Category Archives: 2013-14

By the numbers: The 2014-15 season

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Now that the 2014-15 season is over, let’s take a look about how the Chargers improved from the previous season from a statistical perspective. There are many ways the Chargers improved that reflected in their record, which is where we start.

Carmine Guerriero

Carmine Guerriero had one of the best goaltending seasons in UAH history. (Photo by Todd Pavlack/BGSUHockey.com)

Record: 2013-14: 2-35-1 (.066); 2014-15: 8-26-4 (.263); Change: +.197

This is the most visible, most obvious improvement. Not only did UAH have six more wins, which is the sixth-biggest jump in Division I, but three more ties — or nine more games where we had points.

Scoring margin: 2013-14: -3.29; 2014-15: -1.55; Change: +1.74

The Chargers had 26 losses, which is still not good. But this shows we’re closing the gap even if we didn’t come through victorious. UAH lost games by five or more goals 12 times in 2013-14. This season: Three. UAH reduced the number of games lost by three or more from 26 to 13.

That’s why general excitement was up this season. The number of games we still had a shot went up from 32 percent to 68 percent.

Offense: 2013-14: 1.08 goals per game; 2014-15: 1.63; Change: +0.55

Still nothing to write home about, but at least we’re no longer dead last in the nation, or even in the WCHA (sorry, Lake Superior State). Three goals has been the magic number this season — this year the Chargers scored three-plus 10 times (as opposed to only three times in 2013-14), and were 6-2-2 in those games.

The freshmen really contributed to the boost, which is why we’re optimistic that the offense will continue to improve its potency with experience. Leading the team was Max McHugh, whose 12 goals are the most by a Charger since Matt Sweazey in 2008-09, and whose 23 points are the most since four Chargers had that many or more in 2006-07. Brandon Parker had 14 assists, most since Andrew Coburn had 15 in 2009-10. UAH freshmen, including Brennan Saulnier, Josh Kestner, Richard Buri, and Cody Champagne, accounted for 61 of 167 points (37 percent) this season.

Meanwhile, our juniors had their best seasons to build on as they become seniors. Chad Brears had 15 points to more than double of career total coming in to 2014-15. Jack Prince’s 14 points is also a career high. Defenseman Frank Misuraca had six MisuRockets™ find the net. And Alex Carpenter, who had no playing time in two seasons at Western Michigan, put together a nice 3-5-8 season in 32 games played.

Coach Mike Corbett has said the goal for UAH is to be the up-and-down team like a Michigan Tech. Building depth behind this corps can do just that.

Defense: 2013-14: 4.37 goals allowed per game; 2014-15: 3.18; Change: +1.19

Again, UAH is still near the bottom of the WCHA in this category (besting only Lake Superior), but as we wait patiently for the offense to catch up, the improved defense really helped the Chargers be competitive.

The rise of sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero was a big part of that, of course. His .928 save percentage this season was the fourth best in UAH history and second in the modern Division I era, putting him among the top 20 in the country (currently 14th with others’ conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament to go). His 2.56 goals against average was fifth best in UAH history and third in the Division I era.

But it goes beyond just Guerriero. The Chargers still allowed a lot of shots this season (37.58 shots on goal allowed per game, next to last in Division I), but they also blocked a ton. Brandon Carlson finished the season with 94 blocked shots, currently 2nd in the country. Four Chargers are among the nation’s top 100 defensemen in blocked shots, including Frank Misuraca (69), Brandon Parker (61), and Graeme Strukoff (56).

Power play efficiency: 2013-14: 12-137 (8.8%); 2014-15: 19-124 (15.3%); Change: +6.5%

UAH was dead last in Division I on the power play last season, but found its way to the middle of the pack in the WCHA in 2014-15. The Chargers had the fewer power play opportunities in the WCHA this season, but when they got one, they got aggressive, and it showed. McHugh became even more of a threat, scoring five of his 12 power play goals on the season.

