Category Archives: 2014-15

Series Preview: vs. Northern Michigan, Jan. 16-17

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CATCHING THE GAMES
Times: 7:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Tickets: Ticketmaster: Friday | Saturday
Complete ticket information
Promotions: Kids 12 & under get free admission
Fri.: UAH trading cards to first 500
Sat.: UAH pucks to first 500
Online video: WCHA.tv (subscription)
Live stats: UAHChargers.com
Twitter: @weloveuahhockey, @uahhockey, @NMUHockey
More previews: UAHChargers.com

The Chargers are back home, searching for some momentum and some goals as they face off with the Northern Michigan Wildcats this weekend.

Despite being shut out in both games at Bemidji State, UAH is still in sole possession of eighth place in the WCHA standings. Northern Michigan is heating up, taking three points from No. 8 Michigan Tech last weekend to move into a tie for fourth.

Puck drop is 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The first 500 fans to Friday’s game get a free set of UAH hockey trading cards, and the first 500 on Saturday get a free UAH hockey puck. All kids 12 and under get free admission.

Max McHugh

Max McHugh leads UAH with 15 points. (Photo by Doug Eagan)

All-time series: Northern Michigan is unbeaten (8-0-2) in 10 meetings with UAH. One of the two ties came earlier this season in Marquette, when the Chargers and Wildcats battled to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 31. The next night, NMU won the second game of the non-conference series 4-1, finishing a contract signed before both programs joined the WCHA. This will be the third series all-time in Huntsville, where NMU is 3-0-1.

Chargers recap: UAH (5-16-3 overall, 4-12-0 WCHA) lost both games at Bemidji State last weekend by 4-0 scores. That’s all there is to say, really.

Goaltender Carmine Guerriero allowed four goals in Friday night’s game and made 29 saves. His .931 save percentage is third in the WCHA and his 2.42 goals against average is eighth. Matt Larose also let in four goals and made 29 saves on Saturday.

Max McHugh leads the Chargers with 15 points. Jeff Vanderlugt, Jack Prince, and Chad Brears each have 10 points. Brandon Parker has nine assists to lead UAH.

UAH Tale of the tape
(WCHA rank)		 NMU
5-16-3
4-12-0 WCHA (8th)		 Record 9-6-5
6-6-4 WCHA (T-4th)
1.71 (9th) Goals/game 2.20 (7th)
3.08 (9th) Goals allowed/game 2.10 (T-4th)
15.6 (2nd) Pen. minutes/game 11.7 (7th)
16.9% (4th) Power play 22.4% (2nd)
83.6% (6th) Penalty kill 85.5% (4th)

About the Wildcats: Northern Michigan (9-6-5 overall, 6-6-4 WCHA) is unbeaten in four of its last five. Last weekend, they took three points from their rivals, Michigan Tech, drawing 3-3 at home in Marquette before winning on the road in overtime at Houghton, 5-4. The Wildcats are tied with Ferris State for fourth place in the WCHA.

Talk about NMU starts with goaltender Mathias Dahlstrom. The junior had an incredible start to the season, posting four shutouts. He allowed only two goals to the Chargers in the two games in Marquette. Dahlstrom missed a month due to injury before returning last weekend against Michigan Tech, allowing three and four goals in the two games against the 8th-ranked Huskies.

Brock Maschmeyer, a defenseman, leads NMU this season in goal scoring with seven. Two of those goals game against the Chargers in the 4-1 win on November 1. Forwards Dominik Shine lead all point scorers with 15 points, followed by Darren Nowick’s 14 (both have five goals).

WCHA Standings Record Pts.
Minnesota State 13-2-1 27
Michigan Tech 10-3-1 21
Bowling Green 9-1-2 20
Ferris State 8-6-0 16
Northern Michigan 6-6-4 16
Alaska* 7-8-1 15
Bemidji State 5-6-3 13
Alabama-Huntsville 4-12-0 8
Lake Superior State 3-13-0 6
Alaska-Anchorage 2-10-2 6
* Ineligible for postseason play

Around the WCHA: Another full league schedule this week with some very intriguing matchups.

Bowling Green is surging, unbeaten in its last nine and moving up to No. 7 in this week’s USCHO.com poll. They’ll be in Houghton to face 11th-ranked Michigan Tech.

Minnesota State is No. 1 in all the land for the first time, and the Mavericks look to pad their six-point lead in the WCHA standings against C.J. Motte and Ferris State in Big Rapids, Mich. Last season, the series between the two teams got contentious as they battled for the MacNaughton Cup.

Bemidji State visits Lake Superior State, and Alaska-Anchorage goes to Fairbanks to battle their hated rivals, the Alaska Nanooks.

