Category Archives: 2014-15

No. 12 Omaha rallies in third to tie Chargers, 3-3

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Penalties give, and penalties take away.

The Chargers staked a 2-0 lead in the second period, but Omaha scored two power play goals in the third and an extra attacker goal with 20.8 seconds left to force a 3-3 tie on Saturday.

BOX SCORE

UAH (3-14-3) ended a 24-game losing streak against ranked opponents, but the Chargers had their chances to make it a W against the 12th-ranked Mavericks (11-4-3) of the NCHC to finish the non-conference season and 2014.

Charger goaltender Carmine Guerriero, making his second straight start, made 29 saves, and he had to be strong early to keep the game scoreless after one. He made seven saves in the first period, and was shaken a little bit after Luc Snuggerud, after a drive to the net, was knocked into him by Richard Buri with 4:02 left in the period. He used the media timeout to get focused, and was able to keep the Mavericks at bay.

UAH then struck for two goals in the second period, both on the power play.

Brian Cooper went off for slashing at 3:32 of the frame, and the Charger power play was ugly to start, but so beautiful at the end. Turnovers led to three UNO chances shorthanded. Just as the power play was expiring, Jack Prince received a cross-ice pass from Max McHugh, slamming a one-timer past Crosswaithe to give UAH a 1-0 lead.

It was Prince’s third goal of the season. McHugh’s assist was his seventh, and Brandon Parker notched his team-leading eighth assist.

After James Polk was called for hooking at 11:10, McHugh made it 2-0 UAH on a goal of his own, cutting across the slot to beat Crosswaithe after getting a feed from Chad Brears. McHugh’s fifth goal of the season was assisted by Brears (sixth) and Prince (seventh).

Meanwhile, Guerriero kept squaring off on pucks as UNO desperately tried to cut into the Charger lead. Jake Guentzel knows all too well, as he was denied on point-blank shots in the final minutes of the second period.

Then came a penalty-filled third period for the Chargers, which allowed the Mavericks to come back.

UNO started the third replacing Crossthwaite, who was making his first career start, with Ryan Massa, their top netminder, as the Chargers would open the period on the power play. UAH would be stopped, and that was their last power play chance of the night.

At 5:03, Carpenter goes off for hooking. It took only five seconds to end the shutout, and for Ortega to finally get on the scoresheet for the weekend. His 10th goal of the season cut UAH’s lead to 2-1.

Carpenter did make amends just 14 seconds later, scoring his second goal of the season to regain the two-goal lead for the Chargers at 3-1. He was assisted by Jeff Vanderlugt and Matt Salhany.

Vanderlugt went into the box for interference after knocking down Massa at 9:27, and UNO again quickly converted. Ortega notched his second goal of the game just 15 seconds into the power play to make it a one-goal game again, 3-2 UAH.

The Chargers withstood two more power plays on McHugh’s tripping call at 13:54 and Brears’s boarding penalty at 16:37, but not without scares. With five minutes to go, the Mavericks found the post with Guerriero prone. UNO pulled Massa during the last power play to essentially give them a two-man advantage.

In all, UAH had five penalties in the third period, including a 10-minute misconduct on Brears for arguing the boarding call. That was more than the four they had in all of Friday’s game (a 2-1 Omaha win).

UNO pulled Massa again with 30 seconds in regulation, and Guentzel would finally not be denied. Dominic Zombo won the faceoff to Guerriero’s left, and Guentzel fired the puck past Guerriero with 20.8 seconds left to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime.

Guentzel almost won the game for the Mavericks with under two minutes left in overtime, but Guerriero came up big to keep the game a draw.

After overtime, Omaha won the three-round shootout 1-0. The NCHC has shootouts to settle ties for conference standings, but for nonconference games and NCAA purposes it goes down as a tie for both teams. It was UAH’s first-ever shootout.

After a holiday break next weekend, the Chargers return home to WCHA play against the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves on January 2 and 3. Puck drop at the Von Braun Center both nights is 7:07 p.m.

NOTES: The last time UAH did not lose to a ranked opponent was Jan. 6, 2012, a 3-2 win at No. 11 Denver. … Omaha outshot the Chargers 32-28. … McHugh has his second multi-point game of his career with the assist and goal in second period.

UNO 2, UAH 1

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The announcers on NCHC.tv for #12 Nebraska-Omaha (11-4-2, 6-3-1 NCHC) regularly lamented that the homestanding Mavericks were “letting the Chargers stay in this game”, a remark that kinda irked me on Twitter:

 

But the only way that UAH (3-14-2, 2-10-0 WCHA) are only going to garner national respect when they win these kinds of games.  Unfortunately for the Chargers, keeping an even shots-on-goal differential (31 for UNO, 25 for UAH) didn’t translate into a lot of Grade A chances.  As such, the lone UAH goal came off of the stick of senior forward Jeff Vanderlugt (Richmond Hill, Ont.) with just :11 remaining in regulation, cutting UNO’s final margin to 2-1 and denying sophomore goaltender Kirk Thompson (Surrey, B.C.), who made 24 saves to pull up to move to 2-1-0 on the season.

The Chargers outshot the Mavs 10-9 in the first period, but it was a late power-play goal at 18:56 that put the home squad up 1-0 heading into intermission.  :17 into sophomore forward Matt Salhany‘s (Warwick, R.I.) hooking penalty, Maverick junior defenseman Brian Cooper (Anchorage, Alaska) potted a goal on the nation’s #1 special teams unit.  Cooper’s fourth goal of the season was assisted by freshman forward Tyler Vesel (Rochester, Minn.) and freshman forward Avery Peterson (Grand Rapids, Minn.).