Penalty kill efficiency: 2013-14: 117-166 (70.5%); 2014-15: 164-201 (81.6%); Change: +11.1%

Considering the Chargers were by far the worst on the penalty kill in 2013-14, this was arguably the aspect of UAH’s game that improved the most. The Chargers had the most shorthanded situations in 2014-15 — they were the third-most penalized team in Division I at 15.8 penalty minutes per game — and while the kill percentage is only eighth-best in the WCHA, it feels like night and day.

They had their rocky moments (allowing three power play goals at Air Force negating a 3-0 UAH lead, and six power play goals in a 11-1 drubbing at Michigan Tech during the regular season), but also had impressive streaks: Opponents were 2-for-40 from Nov. 15 (Lake Superior was 0-for-10) to Dec. 14, including a stretch of 17 straight penalties killed, and a string of 19 straight kills from Feb. 13-21.

So the numbers may not be great, but they show the improvement this club made over the season. And there’s so much potential to get better. And that means more wins. Get excited for 2015-16.

Michigan Tech 3, UAH 0 — An Elegy

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A light exists in Spring
Not present on the year
At any other period—
When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad
On solitary fields
That science cannot overtake
But human nature feels.

It waits upon the lawn,
It shows the furthest tree
Upon the furthest slope we know;
It almost speaks to me.

Then, as horizons step,
Or noons report away,
Without the formula of sound,
It passes, and we stay:

A quality of loss
Affecting our content,
As trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a sacrament.

— Emily Dickinson, “A light exists in spring”

I won’t presume to speak for Michael, but come for the past four seasons, we’d hit the first weekend in February and I’d just kind of be done with the season.  In those four years, UAH won just nine Division I games.  If you remove those four seasons from consideration, the worst four-year stretch for the Chargers in Division I comes in the team’s first four years at 45.  If you limit it to modern D-I, it’s 36, but five of those 36 wins make possible both of UAH’s NCAA tournament appearances.

I don’t think that anyone reading these words needs much of a reminder, but UAH went 2-35-1 last year, setting an NCAA record for most losses in a Division I season.  That record is likely to stand until the NCAA again increases the number of games to be played, because UAH used Alaska exemptions to add four games to their schedule.  But if you’ll remember, that team never quit, even though you’d have understood if they had.  They won their second game in their 35th contest of the season.

This team certainly never quit, too.  Did they give up 77 shots on goal last night to Tech in an amazing, epic game?  They sure did.  If you had told me at noon on Friday that UAH wouldn’t score a goal all weekend, I would’ve believed you.  The Chargers scored one goal in their last trip to Houghton.  And if you’d told me that the Huskies wouldn’t score more than one goal in a period, I’d have thought that the Chargers had a shot at winning one of those games.  But if you’d told me that sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Qué.) would have to make 118 saves on the weekend, well … that wouldn’t sound like UAH was in those games.

That happened.

It’s playoff hockey, and strange things can happen, but it’s safe to say that the Chargers are huge underdogs in this series. UAH is the seventh seed, and Michigan Tech is the second seed.

…

All-time series: The Chargers are 0-6 all-time against the Huskies, and are 0-4 in Houghton. UAH was blown out in both games there in late January this season by scores of 5-0 and 11-1. In 2013-14, the Chargers lost 4-1 and 10-4 at Houghton. That’s a combined score of 30-6 for the Huskies on their home ice.

Coach Corbett famously went around town writing 16-1 the week after the Tech debacle.

We had no idea how new it would be.

UAH had a harder time tonight, taking seven minor penalties after just nine the night before in twice the time.  (Freshman forward Brennan Saulnier‘s [Halifax, Nova Scotia] major penalty and game misconduct count as two separate penalties.  Saulnier’s third game misconduct of the season resulted in a one-game suspension from the NCAA.)  Where the Chargers were perfect on the PK on Friday night — which seems obvious — they were human on Saturday, allowing two power play goals that proved to be the difference in the game.

