Michigan Tech. The Beavers shut out the Huskies 3-0 before getting slammed 9-2.

Goaltender Michael Bitzer has the fifth-best goals against average in the WCHA at 2.10 (17th in the nation), posting a league-high five shutouts. He did not play against the Chargers in Huntsville, where backup Reid Mimmack started both games.

Gerry Fitzgerald and Brendan Harms are tied for seventh in the WCHA with 22 points. Fitzgerald’s 12 goals are tied for seventh in the league, while Harms’s 15 assists are tied for sixth with Max McHugh.

LEADING SCORERS: Gerry Fitzgerald (So., 12-10–22, 28 GP), Brendan Harms (Jr., 7-15–22, 32 GP), Markus Gerbrandt (Sr., 6-14–20, 31 GP), Cory Ward (Sr., 7-10–17, 32 GP), Graeme McCormack (Sr., -10–16, 32 GP)

GOALTENDING: Michael Bitzer (So., 2.10 GAA, .916 SV%, 27 GP), Reid Mimmack (Jr., 2.28 GAA, .904 SV%, 7 GP)

Around the WCHA: 

All times Central. Games featuring WCHA teams at home can be seen on WCHA.tv.

Friday, Feb. 26
UAH at Bemidji State, 7:37 p.m.
Ferris State at Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
Alaska at #14 Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at Lake Superior State, 6:37 p.m.
#18 Minnesota State at Alaska Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 27
UAH at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
Ferris State at Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
Alaska at #14 Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m.
#18 Minnesota State at Alaska Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.

His name is Tyler Poulsen, and the recent WCHA Rookie of the Week and the Chargers host Minnesota State this weekend. (Photo by Doug Eagan/UAH Athletics)

It’s been rather quiet here recently, with the Chargers being off two of the last three weeks. Now it’s time for the final stretch in the regular season.

UAH is still on the outside looking in when it comes to the WCHA playoffs. The Chargers are in last place, still five points behind the teams they are chasing for a playoff berth, thanks to sweeps last weekend to said teams (Lake Superior State, Alaska Anchorage, Alaska).

With eight games to go, UAH is still alive, but it will likely need points every week and get more help to secure one of the league’s top eight spots. It will not be easy.

First is this weekend’s series against first-place Minnesota State at the Von Braun Center, the Chargers’ first home series in over a month. The 17th-ranked Mavericks split with Bowling Green in Mankato over the weekend to maintain a two-point lead over the Falcons and Michigan Tech.

Then the Chargers hit the road for series at Northern Michigan and Bemidji State, before coming home one final time against Bowling Green on March 4-5.

This week’s festivities: It’s Military Appreciation Weekend for this weekend’s series against Minnesota State. All veterans and active duty personnel, as well as their families, can get free admission to Friday and Saturday’s games. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. both nights.

UAH will have the seventh trading card set being given away on Friday to the first 500 fans, courtesy of Colonial Printing and the UAH Office of Research & Economic Development.

On Saturday, the first 1,000 fans get a free UAH hockey team photo, courtesy of SportsMed and the UAH Office of Research & Economic Development.

The Blue Line Club lunch will take place Friday at noon at the Varsity Room of Spragins Hall. Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings and the UAH coaching staff will be there to talk about this week’s series. New Orleans Lunch Box will be catering.

Poulsen gets league award: Tyler Poulsen was named WCHA Rookie of the Week on Feb. 1 after a two-point weekend at Alaska Anchorage. The freshman from Arvada, Colo., assisted on UAH’s first goal in the Chargers’ 2-1 win on Jan. 29, and scored his third goal of the season in the 4-3 loss on Jan. 30.

It is with deep sadness that we must pass along the news that Colby Ross has died.  Colby was the third of the four Ross children.  Our hearts are with his father, Doug, his mother, Barbara Ebert, his sister Lindsay, his brother Jared, and his brother Garrett.  It is impossible to overstate the role that the Ross family has played in hockey in Huntsville, and it’s similarly impossible to overstate the sense of loss for his family.

UAH alumni Todd and Kellie Bentley have put together a GoFundMe project to create a college fund for Colby’s daughter, Darby.  We encourage you to consider donating.

From heavy.com’s 5 Fast Facts about Adam Setas, Nick Saban’s new son-in-law:

Setas played hockey throughout his childhood and at Lansing Catholic High School before committing to play at UA Huntsville in 2009. From 2009-2012 Setas play for UA Huntsville before transferring to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for his senior year. UA Tuscaloosa does not have a varsity hockey team.

Except if you look at that EliteProspects link, you see him playing at UA in ACHA III and not UAH in NCAA Div-I:

Adam Setas at EliteProspects.com

Oh, and if you look at the all-time roster for UAH hockey, there is no “Adam Setas” between Paul Scott (’90, 10-23—33) and Grant Selinger (’07, 33-37—70).

Congratulations and best wishes to the Setas and Saban families.