The second period was fairly quiet — as was the whole game, really.  UNO had a speed advantage, but time and again, the recovering UAH defensemen would push the forecheckers wide and deflect shots and passes into the corner.  This is evident in the stats for UAH sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Que.), who made 29 saves in an effort that dropped him to 3-8-1 on the season.

UNO sophomore forward Justin Parizek (Lakeville, Minn.) scored his eighth goal of the season just :13 after freshman defenseman Brandon Parker‘s (Faribault, Minn.) slashing penalty ended, as the Mavs had the Chargers scrambling to return to their standard set.  Vesel notched his second assist of the night on the game-winner.

While UAH kept working to the end, the only reward was Vanderlugt’s goal, which was assisted by freshman defenseman Cody Champagne (Brookfield, Conn.).

There were plenty of things to like tonight:

  • The SOG differential was far more even than I expected, given UNO’s talent level.  That was a very workmanlike effort for the Chargers.
  • Mike Corbett definitely has his shutdown line in senior forward Doug Reid (Innisfil, Ont.), senior forward Craig Pierce (Roswell, Ga.), and sophomore forward Brent Fletcher (New Westminster, British Columbia).  I think that Michigan Tech coach Mel Pearson is still complaining about the Bulldog Line’s harassment of his top line; UNO coach Dean Blais probably feels the same way.  There were a couple of shifts tonight where Pierce was an absolute wild man, seemingly every where at once and using his body to full effect.  Make no mistake: those guys really, really give a crap.
  • Carmine looked very good in net — the game-winner was a slapshot glove/short side that ricocheted in off of the post.  Will he start tomorrow night?  My guess would be that sophomore goaltender Matt Larose (Nanaimo, British Columbia) will get the nod to keep him fresh.  UAH plays all five weekends in January, and since it’s reasonable to think that Carmine starts at least seven of those games, you need to keep Larose in the groove.
  • Penalties!  The boys only committed four penalties for eight PIM!  That’s half of the usual total!  Sadly the blazing hot streak of the PK units seems over, but we’ll take the result.
  • There was just a lot of energy all night long, and let’s be honest — it’s the weekend before Christmas.  The boys went to Alaska right after finals.  They couldn’t really go too far afield before going to Nebraska on Thursday.  They want to see their families just as much as any of the rest of us do.  These pre-Christmas games are really, really hard to play, and you have to respect that the boys came out with jump all night long.

The two teams tangle at 5:07 p.m. Central to finish UAH’s 2014 slate.  Michael will take care of you on Sunday night.  Y’all have a great time with friends and family in the last week-plus of the year, no matter how you choose to celebrate it!  UAH hockey is better for your support and interest.

Series Preview: at Omaha, Dec. 20-21

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The Chargers’ last series of 2014 is at 12th ranked Nebraska-Omaha this weekend. Puck drop is at 7:07 p.m. Saturday and 5:07 p.m. Sunday.

CATCHING THE GAMES
Times: 7:07 p.m. Sat, 5:07 p.m. Sun
Online video: NCHC.tv (subscription): Sat | Sun
Online audio: KZOT
Live stats: Click here
Twitter: @weloveuahhockey, @uahhockey, @UNO_Hockey

All-time series: Omaha leads 10-2-2 in the series, which dates back to Omaha’s inaugural varsity season of 1997-98. The last meetings were in Omaha in November, 2012, and the Mavericks won 3-2 and 8-0. The last UAH victory came on Nov. 2, 2011, a 3-1 win in Nashville. The other Charger victory was Jan. 29, 2011 in Omaha, 2-1 in overtime.

Chargers recap: UAH (3-13-2 overall, 2-10-0 WCHA) has lost five straight following a two-game sweep at Alaska in Fairbanks.

In the Friday game, Max McHugh put UAH on top in the second period with his fourth goal of the season (and team-leading ninth point), but the Nanooks tied it up just 2:45 later and Tyler Munson scored the game-winner in overtime as Alaska won 2-1. UAH stayed in the game despite being outshot 46-17, thanks to Carmine Guerriero’s 44-save performance.

In the Saturday game, the Nanooks dominated in a 4-0 win. Matt Larose stopped 37 shots as Alaska had another favorable shots on goal disparity, but the Charger penalty kill — which had a streak of 17 straight kills — allowed three power play goals and could not muster much of a threat offensively.

Guerriero is now 10th in the Division I in save percentage at .934.

UAH Tale of the tape
NCAA rank in parentheses		 UNO
3-13-2
2-10-0 WCHA		 Record 10-4-2
6-3-1 NCHC
1.78 (53rd) Goals/game 3.19 (T19th)
3.22 (47th) Goals allowed/game 2.44 (T24th)
16.4 (6th) Pen. minutes/game 12.4 (24th)
17.0% (29th) Power play 15.9% (34th)
84.6% (25th) Penalty kill 86.2% (T20th)

About the Mavericks: Omaha (10-4-2 overall, 6-3-1 NCHC) is ranked 12th in this week’s USCHO.com poll. Last week, they swept No. 12 St. Cloud State at home by scores of 3-2 and 5-3 to extend their winning streak to three games. At 20 points, the Mavericks are in third place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, one point behind co-leaders Miami and Minnesota-Duluth.

Sophomore right wing Austin Ortega leads UNO in goals (9) and points (18) this season. He leads the team by far in shots on goal (63), and six of his nine goals are game-winners. Sophomore left wing Jake Guentzel is on Ortega’s line, and has 16 points with 11 assists.

Freshman Jack Randolph leads Omaha in assists with 13, sitting on a line with sophomore Justin Parizek, who has seven goals.

Senior Ryan Massa is the Mavericks’ top goaltender, sporting a 2.06 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.