The troika of senior forward Blake Hietala (Houghton, Mich.), senior forward, co-captain, and WCHA player of the year Tanner Kero (Hancock, Mich.), and sophomore forward Tyler Heinonen (Delano, Minn.) combined for both power play markers.  Hietala pleased the home fans in his final game, scoring the game-winning goal, his fifth of the year at 14:35 of the first.  The Huskies struck again 4:43 into the second, with Kero also going out in style with his 19th geno.

The only time that Guerriero (42 saves) looked moderately human was on freshman defenseman Mark Auk‘s (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) goal, a point shot that fluttered through traffic but that Garrison Guerriero had been flinging into the corner all weekend.

The Chargers were nearly even in SOG in the second (11-12), all the more impressive for the Huskies having 1:14 of power play time.  And when Kero took a high-sticking penalty just :04 into the third period, you thought that the boys in blue might have had a shot.  But junior netminder Jamie Phillips (Caledonia, Ont., which we all know is a decent hockey town) picked up his second shutout of the weekend and sixth of the season, a result that you’d expect from the goaltender for the WCHA first team.

Does the road wind up-hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labour you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.

— Christina Rossetti, “Uphill”

“Of labor you shall find the sum.”  That’s very true of this team.  It’s important to remember that the Chargers quadrupled their win total in 2014-15.  Adding more than five wins is very difficult in college hockey.  If you think that UAH can add five more wins next year, that’s a good run at home ice.  Don’t you think that’s doable?  If you watched this weekend’s games and can forget the final six of the regular season, you can see that it’s there.  The defensive core is there, and they’re starting to make the good moves coming out of the zone.  The freshmen forwards show all the signs.

Every time I run into a player alumnus, we talk about the players on the team and how the talent level is rising.  They cannot stop talking about the freshmen, specifically guys like forwards Saulnier, Josh Kestner (Huntsville), and Max McHugh (Seattle, Wash.).  The freshmen tallied 61 points this season; UAH scored just 41 goals last year with 72 assists for 113 points.

Let’s talk about Guerriero for just a second.  Last year he was 1-17-0, 3.90, and .905.  This year, he’s 8-18-3, 2.56, and .928.  That .928 is the second-best in the Chargers’ Division I era, second behind Scott Munroe’s (2006, Moose Jaw, Sask.) .930 mark in 2004-05 and ahead of Cam Talbot (2010, Caledonia, Ont.)’s .925 in 2009-10; the mark is fourth all-time for UAH.  His .9184 career mark is .0001 behind Munroe and .0092 ahead of Talbot.

From a numbers perspective, Guerriero is on par with Talbot’s career progression from the big man’s sophomore to junior seasons — but he never had a rough freshman year like Talbot did (1-10-0, 4.63, .860).  Talbot’s record in 2008-09 was 2-16-3, and his final year was 12-18-3.

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

— Langston Hughes, “Dreams”

For the last two years, it’s been about hanging on; next year, it’s going to be going forward.  I truly believe that this team can get home ice in 2016.  That took 29 points this year and 30 the year before; we had five last year and 15 this year.  Bemidji State went from last-in last year to home ice this year.  Four of the final six games were winnable — that would get UAH to 23.

Last year, UAH was outscored 166-41 (-3.29 G/GM); this year, 121-62 (-1.55 G/GM).  Last year, UAH lost by three or more goals 25 times; this year, just 12.

Hold fast to dreams / For when dreams go / Life is a barren field / Frozen with snow.

Dream big.  The worst appears to be behind us.  It took Danton Cole three years to get to double-digits in wins; it’s fairly certain that Mike Corbett will get there, too.

By the numbers: Looking back on an epic

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UAH looks to stave off elimination tonight at 6 p.m. in Game 2 at Michigan Tech. Here’s some notes on last night’s epic playoff opener, won by the Huskies 1-0 in triple overtime.

Friday night’s game was the longest in UAH hockey history, and the second multiple-overtime game for the program. It was the second-longest in WCHA history and the seventh-longest in NCAA history. It would have been sixth-longest if UMass and Notre Dame hadn’t gone to five overtimes last week.