Here’s the schedule for league teams the next two weeks. All times are Central. Games involving WCHA teams at home can be seen online on WCHA TV.

Friday, January 16

Northern Michigan at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
#1 Minnesota State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
#7 Bowling Green at #11 Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Bemidji State at Lake Superior State, 6:37 p.m.
Alaska-Anchorage at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.

Saturday, January 17

Northern Michigan at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
#7 Bowling Green at #11 Michigan Tech, 4:07 p.m.
#1 Minnesota State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
Bemidji State at Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m.
Alaska-Anchorage at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.

Hoof Beats: Moving on – UAH hosts NMU this weekend

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Despite the struggles at Bemidji State, the Chargers retained sole possession of eighth place in the WCHA standings, remaining very much alive in the playoff hunt.

So let’s move on, shall we?

UAH gets another opportunity to solidify its position this weekend at the friendly confines of the Von Braun Center. The Chargers host Northern Michigan on Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m.

Skate with the Chargers: Wednesday night is another outdoor Skate with the Chargers at the Huntsville Museum of Art in Downtown Huntsville. The event, sponsored by the UAH Association for Campus Entertainment and the Blue Crew, runs from 7-9 p.m.

General admission is $10, military personnel admission is $8, and kids 8 and under get in for $5.

The first 100 UAH students get in free with their Charger ID.  Transportation for UAH students will be provided with buses leave the parking deck at 6:30 p.m.

This week’s promotions: The first 500 fans to Friday’s game receive a free set of UAH hockey trading cards. On Saturday, the first 500 fans get a free UAH hockey puck.

As always this season, kids 12 and under get free admission courtesy of Huntsville International Airport.

Blue Line Club luncheon: Before every home series, come meet and greet with the coaches at the Blue Line Club luncheon. This Friday at noon at the Varisty Room, Northern Michigan head coach Walt Kyle and UAH head coach Mike Corbett will speak.

Bojangles’ is catering. Tickets are $8 at the door, and free for Blue Line Club members.

Bemidji State 4, UAH 0, Again

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Two goals by Bemidji State sophomore defenseman Ruslan Pedan (Moscow), a second collegiate goal for freshman forward Kyle Bauman (Apopka, Fla.), and a second collegiate shutout for freshman goaltender Michael Bitzer (Moorhead, Minn.) were more than two too much for the UAH Chargers (5-16-3 overall, 4-12-0 WCHA), who fell by a second straight 4-0 to the homestanding Beavers (7-10-3, 5-6-3 WCHA).

If only it had gone that way, y’all.  If only.

Bauman got scoring started late in the first, putting a puck past Charger sophomore goaltender Matt Larose (Nanaimo, B.C.) at 18:19.  Bauman’s goal was assisted by sophomore forward Charlie O’Connor (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) and junior defenseman Graeme McCormack (Thunder Bay, Ont.).

A last-minute checking-from-behind minor put UAH up on the power play, but neither rough ice in the first nor smooth to start the second elicited much of anything going toward Bitzer, who stopped all 24 shots that he faced.

Junior forward John Parker (Green Brook, N.J.) joined the deuces-wild parade for Bemidji in the second, absorbing a hit deep in his end, staying on the ice, finding the puck in front of the Charger bench, flashing some speed, and getting the puck to the top of the left-wing circle for a snap shot that beat Larose (29 sv) cleanly at 4:10.

Pedan would score the first of his pair at 13:31 of the second, taking a feed from freshman forward Gerry Fitzgerald (Port Alberni, B.C.) at the wall.  Pedan skated into open ice, set himself, and fired one past Larose, who fell to 0-7-1 on the season with the loss.  Parker also assisted on the goal.

Pedan would strike again with 5:11 left in regulation, ripping a shot on the point through traffic after feeds from junior forward Markus Gerbrandt (Edmonton, Alb.) and sophomore forward Nate Arentz (Lakeville, Minn.).

Bitzer’s shutout moves him to 5-5-1 on the year and opens the margin between the Beavers (13 pts) and UAH (8 pts) to five, a comfortable margin that should leave the Beavers looking at the #6 seed at worst and a shot at home ice.

If you’ve noticed that we haven’t talked about UAH very much on the night, it’s that there really isn’t much to talk about.  You can look at the box and see that it was just a generally poor effort at the time of the year where those aren’t a luxury.

UAH had a long shot at making a run at home ice for the WCHA playoffs, but it started this weekend, where they needed a split at worst.  Getting to 10 points would’ve given them some distance on Alaska-Anchorage and Lake Superior, and since the Seawolves have two games in hand, that distance would be critical.  Instead, the Chargers are just two points clear of the pair and five behind their rivals.