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

Around the WCHA: UAH is the only WCHA team in action this weekend, and UAH-UNO is the only regulation game in NCAA hockey. The Chargers are off next weekend, while most of the league’s Michigan schools are in holiday tournament play, notably the Great Lakes Invitational.

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.

Saturday, December 20

UAH at #12 Omaha, 7:07 p.m.

Sunday, December 21

UAH at #12 Omaha, 5:07 p.m.

Sunday, December 28

Michigan Tech vs. Michigan, 2:30 p.m. (Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit)
Ferris State vs. Michigan State, 6 p.m. (Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit)
Lake Superior State vs. Cornell, 6:30 p.m. (Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla.)

Monday, December 29

Great Lakes Invitational 3rd place game, 2:30 p.m.
Great Lakes Invitational championship, 6 p.m.
Lake Superior State vs. Miami or Notre Dame, 3 or 6:30 p.m. (Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla.)

At the Break

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UAH’s second season in the WCHA is almost half over, and I’ll join USCHO’s Jack Hittinger, who has told everyone what he’s learned so far.  After this weekend’s non-conference tilts with UNO, UAH’s remaining Division I games are against WCHA foes.  UAH is 2-10-0 in its first 12 conference games, a record that ties last season’s conference win total.  If the goal was “be better this year than last year”, UAH has succeeded.

The 2014-15 WCHA looks like it has two tiers: the triumvirate of Tech, Mankato, and BG, followed by everyone else.  UAH has played all three of those teams so far, and despite having home advantage in four of those games, UAH went 0-6-0 and was outscored 25-7.  That’s the bad part.  Worse, UAH still has to travel to both Tech (1/30-31) and BG (3/6-7).

The good part is that UAH does not play Mankato again.  Better, UAH’s 18-41 GF-GA differential means that the Chargers are just 11-16 in the remaining six games to this point.  Better still, with 16 league games left, the Chargers have 12 more cracks at the non-elite teams.

Yes, the playoffs are still very much in play, especially with Alaska being ineligible.

When I look at the league, it’s something like the following:

1a-1b Tech-Mankato

3 (close to the #1s) BG

4 Motte State University (and there’s a big gap to here)

5 Northern Dahlströhm University

6 Rodent State

# Alaska

7 Anchorage (and there’s a bit of a gap to here)

8 UAH (and a bit of a gap to here, to be honest)

9 LSSU

Yes, I have the Lakers behind the Chargers.  The teams split in Huntsville, and the UAH loss was marred by two major penalties that kept the Chargers from having much in the way of even-strength play.  The next night, the boys poured it on and won going away in the first home win in some time.  While you can argue that UAH benefits from home ice advantage in a way that only the Alaska teams do, the matter is that UAH could and should have won both contests.

The Lakers have played two more league contests and are 3-11-0.  UAH could easily split any of their 12 contests against non-powers and be even.  Worse still for the Lakers, they play at Mankato, at BG, and at Alaska for their big road trips the rest of the season.  They have a shorter trek to Marquette for a weekend with the Wildcats and home contests with Bemidji, us, and Ferris.  That is not an easy slate.  UAH has four home weekends left, all of them with winnable games; LSSU has just three.  The teams each play two elite teams on the road, but the Lakers also have that trek to Fairbanks.

With Alaska’s woes, UAH’s road to the playoff runs right through the Soo, where the two will tangle on Valentine’s Day weekend.

With Mathias Dahlströhm banged up in Marquette, the Wildcats fall behind Ferris in my rankings.  Both teams are powered by their goaltending.  The Wildcats’ one bad weekend — 10 GA against the Falcons — came when Dahlstrohm wasn’t healthy; in their other 16 league contests, they conceded just 16 goals.  While UAH picked up a split in Big Rapids, the Chargers’ 3-2 win counts for 21% of the goals the Bulldogs have allowed in league play.  The Chargers have also played a non-conference series with the Wildcats, tying 1-1 and losing 4-1.  In short, the Chargers have a puncher’s chance against both teams, and they get six more cracks at them, four of those in Huntsville.  Figure that UAH could take two of those, and you have UAH up to eight league points.

The Chargers’ six remaining WCHA contests feature the teams in the middle of the remainder of the pack.  The two Alaska schools come to Huntsville, while the Chargers return to the scene of the crime in Brrrrmidji.  While the Chargers were stout on Friday night, Saturday night in Fairbanks just wasn’t any fun.  A one-goal weekend just won’t cut it, but the boys have also had just one off weekend all season, with finals superseding hockey for the weekend prior to the longest road trip in the WCHA.

It’s hard to know what to make of the Seawolves.  After a very strong start to the season, they took care of business against the Lakers at home; fought gamely against the Huskies in Houghton; got creamed against the Bulldogs in Big Rapids, letting the home side nearly double their season goals output; and split with Northern and Bemidji (two ties) at home to end their season.  When they come to town, the green and gold will have not played competitive hockey for a month.

Then there are the buck-teeth rodents.  They’ve had the sixth-toughest schedule in Division I so far, with (all rankings at-the-time) #2 North Dakota (home-and-home split, each road team winning), #1 Minnesota (swept in MSP), #16 Alaska (home sweep), #13 Minnesota State (swept in Mankato), #5 Michigan Tech (swept in Bemidji), #18 Bowling Green (swept in Ohio), #16 St. Cloud (home split), two ties at Anchorage, and a home split with a Northern Michigan team that had just fallen out of the rankings and didn’t have Dahlströhm.   That’s a tough row to hoe.

UAH is lucky in that they’ll face the Beavs after the home team will have had a month away from competitive hockey and a weekend after the Chargers face the Seawolves at home.  While it would be better if Bemidji had some bus legs to go with the rust, we can hope that the rust is enough.  Neither squad seems likely to give an inch in a rivalry that is being reborn.