LONGEST GAMES IN UAH HISTORY
Time OTs Date Opponent Score Event
118:49 3 3/13/2015 Michigan Tech L 1-0 WCHA Quarterfinals Game 1
95:18 2 3/23/2007 Notre Dame L 3-2 NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal
72:31 1 3/11/2007 Robert Morris W 5-4 CHA Championship
72:30 1 3/15/2003 Bemidji State L 2-1 CHA Semifinal
69:12 1 3/16/2002 Wayne State L 5-4 CHA Championship
68:39 1 3/9/2007 Wayne State W 4-3 CHA Quarterfinal

Carmine Guerriero was phenomenal keeping the game scoreless as long as he could. He made 76 saves, the most in UAH and WCHA history, and 11 short of the NCAA record set by Notre Dame’s Cal Peterson in that 5OT game last week (UMass goalie Steve Mastalerz had 75 saves in that game). It was the fifth-most saves in NCAA history.

The WCHA’s previous record for saves in a single game was Kirk Daubenspeck, who had 75 saves with then-member Wisconsin against Colorado College on March 8, 1997.

Guerriero now holds two of the top three single-game save performances for UAH. He had 61 at Minnesota State on Feb. 15, 2014. Barry Friedman had the old all-time UAH record, stopping 62 against Geneseo State on Nov. 8, 1986.

MOST SAVES IN A GAME, NCAA HISTORY
Saves Goaltender School Date Opponent
87 Cal Petersen Notre Dame 3/6/2015 Massachusetts
78 Dick Greenlaw Rensselaer 12/14/1965 Boston U.
77 Rick DiPietro Boston U. 3/26/2000 St. Lawrence
77 Bill Halbrehder Minnesota Duluth 12/19/1964 Michigan
76 Carmine Guerriero Alabama Huntsville 3/13/2015 Michigan Tech

Alas, the Chargers streak of allowing a goal now stands at 165 games since Cam Talbot’s last UAH shutout in 2010, and UAH has been shut out 41 times in that stretch.

In the two regular-season games at Michigan Tech on January 30-31, Guerriero allowed nine goals over 84:41. He played a bit better Friday.

Hoof Beats: Series business in UAH’s playoff return

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It’s been a while since UAH has seen postseason action. It’s been even longer since UAH has been in a playoff series.

When the seventh-seeded Chargers play the second-seeded Michigan Tech in a best-of-3 WCHA playoff series starting Friday night, it will be the first postseason action for UAH since 2010, when the Chargers won the College Hockey America Tournament and an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost 2-1 to top-ranked Miami in the Midwest Regional semifinals.

This will be the first time UAH has been in a playoff series since its Division II days, and the first time ever in a best-of-3 in the traditional sense. Game 1 of the series in Houghton, Michigan will be Friday night, game 2 is Saturday night, a deciding game 3, if necessary, is Sunday night. All games start at 6:07 p.m. CDT.

Back in the 1990s, the NCAA Division II championship series was a best-of-3 — sort of. The third “game”, if it was needed, was a 15-minute, non-sudden-death period, called a “mini-game.” It was more like best-of-21⁄4. Of UAH’s four appearances in the Division II championship against Bemidji State, only in 1994 did the series go to the mini-game: It ended with the score tied at 1-1 and required sudden death overtime, which was won by Bemidji State. The other three were 2-0 sweeps (UAH in 1996 and 1998, Bemidji State in 1997).

College Hockey America never had playoff series in its postseason. All the league’s teams met in one location in a single-elimination tournament. In 11 seasons (1999-2010), UAH won two CHA tournament titles and made the championship game six times.

More WCHA Tournament: UAH at Michigan Tech is one of four WCHA quarterfinal playoff series this weekend.

MacNaughton Cup champion Minnesota State will host No. 8 seed Lake Superior State, No. 3 Bowling Green entertains No. 6 Northern Michigan, and No. 4 seed Bemidji State is hosting a WCHA playoff series for the first time against No. 5 Ferris State.

The four winners will meet at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., for the WCHA Final Five. The semifinals are Friday, March 20 with the championship game on Saturday, March 21.