Home ice took 30 points last year, and given that the points are spread more evenly, something like 26 should have done it this year, given that there’s a gulf between the Big Three (Mankato, BG, and Tech) and everyone else.  Four points this weekend gets the Chargers to 12 points with twelve games to play, and a team with the confidence from sweeping Bemidji could say, “We’re riding Carmine.”

Instead, UAH has to keep its eyes glued to the rear view mirror to be sure that the teams behind them won’t pass them.  More this coming week on the Chargers’ chances to make the playoffs and, better yet, avoiding the bottom two seeds.

Bemidji State 4, UAH 0

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The homestanding Bemidji State Beavers (6-10-3 overall, 4-6-3 WCHA) had the jump from the get-go, and the visiting UAH Chargers (5-15-3, 4-11-0) never countered the punches, losing 4-0 for their fourth shutout of the season, the second to Bemidji in the last two seasons, and their 38th time since the Chargers’ last shutout.

This one hurt, especially after the raging success of last weekend.  The win pushes the Beavers to 3-0-3 in their last six contests, their best such streak since the beginning of their 2009-10 season.  (Hey, does anyone remember what two College Hockey America teams made the NCAAs that year?)  Lastly, it pulled the Beavers three points clear of the Chargers in the WCHA table, ensuring that the hated intruders from the South wouldn’t leapfrog them in the standings.

Senior co-captain Matt Prapavessis (Oakville, Ont.) got the scoring started for Bemidji, taking a puck high near the top of the right-wing circle, ripping one past UAH sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Qué) for a power-play goal at 6:39 of the 1st, :25 into senior defenseman Graeme Strukoff‘s (Chilliwack, B.C.) holding penalty.  The goal was Prapavessis’s fifth marker of the season, and was assisted by junior forward Cory Ward (Las Vegas, Nev.) and freshman forward Kyle Bauman (Apopka, Fla.).

Sophomore forward Charlie O’Connor (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) pushed Bemidji’s advantage to 2-0 at 10:07 of the 1st, collecting a pass from senior defenseman Sam Windle (Maple Grove, Minn.) to fire one past a screened Guerriero (29 sv, 5-9-2).  O’Connor’s seventh goal ties him for the team lead and also came courtesy of Ward’s secondary assist.

UAH was out-shot in all three periods: 15-8, 10-6, and 8-4 for a game total of 33-18.  Freshman goaltender Michael Bitzer (Moorhead, Minn.) made all 18 saves for his first collegiate shutout, moving his record to 4-5-1 on the season.

Bauman scored unassisted at 7:21 of the second for the Beavers’ third goal of the game and his first collegiate marker.  Senior forward John Parker (Green Brook, N.J.) got the Beavers’ final marker of the night at 16:21 of the final frame, circling around UAH freshman defenseman Richard Buri (Nitra, Slovakia), into the slot, dekeing Guerriero into committing, skating past him, and pushing the puck backhanded into the open net in a highlight-reel goal.

Blargle.

See you tomorrow night.

Series Preview: at Bemidji State, Jan. 9-10

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CATCHING THE GAMES
Times: 7:37 p.m. Fri, 7:07 p.m. Sat
Online video: WCHA.tv (subscription)
Online audio: Beaver Radio Network
Live stats: Friday | Saturday
Twitter: @weloveuahhockey, @uahhockey, @BSUBeavers

Back at it. UAH vs. Bemidji State.

The Chargers begin the second half of the WCHA league schedule with a trip to their old rivals, the Bemidji State Beavers. Both teams are riding unbeaten streaks and look to use this series as a springboard up the conference standings.

Both games from the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota, can be seen on WCHA.tv. Friday’s game begins at 7:37 p.m. Saturday’s game starts at 7:07 p.m.

All-time series: UAH and Bemidji State have played each other 74 times, the most of any opponent in Charger history, starting with the 1994 NCAA Division II championship. BSU leads the series 41-29-4 overall and 23-9-1 in Bemidji. Last season, the Beavers won both games in Huntsville in UAH’s first-ever WCHA series, but UAH stunned BSU in Bemidji 2-1 before losing 4-1 in the second game.

Chargers recap: UAH (5-14-3 overall, 4-10-0 WCHA) swept a two-game series with a Division I opponent for the first time since Jan. 29-30, 2010 with a pair of one-goal victories over Alaska-Anchorage at the Von Braun Center. The Chargers moved into eighth place in the WCHA standings with 8 points, one point behind Bemidji State.

On Friday, Max McHugh scored twice and Cody Marooney added another as UAH built a 3-0 lead. The Chargers held on to win 3-2.

On Saturday, Marooney got his second game-winning goal, breaking a 1-1 tie in the second period for a 2-1 UAH victory. Brandon Carlson scored the first goal for the Chargers.