Michael and I talked before the season, and we figured that the Chargers could win 6-8 games this year, with the real step forward coming next season.  That looks to be the case.  UAH can conceivably win one or two of the first four league games coming out of the break, one or two of the remaining four against NMU, a split in the Soo, and one or two of the four at home against Ferris and Alaska.  That puts the Chargers at anywhere between six and nine wins, and that should be good enough to make the playoffs, especially given the Lakers’ remaining schedule.  They will need home splits every weekend and a split in their series with Northern to stay apace, but this is a team that’s already lost 17 games this season.  Laker fans, we know the pain you’re having.  Stay the course.

You may say, “What difference do the playoffs have?  We’re just going to play Mankato or Tech, and they’ve destroyed us.”  But I say that playing in the postseason is good experience for the boys.  Win-or-go-home is a great way to play, and those are the kinds of experiences that they’ll need in 15-16 and 16-17 when we’re looking to build on the season and hopefully make the NCAAs.  (You laugh, but would you have expected the 2006-07 or 2009-10 teams to do that?)

UAH has exceeded six wins just once since Doug Ross retired in 2007, when UAH won 12 games in a season powered by Cam Talbot.  Cam’s major stats that year were 2.61 GAA and .925 SV%.  Sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Que.) is 2.44 and .934.  Folks, we’re just not that far away.  It starts with putting more shots on the net, cutting the penalties, and continuing to play strongly on special teams.

Let’s end with a song that’s appropriate for a blue-collar hockey team.

Nanooks shut down Chargers 4-0 to complete sweep

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After a heartbreaking loss on Friday, the Chargers did not have much for the Alaska Nanooks on Saturday night. And it didn’t help that their much improved penalty kill cooled off at the wrong time.

Alaska rolled to a 4-0 victory over UAH (3-13-2 overall, 2-10 WCHA) to complete a two-game sweep. The Nanooks (10-8 overall, 5-7 WCHA) used three power play goals and a 41-14 shots advantage to take the game from start to finish.

UAH, which lost 2-1 in overtime on Friday night, dug a hole for itself in the first period with two goals 1:47 apart.

First, after a Cody Marooney tripping penalty, Nolan Huysmans put in a rebound past Matt Larose on the ensuing power play to give Alaska a 1-0 lead. The goal at the 6:01 mark broke a streak of 17 straight penalties killed by the Chargers.

Then at 7:48, Tyler Morley notched his sixth goal of the season, beating Larose with a backhander and giving the Nanooks a 2-0 advantage through one period.

UAH had a chance to cut Alaska’s lead after Brennan Saulnier’s rush out of the penalty box was denied by goaltender Davis Jones, who had his third shutout of the season with 14 saves. But it was all Nanooks after that.

The critical juncture came at 6:36 of the second, when Saulnier made contact to the head on Alaska’s Kyle Froese, drawing a five-minute major and a game misconduct. It was Saulnier’s fifth major penalty of the season, and his second game misconduct call for contact to the head.

Alaska took advantage to extend its lead to three, as Josh Atkinson’s one-timer from the right circle found space behind the net.

The Nanooks rode the power plays and the momentum to a 17-3 shots on goal lead in the second period. Ten of those shots were on the power play.

More penalties kept the Chargers from mounting any sort of rally in the third period. Meanwhile, Alaska tallied a third power play goal by Marcus Basara at 8:46, giving the Nanooks a 4-0 lead.

Larose made 37 saves on 41 Alaska shots to spell Carmine Guerriero, who was peppered with 46 shots in Friday’s game. Larose has made 32 or more saves in all seven of his starts this season.

The Nanooks had a total of 87 shots on goal for the series.

The Chargers have lost five straight heading into a non-conference series next Saturday and Sunday at Nebraska-Omaha.

Chargers fall to Alaska in overtime, 2-1

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Box score

In the end, you thank Carmine Guerriero for even making the situation possible. But in the end, it’s still a painful loss for the Chargers.

Tyler Munson’s goal with 3:37 left in overtime gave Alaska a 2-1 win over the Chargers on Friday night at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.

Alaska outshot UAH by a 46-17 margin. Guerriero stopped 44 of those shots, but couldn’t make a 45th as Munson, finding the puck all alone and crossing in front of Guerriero, was able to tuck it past him and he couldn’t poke it away.

Last season, the Nanooks won both games in Fairbanks against the Chargers by 6-1 scores, with similar advantages in shots on goal. This time, Guerriero was the difference, making all the critical saves — including two on an Alaska two-on-none break late — to keep UAH within sight of a fourth win of the season.

Alaska fired away early and often, putting 11 shots on goal to the Chargers’ three. Guerriero’s biggest save came with about six minutes left in the period, when the puck was all alone in the slot and Guerriero out of position. The ever-scary Tyler Morley, who was tied for third in the WCHA with 16 points coming into the night, pounced with a one-timer, but Guerriero got back to keep the game scoreless.

UAH’s best chance of the first came on a steal by Brennan Saulnier in the Alaska zone, but he was denied by defenseman Josh Atkinson backing up goaltender Davis Jones.

Alaska’s possession dominance continued into the second, as the Nanooks peppered Guerriero with the first seven shots on goal in the frame.

But it was actually the Chargers who struck first. Cody Champagne’s drive from just inside the blue line found Chad Brears in front of the Nanook net, then Max McHugh, who redirected it past Jones to give UAH a 1-0 lead with 10:52 left in the second. It was McHugh’s fourth goal of the season.

It would be UAH’s only shot on goal of the second for a while, and Alaska eventually found a way to find the net. Alec Hajdukovic, on a rush on the right side, beat Guerriero on a shot high and glove side to tie the game at 1-1 with 8:07 left in the second. Nolan Kaiser and Trevor Campbell got the assists.

