St. Cloud State scored four times in the third period to break open a 1-1 tie and douse any thoughts of an upset to beat UAH 5-1 Friday in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
UAH (2-6-1) saw its winless streak extended to seven games. St. Cloud (3-2-0), ranked 10th in the national polls, won its third straight game.
Game two of the non-conference series is Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
The Huskies blasted 53 shots on goal to just 16 for the Chargers. Despite this on goal disparity, UAH didn’t play bad for the first 40 minutes of the contest.
The Chargers had an excellent chance to strike first after back-to-back tripping and cross-checking calls against St. Cloud gave them a 2-man advantage. UAH managed some good looks, but only two shots on goal.
The Huskies got on the board first at the 8:09 mark. Jake Wahlin’s initial shot from the right circle was stopped by Jordan Uhelski, but the rebound came back to him and he would not miss on Uhelski’s glove side.
St. Cloud had a 16-8 shots on goal in the first period, but UAH had enough chances and possession to make it closer than that stat looks.
After the Chargers survived two more penalty kills to start the second period, UAH got its equalizer thanks to Josh Kestner. The junior stole the puck from Blake Winiecki, drove down the right side and blasted it past Jeff Smith.
Kestner’s second goal of the season came at the 7:51 mark, assisted by Hunter Anderson, who notched his first career UAH point.
The Huskies continued to fire away and keep Uhelski working, adding another 16 shots on goal in the second period. UAH only had five.
The game was decided early in the third period, as the blocks and saves by UAH turned into St. Cloud goals. The Chargers had a decent penalty kill after a John Teets hooking penalty in the first minute, but then the Huskies scored three goals on three shots in a span of 1:28.
SCSU took a 2-1 lead on a tip-in by Ryan Poehling that Uhelski had no chance with at 3:22. Then Judd Peterson made it 3-1 as he snuck in a rebound at 4:07. Then Patrick Newell tuned it to a 4-1 lead at 4:50.
The barrage continued as Winiecki made it 5-1 at 8:06. St. Cloud had 21 shots in the third period alone, while UAH had three.
Uhelski finished with 48 saves for the game.