Brandon Parker

Brandon Parker leads the Chargers with 14 assists. (Photo by Todd Pavlack/BGSUHockey.com)

Obscure record alert: Freshman defenseman Brandon Parker has 14 assists and no goals this season. The only Charger ever to have that many assists without a goal is Terry Conway back in UAH’s first varsity season in 1985-86.

Parker has the most assists in a season for UAH since Andrew Coburn had 15 in 2009-10.

UConn coming? According to The Hartford Courant, the Connecticut Huskies will visit UAH on October 9-10 to open their 2015-16 season. This would likely be the Chargers’ home opening series.

UConn finished 2014-15 with a 10-19-7 record overall and a 7-11-4 slate in its first season in the powerful Hockey East. The Huskies’ season ended over the weekend after being swept in two games at New Hampshire in the first round of the Hockey East tournament.

UAH is 8-2 all-time against UConn, with the last meeting a 6-2 Charger win at the RPI Holiday Tournament in 2010. The Huskies last came to Huntsville in 2003.

UAH will officially release its 2015-16 schedule in the spring, and season ticket information will likely be available then. They can be ordered by calling 256-UAH-PUCK.

Save the golf date: The UAH Hockey Golf Outing (a.k.a. the “Frenchy Open”) will be Saturday, June 6, at 1 p.m. at Huntsville Country Club. Make plans to take part in the program’s biggest fundraising event of the year. Registration information to come soon.

Friday, June 5, at 7 p.m. will feature a UAH hockey alumni game at the Wilcoxon Ice Complex.

Bowling Green 2, UAH 1

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This is the way the season ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper.

UAH did enough in their win and tie in the Soo to make the WCHA postseason; with those three points, UAH avoided nail-biting late into the night to see if Alaska-Anchorage could pick up points at home against Alaska.  Otherwise, February and March have been a disaster for the Chargers, who end the regular season with six losses.

UAH coach Mike Corbett shook things up on Saturday night, starting his fourth line and sophomore goaltender Matt Larose (Nanaimo, B.C.).  It generally helped, as the Chargers clamped down the opposition’s ability to put shots on goal, allowing just 28 overall.

Larose glove save

Matt Larose makes a glove save while UAH’s Brent Fletcher and BG’s Ted Pletch look on. (Photo by Todd Pavlack/BSGUHockey.com)

The defensive effort, combined with excellent play from Larose, limited the Falcons to just two goals on the night, one of which was on the power play.  Unfortunately for UAH, their offense was pedestrian, and the Falcons won 2-1.

BG junior forward Mark Cooper (Toronto) kicked off scoring early in the first with a point shot that slid past Larose (26sv), who was screened — and it looked like the puck went in off of a Charger defenseman’s leg.

Sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington, Beach, Calif.) knotted the game at one just 2:41 later with — you guessed it — a point shot through a screen.  Freshman defenseman Brandon Parker (Faribault, Minn.) and freshman forward Brennan Saulnier (Halifax, Nova Scotia) picked up the assists.

The Falcons’ game-winning goal came late in the first period when freshman forward Mitchell McLain (Baxter, Minn.) returned to the power play with a fresh stick, found the puck, and ripped one past everyone.

Neither team did much for the final two periods; BG outshot UAH 15-11, and there were just three penalties (two on UAH) in the final two stanzas.

 

Cody Marooney

Cody Marooney gets tangled with a Falcon. (Photo by Todd Pavlack/BGSUHockey.com)

A loss by Lake Superior against Ferris State makes the Chargers the 7th seed, as UAH was 2-1-1 v. the Lakers in 2014-15.  UAH will face No. 2 seed Michigan Tech in a best-of-3 WCHA quarterfinal series starting Friday night at 6 p.m. CDT. We’ll have more on that for you later this week.

But despite the disappointing finish, UAH is in the postseason, and not just because Alaska was ineligible.  After a two-win season, UAH has seven conference wins and eight overall.  January’s four home wins show that significant progress has been made.

Now the boys get to try and be world beaters.