Carmine Guerriero stopped 58 of 61 shots for the series, raising his save percentage to .934, which is 3rd in the WCHA and 9th in Division I. His goals against average dropped to 2.31.

McHugh has taken over the rookie lead in the WCHA with 15 points. Jeff Vanderlugt, Jack Prince, and Chad Brears each have 10 points. Brandon Parker added a couple of assists in the series to raise his team-leading total to nine.

UAH Tale of the tape
(WCHA rank)		 BSU
5-14-3
4-10-0 WCHA (8th)		 Record 5-10-3
3-6-3 WCHA (7th)
1.86 (9th) Goals/game 2.89 (5th)
3.00 (8th) Goals allowed/game 3.17 (9th)
16.5 (2nd) Pen. minutes/game 10.7 (8th)
18.8% (2nd) Power play 16.2% (7th)
83.9% (6th) Penalty kill 79.7% (9th)

About the Beavers: Bemidji State (5-10-3 overall, 3-6-3 WCHA) will see its first action in four weeks after a lengthy holiday break. The Beavers are unbeaten in five games (2-0-3), most recently winning and tying Northern Michigan at home on Dec. 12-13. BSU’s schedule has been tough, with the first seven series coming against ranked opponents.

The Beavers’ top scoring threat, Brendan Harms, was expected to be out 4-6 weeks after an injury caused by a hit against Alaska-Anchorage on Dec. 6. Sophomore center Nate Arentz has moved to the top of BSU’s scoring list with seven goals and 14 points. All-conference defenseman Matt Prapavessis leads the Beavers in assists with eight.

Then there are the Baby Geniuses/Super Babies: Gerry, Leo, and Myles Fitzgerald. The freshman triplet, Gerry (center), Myles (right wing), and Leo (left wing) have combined for eight goals and 23 points this season.

The Beavers have split goaltending duties with senior Andrew Walsh (2.85 goals against, .900 save percentage) and freshman Michael Bitzer (2.66, .897).

WCHA Standings Record Pts.
Minnesota State 11-2-1 23
Michigan Tech 10-2-0 20
Bowling Green 8-1-1 17
Alaska* 7-7-0 14
Northern Michigan 5-6-3 13
Ferris State 6-6-0 12
Bemidji State 3-6-3 9
Alabama-Huntsville 4-10-0 8
Lake Superior State 3-11-0 6
Alaska-Anchorage 2-6-2 6
* Ineligible for postseason play

Around the WCHA: All 10 teams are seeing conference action this week.

While UAH and Bemidji State are bringing unbeaten streaks into their series, the hottest teams in the WCHA are meeting in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Alaska Nanooks have won four straight, while the 11th-ranked Falcons are unbeaten in their last seven.

And UAH-Bemidji isn’t the only rivalry series this week. No. 8 Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan have a home-and-home, playing in Marquette on Friday and Houghton on Saturday.

Tech will be looking to gain ground on league-leader and 4th-ranked Minnesota State, which hosts Lake Superior State. Ferris State, looking to stop a four-game slide, finishes their two-week odyssey in Alaska with a Thursday-Friday series in Anchorage.

Here’s the schedule for league teams the next two weeks. All times are Central. Games involving WCHA teams at home can be seen online on WCHA TV.

Thursday, January 8

* Ferris State at Alaska-Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.

Friday, January 9

* UAH at Bemidji State, 7:37 p.m.
* Alaska at #11 Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* #8 Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.
* Lake Superior State at #4 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
* Ferris State at Alaska-Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.

Saturday, January 10

* UAH at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
* Alaska at #11 Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Northern Michigan at #8 Michigan Tech, 6:37 p.m.
* Lake Superior State at #4 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.

* WCHA conference game

UAH gets the sweep! Chargers top Seawolves, 2-1

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Sweep!

Oh man, it’s been a while since we could say that. We knew the boys had it in them to defend home ice for a full weekend, and they did it.

UAH took both games of a two-game series against a Division I opponent for the first time in nearly five years, beating Alaska-Anchorage 2-1 on Saturday night at the Von Braun Center. The Chargers won 3-2 on Friday night. It’s UAH’s first-ever sweep of a WCHA series.

The last time the Chargers did that was January 29-30, 2010, in a College Hockey America series against Niagara at the VBC.

The Chargers (5-14-3 overall, 4-10-0 WCHA) moved into sole possession of eighth place in the WCHA standings with eight points, two ahead of UAA (5-9-4, 2-8-2 WCHA) and idle Lake Superior State. UAH is one point behind seventh-place Bemidji State, which will host the Chargers next weekend (Jan. 9-10).

Carmine Guerriero had another big game, stopping 26 of 27 shots. The lone goal allowed came in the first to give UAA the early lead, but UAH scored two nice second-period goals to win a second straight game.