Matt Salhany had a chance with a shorthanded break and Regan Soquila had a left wing drive, but Jones prevented the Chargers from retaking the lead.

So after two periods, Alaska had a 25-8 shots on goal advantage, but it was a tie game.

Even though Alaska would outshoot UAH 17-9 in the third, it seemed like a more balanced period.

With just under five minutes remaining in regulation, Cody Marooney failed to beat Jones on a 2-on-1 with Matt Salhany — the best chance the Chargers have to steal the victory.

Then came the two-on-none Alaska breakaway. Guerriero stopped Brandon Morley’s first shot, then robbed Marcus Basara on the rebound with 3:23 left in regulation.

The Chargers and Nanooks face off again Saturday at 10 p.m. Central Time/7 p.m. Alaska.

Notes: Guerriero has made 30 or more saves for the ninth time in 11 starts. … The Chargers have lost seven straight in the all time series with Alaska. … UAH’s last overtime loss was Feb. 3, 2012, a 4-3 decision at Maine.

Series Preview: at Alaska, Dec. 12-13

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The Chargers, after an off week for rest and final exams, are in Fairbanks this weekend to face the Alaska Nanooks at the Carlson Center. Puck drop both nights is 10:07 p.m. Central Time (7:07 p.m. Alaska).

CATCHING THE GAMES
Times: 10:07 p.m. CT Fri. & Sat.
Online video: WCHA.tv (subscription)
Online audio: KCBF
Live stats: Click here
Twitter: @weloveuahhockey, @uahhockey, @Alaska_Hockey, @NanookHockey
More previews: UAHChargers.com
AlaskaNanooks.com

All-time series: Alaska leads the series 14-6-1, and has won the last six games against UAH. The Nanooks 9-3 all-time against the Chargers in Fairbanks, where UAF won both of last season’s contests by 6-1 scores.  Last year’s series marked the first meetings between the two programs since 1992. Technically UAH hasn’t won in Fairbanks since the Nanooks forfeited a 9-5 win on Dec. 11, 1991 for using an ineligible player, but UAH won for real on Dec. 10, 6-3.

Chargers recap: UAH (3-11-2 overall, 2-8-0 WCHA) has lost three straight after being swept at home by then-No. 6 Michigan Tech two weeks ago.

In the Friday game, Craig Pierce put the Chargers ahead with a shorthanded goal just 1:06 into the game, but couldn’t hold off the Huskies in a 4-2 defeat. Jack Prince scored the other goal for UAH, and Carmine Guerriero made 30 saves in his fifth straight start.

In the Saturday game, Brandon Carlson and Frank Misuraca tallied goals, but it wasn’t enough as Michigan Tech won 5-2. Matt Larose stopped 32 shots in his return between the pipes.

The Chargers continued to fare well on the penalty kill, keeping the Huskies to 0-for-10 with the man advantage for the series. Opponents are 4-for-42 on the power play in the last six games. UAH leads the nation in combined special teams at 62.5 percent.

The Chargers now have five players with five points to lead the team: Max McHugh, Brandon Carlson, Jack Prince, Matt Salhany, and Brandon Parker. McHugh and Frank Misuraca each have three goals. UAH has 20 points from freshmen this season — a third of the team’s total.

Freshman Max McHugh leads the Chargers in scoring with eight points on three goals and five assists. Prince, Brennan Saulnier, and Brandon Parker each have seven points, while Misuraca and Jeff Vanderlugt lead UAH with four goals apiece.

Defensively, Carlson leads the nation in blocks with 41. Goaltender Carmine Guerriero now has a 2.49 goals against average and a .931 save percentage, which is fourth in the WCHA and 15th in Division I. Larose has a 3.79 GAA and a .908 save percentage.

UAH Tale of the tape
WCHA rank in parentheses		 UAF
3-11-2
2-8-0 WCHA		 Record 8-8-0
3-7-0 WCHA
1.94 (9th) Goals/game 2.81 (5th)
3.25 (8th) Goals allowed/game 3.06 (7th)
16.5 (2nd) Pen. minutes/game 11.1 (8th)
18.0% (4th) Power play 16.9% (6th)
86.2% (6th) Penalty kill 81.2% (7th)

About the Nanooks: Alaska (8-8-0 overall, 3-7-0 WCHA) has had a rather rocky season. The Nanooks won their first five games, then lost the next five while learning of their postseason ban this season for NCAA eligibility infractions. They have since righted the ship somewhat, going 3-3 in their last six, including a split last weekend in Mankato against No. 2-ranked Minnesota State. Alaska won 5-4 in overtime last Friday before losing 5-2 last Saturday.

Junior center Tyler Morley is Alaska’s leading scorer with 16 points, tied for third in the WCHA. Morley has been hot of late, with four of his five goals coming in the last four games, including three in the Minnesota State series.

Sophomore Marcus Basara leads the Nanooks with seven goals on the season, and junior defenseman Colton Parayko, a 3rd round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2012 NHL entry draft, joins him with 12 points. Freshman forward Austin Vieth has six goals, including two goals (one being the overtime game-winner) against the Mavericks last Friday.

Sophomore Davis Jones has become Alaska’s netminder, starting the Nanooks last five games while senior goalie Sean Cahill has been injured. Jones has a 3.06 goals against average and a .870 save percentage.

UAH alum Lance West is in his fifth season as assistant coach. He is 15th on the Chargers’ all-time varsity scoring list with 113 points on 45 goals and 68 assists, playing from 1991-95.

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

Around the WCHA: Three conference series are on this weekend’s schedule, but the big series is a non-conference affair in Houghton, where No. 4 Michigan Tech hosts No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth. No. 3 Minnesota State, tied with Tech atop the WCHA standings, hosts Princeton in another non-league series.