Note: Updated with UAH’s opponent in the WCHA quarterfinals. – Michael Napier

The Chargers’ Playoff Chances in Four Tweets

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In short: UAH could have realistically finished higher than 7th with any points against Ferris this weekend, especially with a sweep that would have put the Chargers in 6th and, with 19 points in hand, a glimmer of a shot at home ice.  Instead, Ferris and Northern swept, providing significant separation between 6th and 7th and keeping the Falcons out of a run for the McNaughton.

Lastly:

If and only if there’s not a situation where UAH, LSSU, and UAA are all tied.  If, say, UAA goes 4-0-0, UAH goes 1-2-1, and LSSU goes 2-1-1, all three teams would have 18 points, with all teams at 8-18-2.

A tiebreaker is invalid, as the only four-game series amongst the three is UAH-LSSU.

B tiebreaker is invalid, as all teams have eight conference wins.

C tiebreaker: UAH would be 1.000 against UAA and .625 against LSSU.  LSSU and UAA split their season series.  That pulls UAH out of the tiebreaker and into 7th (great question, Neil!  I hadn’t thought about it).

D tiebreaker: With UAA and LSSU still tied up, you go to winning percentage down the table.

UAA hasn’t played BG yet (and will this weekend in Anchorage), and the Seawolves were swept by MTU and MSU.  LSSU went 1-2-1 against BG.  In this scenario, Anchorage wins because they’d be 2-0-0 against the Falcons and would win the third comparison.  In the unlikely sequence where the Falcons lose out and the Beavers win out, LSSU would win the third comparison, having swept Bemidji while UAA went winless.

What if LSSU passes the Chargers?  Well, at that point, UAH and UAA are battling it out, and UAH wins the C tiebreaker if the teams end up tied at 8-18-2.  If UAH did something crazy like end up at 7-17-4, UAA would win.

Isn’t this fun?

Ferris State 2, UAH 1

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It was a wintry night in Huntsville, with many roads closed after a crusting of ice fell atop already snowy lanes.  It was great hockey weather, but for the home fans, it wasn’t a great hockey result.  The visiting Ferris State Bulldogs (13-18-1, 10-13-0 WCHA) scored two quick first-period goals and held on thereafter, winning 2-1 over the homestanding UAH Chargers (8-19-4, 7-15-1 WCHA).

Both Bulldog goals came on poor defensive zone passes.  At 4:33 of the first, senior forward Dominic Panetta (Baldwin, Mich.) picked a puck off and skated in alone on UAH sophomore netminder Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Qué.), potting a shorthanded goal.  Sophomore forward Chad McDonald (Battle Creek, Mich.) took a pass from freshman forward Tyler Andrew (Bethel Park, Pa.), who had just intercepted a puck in front of the UAH bench.

I expect that it’s no surprise that Michael and I have a backchannel during games.  Post-game, he commented, “Lost it in the first, didn’t win it in the 2nd and 3rd.”  He’s right.

The second period is notable only for its penalties.  An early UAH power play was nullified four seconds later by a holding minor.  Two penalties :07 apart by sophomore forward Cody Marooney (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and freshman defenseman Richard Buri (Nitra, Slovakia) left UAH killing a long 5×3 situation, which they did fairly easily, allowing just three shots-on-goal on the disadvantage.  UAH is still the #1 team in combined special teams.

A carry-over penalty from the 2nd period gave the Chargers 1:55 of a man advantage on clean ice.  The home squad would score, as freshman defenseman Cody Champagne (Brookfield, Conn.) took a feed from senior forward Alex Carpenter (Portage, Mich.) for a point shot that appeared to rattle around on bodies in front before going to the roof of the net past Ferris State senior goaltender CJ Motte (St. Clair, Mich.).  Sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington, Beach, Calif.) got the secondary assist.

Ferris State stymied UAH for the remainder of regulation time.  UAH pulled Guerriero (32 sv, 8-12-3) with 1:37 remaining, but the Bulldogs kept UAH to the outside and blocked shots.  Motte (18 sv) moves to 13-18-1 on the season.

The two teams face off again on Saturday night to conclude the season series, which the Bulldogs lead 2-1-0.