UAH actually had more scoring chances in the first period, but it only took one mistake to get down early. Austin Azurdia stole the puck in the UAA zone and started a two-on-one break. He kept the puck himself and beat Guerriero to give the Seawolves a 1-0 lead 6:28 into the contest on their first shot on goal.

While there was many hits on both sides during the first period, the only two penalties were slashing calls against the Chargers, one on Graeme Strukoff and another on Craig Pierce.

Despite all that, UAH outshot UAA 8-4 in the first period. But the Chargers broke out in the second period.

Near the halfway point, UAA’s Austin Coldwell cross-checked Regan Soquila. On the ensuing power play, Brandon Carlson, from the slot, redirected a Brandon Parker blast past Jared D’Amico to tie the game at 1-1 with 9:10 left. It was Carlson’s fourth goal of the season, with Parker and Max McHugh picking up assists.

Just two minutes later, Cody Marooney gets his third goal of the season to put the Chargers up front at 2-1. Marooney followed up on a big rebound from a shot off the stick of Jeff Vanderlugt, who got his fifth assist. Parker also helped for his team-leading ninth assist.

Parker’s two assists on the night earned him the first star of the game.

The Seawolves tried to get as much rubber on Guerriero as they could early in the third, notching the first five shots on goal — some on the power play after a Frank Misuraca holding penalty. UAA had 16 of their 28 shots on goal in the final frame, and Guerriero had to make key saves during the final minutes.

Anchorage’s last gasp was in the final 1:18, when D’Amico was pulled for the extra attacker and, with 45 seconds remaining, the Chargers were penalized for too many men on the ice. Guerriero came up big with two saves during UAA’s 6-on-4 situation in the waning moments.

After UAH visits Bemidji State next weekend, the Chargers return home to host Northern Michigan on Jan. 16-17.

Notes: Announced attendance was 2,143. … Max McHugh’s seven goals and 15 points lead all WCHA freshmen. … The Chargers have allowed at least one goal in 150 straight games. UAH’s last shutout was a 1-0 win over Robert Morris on March 12, 2010 in the CHA semifinals. The goaltender was current New York Rangers netminder Cam Talbot. … UAH’s last two-game sweep was actually in Dec. 2012, but that was against Division III Finlandia at the VBC. … The Seawolves have yet to win a road game this season (0-7-1).

UAH 3, UAA 2

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UAH (4-14-3, 3-10-0 WCHA) took an early lead on the strength of two first-period goals by freshman forward Max McHugh (Seattle, Wash.), followed by a marker from sophomore forward Cody Marooney (Eden Prairie, Minn.) just 2:03 into the second frame.  From there, the Chargers held on for a 3-2 victory over Alaska-Anchorage (5-8-4, 2-7-2 WCHA), points which moved them out of the basement in the WCHA standings.  (It’s a league game, Smokey.)

McHugh got things started early, taking a drop feed from junior forward Chad Brears (Cold Lake, Alb.) and rifling the puck home past Anchorage freshman goaltender Olivier Mantha (La Tuque, Qué.) just 3:59 into the game.  Freshman defenseman Cody Champagne (Brookfield, Conn.) picked up the secondary assist.

McHugh dented the twine with just :32 left in the first period, when a centering feed from junior forward Jack Prince (Leicester, England) found the freshman with time and space at the top of the circles.  He ripped one through and past Mantha (17 sv) for his seventh goal of the season.  The secondary assist went to Brears.

Let’s stop here for a point that Michael made to me in a text: with 7-7—14, McHugh has already eclipsed the season scoring leaders for 2011-12 (Kyle Lysaght with 13), 2012-13 (then-sophomore forward Jeff Vanderlugt [Richmond Hill, Ont.] with 11), and 2013-14 (Prince with 13).  McHugh looks to be the first Charger to record double-digit goals since Matt Sweazey (Toronto) in 2008-09.  Max McCutie, we’re on the way back because guys like you are giving us a shot.

Marooney muscled the puck past Mantha (4-6-3) after junior defenseman Frank Misuraca (Clinton Township, Mich.) fired up a Misurocket™ and into the Seawolf crease.  Marooney’s goal was his second of the year.  Vanderlugt got the secondary assist.

From there, it was just hanging in there.  The Seawolves cut the lead to two on a power-play goal by senior forward Scott Allen (Edmonton, Alb.), who was assisted by freshman forward Tad Kozun (Nipawin, Sask.) and junior defenseman Blake Leask (Edmonton, Alb.).  The marker ended a shutout by UAH sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Qué.), who had 31 saves overall.

Kozun narrowed the margin to one when sophomore forward Brad Duwe (Solodotna, Alaska) fed him the puck after dekeing a Charger out of position.  Kozun’s shot rang the post on the way past Guerriero, who moved to 4-8-2 on the season.