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

Friday, December 12

* UAH at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
* Lake Superior State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
* Northern Michigan at Bemidji State, 7:37 p.m.
#9 Minnesota-Duluth at #4 Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Princeton at #3 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.

Saturday, November 15

* UAH at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
* Lake Superior State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
* Northern Michigan at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
#9 Minnesota-Duluth at #4 Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Princeton at #3 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.

Idle: Alaska-Anchorage, #13 Bowling Green

Michigan Tech 5, UAH 2

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The UAH Chargers (3-11-2, 2-8-0 WCHA) were perfect again on the penalty kill, stopping the Michigan Tech Huskies (12-2-0, 10-2-0 WCHA) on all five opportunities.  Unfortunately, the Chargers couldn’t reprise last night’s perfect special teams performance, falling to the #6/5 team in the country by a 5-2 score, the final marker being an empty-netter.

The Huskies went up early when senior forward and co-captain Tanner Kero (Hancock, Michigan) scored fifth goal of the season unassisted as he and his teammates crashed the net minded by sophomore goaltender Matt Larose (Nanaimo, B.C.).  The Huskies kept up the pressure for the remainder of the period, outshooting the home squad 14-3.  The Chargers’ penalty killers were stout in defense of their net when sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) went off for holding at 14:54.

The Chargers’ power play proved unable to the task early in the second, with two consecutive minor power plays coming off of a high-sticking minor on senior forward David Johnstone (Grande Ledge, Mich.) at 7:06 and hooking by Chris Leibinger (Saginaw, Mich.) at 9:06.  The Chargers again struggled with the pace, being outshot 12-5 in the middle frame.

Carlson atoned for his earlier sins late in the 2nd, ripping in a shot off of the faceoff past Tech junior goalie Jamie Phillips (Caledonia, Ont.).  Carlson’s goal was his third on the season, and he was assisted by freshman forward Brennan Saulnier (Halifax, Nova Scotia), who marked his sixth assist on the year.

Unfortunately for UAH, the momentum was short-lived.  Carlson went to the box for tripping just :19 after his goal (and oddly 19:50 after his first-period infraction), but his teammates again picked up the pace, limiting grade A chances for the Huskies.

The Huskies would pull back ahead 1:08 after the Chargers returned to full strength when junior defenseman Walker Hyland (Woodbury, Minn.) picked up the puck just above the dot in the right-wing circle and ripped it through a forest of bodies in front of Larose (0-5-1, 32 sv) to move the score to 2-1.  After that point, the Huskies would never trail again.

The Michiganders took it up a notch when the Kero-Petan-Gould line struck again.  The trio were each +3 on the evening, with each netting a goal.  It was junior forward and assistant captain Alex Petan‘s (Delta, B.C.) turn with just :38.5 in the 2nd, ripping a shot from the high slot that came to him because of the relentless pressure of his line.  Petan’s shot froze Larose, with the missile rising over his shoulder to the top shelf.

Petan would give the Chargers a chance to narrow the game 1:12 into the third when Petan was whistled for a hooking minor.  A tripping minor by Saulnier 1:25 later negated the advantage, however, and the Chargers would have to wait another 4:20 for some signs of life — other than sophomore forward Matt Salhany‘s (Warwick, R.I.) Brian-Rolston-like shorthanded dash into a slapshot from the right-wing dot.

The Chargers were pressing from around the 6:40 mark.  Senior defenseman Ben Reinhardt (Arnprior, Ont.) fed a D-to-D pass to freshman defenseman Brandon Parker (Faribault, Minn.), who ripped a slapshot so hard that he broke his stick.  Instead of Parker retrieving a stick, junior defenseman Frank Misuraca (Clinton Township, Mich.) swapped into the game and skated to the top of the RW circle.  After Reinhardt kept the puck in, he moved it closer in to freshman forward Max McHugh (Seattle, Wash.), who saw Misuraca near the blue line with time and space.  Receiving the pass, Frank edged closer to the center of the ice, wound up, and fired through traffic and past Phillips (12-2-0, 13 sv).  Misuraca’s goal was his fourth of the year, and it was the fifth assist for McHugh and first for Reinhardt.  McHugh’s marker would push him to a team-leading eight points.

At that point, Phillips left the net for an equipment malfunction with his pads, giving sophomore goaltender Matt Wintjes (Holland Landing, Ont.) his first game action of the season.  Phillips returned quickly and would proceed to stop all five shots he saw for the remainder of the game.

Junior forward Malcolm Gould (North Vancouver, B.C.) gave the Huskies some breathing room, potting his fifth goal of the season at 6:57 of the third on an assist from Kero.  While the Huskies would give the Chargers some life a minute later when Johnstone took a slashing penalty, the blue and white would not raise their sticks in celebration.

The last gasp for the Chargers came with just 1:51 left in regulation when Petan took an interference penalty.  UAH coach Mike Corbett called timeout and pulled Larose for a sixth skater.  The Chargers held the puck in for a while, but senior forward Blake Hietala (Houghton, Mich.) made his hometown team happy, potting a short-handed, empty net goal at 18:56.  Matching minors to Leibinger and Carlson at 19:24 finished the scoresheet.

The series in a nutshell: a decided speed and skill advantage by the Huskies, who drew penalties from the Chargers when they were afraid of being beaten; strong penalty killing (12-for-12 on the weekend); and the boys hanging in while being outshot 34-14 and 37-15.  UAH had a litmus test this weekend: how would it fare against one of the top two teams in the league in their own building?  This wasn’t a weekend like the one earlier this season in Mankato, where the Mavericks out-shot UAH 57-18 and 41-9 on the way to a sweep.  Given that the Huskies played the Mavs last weekend to two one-goal games, 2-1 and 3-2, you can sorta hand-wave a transitive theory and show how the Chargers have grown as the season has gotten along.