Hoof Beats: Other contenders lose while Chargers rest

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WCHA Standings Record Pts.
h-Minnesota State 19-2-1 39
h-Michigan Tech 17-4-1 35
p-Bowling Green 13-4-3 29
Northern Michigan 8-8-4 20
i-Alaska 9-12-1 19
Ferris State 8-12-0 16
Bemidji State 6-10-4 16
Alabama-Huntsville 6-14-0 12
Lake Superior State 6-16-0 12
Alaska-Anchorage 4-14-2 10
i-Ineligible for postseason play
h-Clinched home ice in first round
p-Clinched playoff berth

The Chargers were idle this past weekend, but everything went UAH’s way among the teams battling them for a WCHA playoff spot.

Heading into Friday, UAH and Lake Superior State were tied for eighth in the WCHA standings with 12 points, ahead of last-place Alaska-Anchorage with 10. After Saturday’s action, it’s still the same. The top eight eligible teams qualify for the WCHA playoffs, and with Alaska ineligible, the goal is to not finish last.

Lake Superior State was swept by Alaska in Fairbanks. Alaska-Anchorage was swept by Minnesota State in Mankato.

The teams ahead of the Chargers, Ferris State and Bemidji State, tied for sixth with 16 points, also didn’t fare too well. Ferris was swept at Bowling Green, and Bemidji was swept at Michigan Tech.

Of course, with UAH heading up to Lake Superior State this weekend in a crucial series, we may see some movement. Unless there’s a split, in which case we won’t.

While UAH and LSSU are going head-to-head, Alaska-Anchorage hosts Michigan Tech, Ferris State plays Bowling Green again (this time in Big Rapids), and Bemidji State is at Northern Michigan.

Talbot watch: With starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist out with an injury, UAH alumnus Cam Talbot will be the top goaltender for the New York Rangers. Lundqvist will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks after being hit by a puck near the throat area last week.

Talbot has made three starts since Lundqvist’s injury. He stopped 18 of 20 shots Wednesday as the Rangers won at home over Boston 3-2.

On Saturday, Talbot was back in the South to take on the Nashville Predators. Nashville won 3-2, with all three goals being bombs through traffic. He made 20 saves.

https://twitter.com/gfmorris/status/564185462613762048

Sunday, Talbot made 22 saves, but the Rangers fell 3-2 in overtime to the Dallas Stars at Madison Square Garden.

For the season, Talbot has a .918 save percentage and a 2.25 goals against average in 12 starts.

Skapski to back up Cam: With Lundqvist on injured reserve, the Rangers called up MacKenzie Skapski to serve as backup to Cam Talbot.

Skapski, 20, has one tie to UAH. His father, Denis, played for the Chargers from 1987-91.

Denis was a defenseman at UAH, and had 18 goals and 35 assists for 53 points in 92 games. He also accrued 241 penalty minutes, the sixth-most all-time among defensemen at UAH.

 

It’s UAH against the WCHA, but not in hockey

A fun little post during the off week…

This weekend, the UAH softball team has its traditional season-opening extravaganza with the Charger Chillout at the Metro Kiwanis Sportsplex. The Chargers get things started Friday at 1 p.m. with a game against a familiar name to UAH hockey fans: Ferris State.

It got me wondering, how many times have we played schools in the WCHA in sports other than hockey?

For many schools in the league, seeing the same opponents in other sports is not uncommon because they share the same primary conference. Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage are in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference; Bemidji State and Minnesota State are in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference; and Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, and Northern Michigan are in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Bowling Green, which used to be in the CCHA with Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio), still battle those schools in Mid-American Conference play.

But for UAH, until other Gulf South Conference schools decide to add varsity hockey (snicker), seeing other WCHA schools — or any hockey clubs in Division I for that matter — outside of hockey is and will be a rare occurrence.

It’s happened four times: Two in men’s basketball and, before UAH plays Ferris on Friday, twice in softball.

The first time in softball was in 2003 — in Las Vegas of all places. UAH defeated Minnesota State 6-5.