The Chargers would hold on thereafter, as they were outshot 10-5 by the Seawolves in the final frame.  Worse still for the home squad, freshman defenseman Brandon Parker (Faribault, Minn.) was called for tripping at 16:32, and Prince was whistled for slashing at 19:33.  Mantha was out of the net for the final 2:10 of the game, but Guerriero closed all of the doors that his teammates didn’t.

This wasn’t a statement win for UAH — that would’ve been taking a 3-0 or 4-0 lead into the second intermission.  But this was UAH proving to itself that it could open up a big lead, play with fire, and pull it back in.  While last year’s UAH team, bereft of offense, would’ve never opened up a three-goal lead on an opponent, that team also would’ve likely not been able to hold it.  This team did, though — the lessons of Colorado Springs were learned.

The Chargers and Seawolves are back at it at 7:07 p.m. Central Standard Time in Huntsville.  Michael Napier will have coverage, and woe betide if you’re stuck watching the UAH broadcast on WCHA TV.  (More on that next week.)

Series Preview: vs. Alaska-Anchorage, Jan. 2-3

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Happy New Year! The Chargers kick off the second half of the 2014-15 campaign with a WCHA series with the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves on Friday and Saturday. Puck drop is 7:07 p.m. both nights at the Von Braun Center.

The first 500 fans to Friday’s game receive a free set of UAH Hockey trading cards, and the first 500 at Saturday’s game get a free UAH Hockey T-shirt. Kids 12 and under get in free to both games.

CATCHING THE GAMES
Times: 7:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Tickets: Ticketmaster: Friday | Saturday
Complete ticket information
Promotions: Kids 12 & under get free admission
Fri.: UAH trading cards to first 500
Sat.: UAH T-shirts to first 500
Online video: WCHA.tv (subscription)
Live stats: UAHChargers.com
Twitter: @weloveuahhockey, @uahhockey, @UAAHockey
More previews: UAHChargers.com
GoSeawolves.com

All-time series: It’s been almost all Seawolves since the series began in 1987: UAA leads 18-2-1. Both Charger wins came in Huntsville, but those happened in 1991 and 1992. Last season saw an end to a 20-year hiatus in the series, with Anchorage going 3-0-1 against the Chargers. UAH tied the first game in Huntsville 1-1 before falling 4-1.

Chargers recap: UAH (3-14-3 overall, 2-10-0 WCHA) lost 2-1 and tied 3-3 in its final non-conference series of the season at No. 12 Omaha two weeks ago. The Chargers are winless in their last seven since beating Ferris State on Nov. 12.

In the opening game on Dec. 2o, Omaha scored goals in the first and third period to win 2-1. Jeff Vanderlugt’s tally with 11 seconds remaining in regulation averted the shutout. Carmine Guerriero made 29 saves.

On Dec. 21, the Chargers had leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but Omaha rallied to tie 3-3 with the equalizer coming with 20 seconds left in regulation. Jack Prince, Max McHugh, and Alex Carpenter.

McHugh and Vanderlugt top the Chargers with five goals apiece. McHugh now leads the team in points with 12, which is tied for the WCHA among freshmen with Minnesota State’s C.J. Franklin. Prince joins McHugh in double-digit points with 10.

Guerriero has a 2.44 goals against average. His .932 save percentage is 4th in the WCHA and tied for 12th in Division I.

UAH Tale of the tape
WCHA rank in parentheses		 UAA
3-14-3
2-10-0 WCHA (10th)		 Record 5-7-4
2-6-2 WCHA (T8th)
1.80 (9th) Goals/game 2.31 (7th)
3.15 (8th) Goals allowed/game 2.81 (7th)
16.9 (2nd) Pen. minutes/game 17.8 (1st)
18.3% (4th) Power play 12.8% (8th)
83.5% (6th) Penalty kill 80.5% (8th)

About the Seawolves: Alaska-Anchorage (5-7-4 overall, 2-6-2 WCHA) is ranked 12th in this week’s USCHO.com poll. The Seawolves will be seeing their first action in four weeks: Their last games were Dec. 5-6, where they had back-to-back ties at home against Bemidji State.

Junior Blake Thatchell is the Seawolves’ leading scorer with 12 points on three goals and nine assists. Senior Brett Cameron has five goals to lead UAA. Sophomore defenseman Chase Van Allen also has nine assists.

Freshman goaltender Olivier Mantha matches Guerriero’s goals against average at 2.44, and his .928 save percentage is fifth in the WCHA. He has one shutout, coming at home against Northern Michigan on Nov. 22.