As I left the arena, I chatted with some Tech fans who’d made it down for the games.  One of them said, “You’ll be in the playoffs if you keep playing like this.”  While the Chargers are tied for 7th in the league, they’ve played more league games (10) than any of the other three teams at four points (8, with Alaska down 3-1 to Northern as I finish this recap).  This makes it harder for UAH to keep pace.

The Chargers have played four of their six games against the cream of the WCHA, with a return trip to Houghton at the end of January.  BG is definitely up there as well, and the Chargers have to go on the road to face the Falcons to end the season in what very well could be a trip for a playoff seed.  UAH has to do well against old pal Lance West and his Alaska Nanooks both in two weeks and when the kids come from Fairbanks to Huntsville in late February.  The Chargers also host the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage in the first home series of 2015.  Two wins in the next four league tilts would buoy any playoff hopes.

The Chargers are off next weekend, as finals are this next week at the University.  They will next play Alaska in Fairbanks at 10:07 p.m. starts.  We’ll have coverage then, but it could be slow here this week while Michael and I take a bit of a breather.

Michigan Tech 4, UAH 2

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UAH (3-10-2, 2-7-0 WCHA) was perfect on special teams on tonight, killing all seven Michigan Tech (11-2-0, 9-2-0 WCHA) penalties, scoring on their own power play, and potting a short-handed goal just 1:08 into the game.  But sharp-angle shots and relentless forechecking by the #6/5 team in Division I saw the Huskies come away with a narrow 4-2 win (on an empty netter) in front of 1,880 fans — many of whom were clad in Black and Gold — at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala.

Senior forward Craig Pierce (Roswell, Ga.) got the crowd fired up just a minute into the game, breaking out of the Chargers’ end with the puck and slashing through the slot.  He whiffed on his first shot, but the puck stayed with him and he slipped one past Husky junior goaltender Jamie Phillips (Caledonia, Ont.) for a 1-0 lead.  The goal was Pierce’s third of the season and the Chargers’ third SHG of the 2014-15 campaign.  Assists were credited to sophomore forward Brent Fletcher (4th of season, New Westminster, B.C.) and sophomore forward Cody Marooney (3rd, Eden Prairie, Minn.).

Tech freshman forward Dylan Steman (Hanover, Minn.) would knot the game at one with his second collegiate goal, scoring when a delayed penalty call 0n freshman defenseman Cody Champagne (Brookfield, Conn.) let the Huskies use their speed advantage to slice along the boards in front of the Chargers’ bench and let Steman find a pass from junior forward C.J. Eick (Appleton, Wisc.).  The assist was Eick’s first of the year.

The Chargers would then kill Champagne’s penalty — we’re told that goals on delayed penalties do not vacate the penalty as they do in most leagues — and one by sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) just 2:35 later.  In all, the Chargers killed four penalties in the first period, and it felt like the Chargers were doing well to stay with the pack.  Optimism reigned that the penalties would slow.

Indeed, that optimism was met, with the Chargers committing just three penalties for the rest of the game, one coming in the late minute when Fletcher was whistled for charging.  Unfortunately for UAH, time at even strength did not lead to many shots on goal, as Tech showed their bona fides as a top-flight team.  The Huskies took a 2-1 lead 2:21 into the second period when freshman forward Alex Gillies (Vernon, B.C.) scored on a low-angle shot from the left circle that beat Charger sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Que.) high over the right shoulder.

The Chargers registered just four shots on goal in the second frame against 12 for the Huskies.  Lest you be worried that the overall shot differential of 34-14 was influenced by killing seven penalties, the Huskies landed just seven shots on goal in those opportunities.

One Charger shot did find twine, as senior forward Jeff Vanderlugt (Richmond Hill, Ont.) pounded a puck home off of a feed from junior forward Jack Prince (Leicester, England).  The goal was Vanderlugt’s team-leading fourth of the season, with Prince recording his fifth assist (and team-lead-tying seventh point).  Freshman defenseman Brandon Parker (Fairbault, Minn.) notched his team-leading seventh assist of the year.

The Chargers didn’t keep the game level for long, as sophomore defenseman Shane Hanna (Salmon Arm, B.C.) winged a puck at the net from an even steeper angle than Gillies, beating Guerriero (3-6-1, 30 sv) to put the Huskies up again.  The Chargers would kill two more penalties in the remaining minutes of the second, but the visitors carried a one-goal lead into the locker room for the second intermission.

UAH came out stronger in the third, bringing more pressure and getting deeper into the Husky defense.  But Phillips (11-2-0, 12 sv) stopped all six Charger shots on goal, keeping his teammates clean on the defensive end.  Assistant captain and sophomore defenseman Cliff Watson (Appleton, Wisc.) ended the Chargers’ attempts at a comeback, lofting a puck that rolled past a Charger lunging to swipe it into the corner.  Fletcher’s final penalty with :37.5 left ended any chance that the Chargers had in coming back.

Mike Corbett tells me all the time that there are no moral victories, and he’s right.  But I heard a number of people — my old broadcast partner Mike Anderson being one of them — tell me that they were proud to see the strides that this team had made.  This wasn’t last year’s blowout against top team St. Cloud State.  This was a solid effort from a team in the bottom half of the WCHA against a team at the top of the league.  You’re not going to win a lot of those games, but it’s not unreasonable to think that the Chargers couldn’t come out and win this one tomorrow night.  We’ll see if that happens, even though there will be few paying attention given that we’re up against the Iron Bowl.  Oh well.