The second softball occurrence happened just like this season: Ferris State played in the 2010 Charger Chillout in Decatur. The Chargers defeated the Bulldogs 8-2, led by Erin Duke’s three-hit (with a homer), five RBI performance.

The two men’s basketball games were part of important milestones in the UAH program.

The first came in 2011, in the Chargers’ first appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. In a brilliant, exciting game, UAH lost to Minnesota State, 95-91 in overtime. Jamie Smith paced the Chargers with 30 points.

The second came in 2012, when UAH became the first Division II team to play in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Chargers, only down six at halftime, lost to Bowling Green, 68-54. Connor Blasi had 14 points  to lead UAH.

In all, UAH is 2-2 against Division I/WCHA hockey schools outside of hockey. Let’s make it 3-2 on Friday, yes? Go Chargers!

Hoof Beats: Response will determine fate

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The only thing I want to bring up about last weekend’s series is coach Mike Corbett’s post-game comments.

http://youtu.be/PueQUph01nc

Video by David Karnosky for USCHO.com.

He’s absolutely right. How the boys respond will determine whether we’ll be in the WCHA playoffs.

He’s also right in that the Chargers are much better than what they showed against Michigan Tech. Everyone knows this — everyone has seen this, from hanging with the class of the league in Minnesota State in Mankato, tying a ranked Omaha team on the road, and building a four-game winning streak at home.

The 11-1 loss on Saturday was the first time all season the Chargers allowed six or more goals. Last season, that happened nine times. This type of crazy result is now … crazy.

The important thing to remember is that the Chargers are by no means done, and still control their fate. UAH’s next opponent is Lake Superior State in a crucial series in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. UAH and LSSU are dead level, tied for eighth place (the seventh seed with Alaska ineligible) with 12 points and 6-14 conference records.

The hardest part might be the wait, as the Chargers are off this week before then. Meanwhile, the Lakers, who have had their own troubles but are 4-3-1 in their last eight, visit Alaska. The Chargers and Lakers split their series in Huntsville back in November.

The Bitter Southerner has an article this week featuring hockey in Huntsville and the history of the UAH Chargers. Read “It’s Always Cold in Huntsville.” UAHHockey.com’s Geof Morris is quoted several times in the piece.

WCHA Standings Record Pts.
Minnesota State 17-2-1 35
Michigan Tech 15-4-1 31
Bowling Green 11-4-3 25
Northern Michigan 8-8-4 20
Ferris State 8-10-0 16
Bemidji State 6-8-4 16
Alaska* 7-12-1 15
Alabama-Huntsville 6-14-0 12
Lake Superior State 6-14-0 12
Alaska-Anchorage 4-12-2 10
* Ineligible for postseason play

Around the WCHA: While we’re off, we’ll be keeping an eye on some intriguing league series.

As previously mentioned, Lake Superior State will be in Fairbanks to take on Alaska. The Lakers were off last weekend, and two weeks ago they split a series at a hot Bowling Green squad, if there was indication that they are playing better than earlier in the season.

Michigan Tech hosts Bemidji State, which is also hot of late, for Winter Carnival. The now fifth-ranked Huskies will be finishing off a nine-game homestand. The Beavers are 7-2-4 in their last 13 after taking three points from Bowling Green at home last week.

Bowling Green dropped two spots in the USCHO.com poll to No. 8 as the Falcons host Ferris State. Minnesota State, back at No. 1, hosts Alaska-Anchorage. Northern Michigan heads to No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth for two in a non-conference series.

Here is this week’s WCHA schedule. All times are Central. All league games (*) can be seen online on WCHA.tv.

Friday, February 6

* Ferris State at #8 Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Bemidji State at #5 Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
* Alaska-Anchorage at #1 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
* Lake Superior State at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at #7 Minnesota-Duluth, 7:07 p.m.

Saturday, February 7

* Bemidji State at #5 Michigan Tech, 4:07 p.m.
* Ferris State at #8 Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Alaska-Anchorage at #1 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
* Lake Superior State at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at #7 Minnesota-Duluth, 7:07 p.m.