WCHA Standings Record Pts.
Michigan Tech 10-2-0 20
Minnesota State 10-2-0 20
Bowling Green 8-1-1 17
Ferris State 6-4-0 12
Northern Michigan 5-5-2 12
Alaska* 5-7-0 10
Bemidji State 3-6-3 9
Lake Superior State 3-11-0 6
Alaska-Anchorage 2-6-2 6
Alabama-Huntsville 2-10-0 4
* Ineligible for postseason play

Around the WCHA: Including UAH-UAA, there are three conference series on tap this weekend. Third-ranked Minnesota State, tied with No. 5 Michigan Tech atop the league standings, visits Northern Michigan, while Ferris State starts a two-week odyssey in Alaska with a series in Fairbanks.

Tech, which beat Ferris State in the third-place game in the Great Lakes Invitational, goes to Wisconsin.

On Saturday afternoon, No. 13 Bowling Green plays outdoors for the first time, taking on No. 19 Robert Morris at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, home of the Toledo Mud Hens, the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A minor league affiliate. Both teams meet again in Pittsburgh (back indoors) on Sunday.

Here’s the schedule for league teams the next two weeks. All times are Central. Games involving WCHA teams at home can be seen online on WCHA TV.

Friday, January 2

* Alaska-Anchorage at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
* #3 Minnesota State at Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.
* Ferris State at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
#5 Michigan Tech at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.

Saturday, January 3

* Alaska-Anchorage at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
* #3 Minnesota State at Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.
* Ferris State at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
#19 Robert Morris vs. #13 Bowling Green at Fifth Third Field, Toledo, Ohio, 11 a.m.
#5 Michigan Tech at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.

Sunday, January 4

#13 Bowling Green at #19 Robert Morris, 6:05 p.m.

* WCHA conference game

2014 in Review, Plus-Minus

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Okay, I hear you: “Coming up with a best-of-2014 list is easy when they won just four games in the calendar year.”  And, well, it is, especially when you’re the guy that wrote all four of those recaps (sorry, Michael).  But let’s do it anyway and then talk about a couple of other things.

5.  UAH 4, Air Force 2.  UAH’s first win in 2014-15 came a full month earlier than it did in 2013-14, and it was the first two-goal win over a Division I foe since December 2011 (#ClarkeSaundersForever).  The Air Force game has the classic blueprint for 14-15 Charger success: strong goaltending, a solid PK, and good puck possession.  UAH can win with just the first two, but having all three really helps.  That Air Force game always felt like a UAH win.

4.  Carmine Guerriero v. the world against Mankato.  Some of those saves were Bill Brasky quality.  I mean, this is my favorite tweet about that game:

https://twitter.com/BravesSwearJar/status/434906353786580992

3.  UAH 2, Bemidji 1.  The rivalry comes back when you start winning, especially when you win in their barn.  The minus here is that we settled on “#UnionJack” for tweets about Jack Prince when, well, “#ElloGuvnah” was the better choice.

2.  UAH 3, Ferris 2.  UAH led for the entire game, controlled it for long stretches, and took down a 2014 Hobey Baker finalist on his home ice.  That game may have been UAH’s most complete effort of the year, especially considering the quality of the opponent (even though Ferris is a step worse than ’13-14).

1.  UAH 5, LSSU 2.  I mean, it was a) the first UAH home win in nearly four years b) UAH hadn’t won by that kind of margin in quite some time c) IT WAS AT HOME.  That game was a domination with a perfect special teams night in the midst of the crazy run that the team had.  Plus …

I mean, we’re not Beliebers.

Here’s the favorite things that I liked for this year:

5.  The class of 2018 is solid, with players that could be on most any WCHA team.  This hasn’t been the case of late, and you can’t blame the kids.

4.  Everyone still works their butts off, even as the talent level rises.  Just ask Mel Pearson, who’s still pissed that the Bulldog Line of Doug Reid, Craig Pierce, and Brent Fletcher shut his top line down all weekend.  Keep complaining, Mel: the boys’ success is directly proportional to their effort, and locking lines down is a part of that.

3.  The coaching staff has been really great this year.  This is the first season that the Chargers have kept a consistent three-man group since 2008-10 (Danton Cole with Chris Luongo and John McCabe as assistants).  Mike Corbett looks to have taken all of last season’s lessons to heart and is even better than he was last year as a coach.  Gavin Morgan has yet one more year under his belt and damn well better be a head coach someday (but not anytime soon, Morgee).  Matty Thomas busts his butt on the recruiting trail (though the other two go out as well).  It seems like I’m always getting texts from Matty in a different town each weekend.

2.  Brandon Carlson is one hell of a hockey player.  The Chargers’ strength runs from the goal line out, but big #6 seems to be the cog to me.  We all know that he’s a ham, too.  USHL guys like Carlson, Max McHugh, and Jordan Uhelski choosing to come to Huntsville make the program better.  The US league is clearly the best Tier I junior league in the US, and in my book it’s right up there with the BCHL.