Special teams notes

UAH is now 7th in the nation in PIM/G at 17.1, less than a minor a game out of 2nd and just a major behind Cornell in 1st (22.4), who have played just eight contests.  The Chargers’ combined special teams are still #2 in the country, with a 64.0% rate that comes in just 1.0% behind #1 Harvard.

Series Preview: vs. Michigan Tech, Nov. 28-29

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UAH hosts Michigan Tech, ranked 6th in the USCHO.com poll and 5th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, in a Thanksgiving weekend series. Puck drop is 7:07 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The Huskies are the second-highest ranked team to visit Huntsville (St. Cloud State was No. 3 last season).

The first 1,000 fans to Friday’s game receive a free UAH mini hockey stick. The first 500 fans to Saturday’s game receive a set of UAH hockey trading cards. Kids 12 and under are admitted free to all home games. On Saturday, donations and unwrapped toys will be collected to support Toys for Tots.

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.: Mini-hockey sticks to first 1,000
Sat.: UAH trading cards to first 500
Online video: WCHA.tv (subscription)
Live stats: UAHChargers.com
Twitter: @weloveuahhockey, @uahhockey, @mtuhky, @TechHockeyGuide
More previews: UAHChargers.com
MichiganTechHuskies.com

All-time series: The Chargers and Huskies met for the first time in Houghton, Mich., last season, with Michigan Tech winning 4-1 and 10-4. This will be the first series in Huntsville. The teams meet again in Houghton on Jan. 30-31.

Chargers recap: UAH (3-9-2 overall, 2-6-0 WCHA) split a tough road series against Ferris State.

On Friday, Chad Brears scored twice, including the game-winning goal, in a 3-2 victory — UAH’s first-ever in Big Rapids, Mich. Alex Carpenter scored the other goal for the Chargers, and Carmine Guerriero stopped 35 of 37 shots. Brears’s first goal came just 1:46 into the game, and the Chargers held on despite being outshot 38-18.

On Saturday, UAH took another early lead thanks to Richard Buri’s goal, and Jeff Vanderlugt tied the game at 2-2 in the second, but UAH could not overcome penalties and three third-period Bulldog goals in a 5-2 loss. Guerriero made 30 saves in his fourth straight start.

Freshman Max McHugh had two assists over the weekend to take the UAH lead in points with seven (3-4-7). He is now tied for fourth in the WCHA in freshman scoring.

McHugh, Vanderlugt, and Frank Misuraca each have three goals. Brears, Jack Prince, Brennan Saulnier, and Brandon Parker each have six points.

Guerriero now sports a 2.43 goals against average (7th in the WCHA) and a .933 save percentage (5th in the WCHA and 12th in Division I).

UAH Tale of the tape
WCHA rank in parentheses		 MTU
3-9-2
2-6-0 WCHA
(T-7th)		 Record 10-2-0
8-2-0 WCHA
(1st)
1.93 (T-9th) Goals/game 3.08 (2nd)
3.07 (8th) Goals allowed/game 1.42 (2nd)
17.3 (2nd) Pen. minutes/game 14.7 (4th)
18.2% (3rd) Power play 22.4% (1st)
84.5% (8th) Penalty kill 93.3% (2nd)

About the Huskies: Michigan Tech (10-2-0 overall, 8-2-0 WCHA) was the No. 1-ranked team going into last week’s marquee series against No. 9 Minnesota State, but the Huskies were dealt their first two losses — both one-goal affairs — by the Mavericks. The Huskies are still atop the WCHA standings with 16 points, two ahead of  Minnesota State and Bowling Green.

Tech has been solid both offensively and defensively, scoring 3.08 goals per game (2nd in the WCHA) and allowing 1.42 goals per game (also 2nd in the WCHA and the nation). The Huskies lead the league in power play efficiency (22.4 percent) and are second in penalty killing (93.3 percent).

The Huskies have a potent line with senior Tanner Kero centering left wing junior Alex Petan and right wing junior Malcolm Gould. Kero leads the Huskies with 14 points, which is tied for the WCHA lead. Kero has four goals and 10 assists on the season. Petan has the most Husky goals with seven, which is tied for second in the conference. Gould is third on the team with 10 points on four goals and six assists.

Between the pipes, junior Jamie Phillips has played every minute for the Huskies this season. The 2012 seventh-round pick by the Winnipeg Jets is second in the WCHA in goals against average (1.42) and save percentage (.950).

WCHA Standings Record Pts.
Michigan Tech 8-2-0 16
Bowling Green 7-1-0 14
Minnesota State 7-1-0 14
Northern Michigan 4-2-0 8
Ferris State 4-4-0 8
Lake Superior State 3-7-0 6
Alabama-Huntsville 2-6-0 4
Alaska-Anchorage 2-6-0 4
Bemidji State 2-6-0 4
Alaska 1-5-0 2

Around the WCHA: Two other conference series are on tap this Thanksgiving weekend. Seventh-ranked Minnesota State hits the Upper Peninsula again with two at Lake Superior State. No. 19 Northern Michigan, after splitting at Alaska-Anchorage, continues their two-week excursion in Alaska to battle the Nanooks in Fairbanks.

In non-conference action, Ferris State travels to Wisconsin to play the suprisingly still-winless Badgers. Bemidji State, losers of six straight, hosts No. 16 St. Cloud State. The Beavers have not faced a non-ranked opponent yet this season.

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

Friday, November 28

* #6 Michigan Tech at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
* #7 Minnesota State at Lake Superior State, 6:37 p.m.
* #19 Northern Michigan at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Ferris State at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
#16 St. Cloud State at Bemidji State, 7:37 p.m.

Saturday, November 29

* #6 Michigan Tech at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
* #7 Minnesota State at Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m.
* #19 Northern Michigan at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
#16 St. Cloud State at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
Ferris State at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.