1.

We're calling him CG35, and we're hope that he's okay with that. (Credit: Todd Pavlack)

The man, the myth, the legend. (Credit: Todd Pavlack)

It’s Carmine Guerriero’s world, and we’re just living in it.

Things that I don’t like (and they’re not all UAH-related):

5.  I don’t like the fact that people still dog on the WCHA.  The league looks set to put three teams in the NCAA tournament after Tech, Mankato, and BG fight it out for the McNaughton Cup — four if the boys pull a 2010 rocketship ride behind a blazing hot goaltender.  (You laugh, but wouldn’t that be a hell of a story?)  That’s pretty good for a league full of teams that nobody wanted to confer with.

4.  WCHA.tv has been a bit of a mess this year, but it’s getting better, and half-season passes at $69.99 are very much worth it.  The WCHA’s Matt Hodson has assured me that “[w]e’ve been able to successfully implement multi-bit rate functionality, which minimizes buffering and enables HD-quality feeds (even with a less-than-optimal in-venue bandwidth), for 8 of our 10 venues. We are working hard with both of those institutions, and on the America One/Akamai back-end, to find a solution for the other two.”  There’s a longer bit from my conversations with Matt on the USCHO forum (done a few weeks ago).

3.  Giving is up, but attendance is flat.  I get that people like to see the home team win, and that it will take some wins to get more fans.  UAH has some very winnable games coming up, including this weekend’s contests against Anchorage.  It’s not unrealistic to think that UAH could split their remaining league slate at home — maybe it’s laughable, but it’s not unrealistic.  But will anyone be there to watch?  I’m hopeful that the usual up-tick in attendance comes now that pigskin has gone to hibernation.

2.  I don’t like the penalties, especially the majors.  UAH is fourth in the nation at 16.9 PIM/G, less than 1.0 PIM/G behind #1 Alaska.  With all the things to love about certain players’ games, the propensity to take bad penalties — especially two majors in the same game — really dims that for me.  Brennan Saulnier (67 PIM in 18 GP, 20% of the team total) and Chad Brears (41) could easily take 100 PIM this year.  Saulnier’s mark already eclipses all sinners’ PIM totalw from 2013-14 (Cody Marooney led the parade with 52).  No Charger has broken 70 since Graeme Strukoff (71) in his freshman year, and no Charger has broken 100 since Sebastian Geoffrion (115 in 2010-11).  Yeah, the UAH special teams units are the best in the nation, but when penalties cost Jack Prince ice time, we have problems.

1.  It’s freaking impossible to get a good UAH jersey.  This has been a complaint for years, and it just won’t go away — and now it’s worse now that UAH is in the WCHA and starting to play better.  People love the underdog!  People love the road blues!  And you just can’t get them.

Now, Michael made the case last year for more blue on the home jerseys, and I stand with him.  I know why this is the case, too: UAH uses black pants to keep from “looking like Smurfs” (no attribution) on the road, but we aren’t so flush with cash that we use blue pants at home.

All you can get on the concourse are the inferior home whites.  Some people have had access to the special grey jerseys that the ended the season with last year — I know this because I’ve seen “KESTNER 26” in the stands — but these aren’t generally available to the public.  You can get jerseys from Anchorage, Bemidji, BG, Ferris, and Mankato at the league shop, but the other half of the member schools don’t take advantage of this.  Furthermore, the UAH bookstore only sells what Athletics gives them, and it’s not been road blues.

UAH is leaving money on the table.  Hockey fans love jerseys (although few as much as Ryan Johnson).  We like wearing them to our team’s games.  We like wearing them to other teams’ games.  When I go to Nashville in February to watch the stRangers play the Preds, I will be proudly wearing my Cam Talbot black third from the Yale series his freshman year.  I paid $300 for that jersey.

I know that game-level jerseys run in the $70 range; sell at $200 and you’re making a great profit, and you could go cheaper on the quality and drop the cost.  We should be doing 2-3 special jerseys a year and doing an auction/purchase for each one: with 26 players and a profit margin of at least $130, that’s almost $9,000 if you’re just moving them for $200.  We should be selling old jerseys on the concourse during games, too, and we definitely should be selling the road blues both in person and online.

Now, I know that this doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and I know that UAH is a Division II school with a proportionally-sized athletic department.  Michael and I both know this because we’ve worked in Sports Information at different times.  We get it.  It would be unfair to overload anyone in the hockey office with this, because they have a lot going.  These kind of things would be so simple for a student worker to do — especially a student-athlete who is working on fifth-year money or work-study or what-have-you.  Design work requires professionals, but execution is grunt work.

Get on it, UAH.