Where: Propst Arena at Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Ala.
When: Friday, 6:07 p.m.; Saturday, 3:37 p.m.
Watch: Ticket information | FloHockey.tv (subscription required)
Promotions:
- Kids 12 and under can get free general admission tickets, courtesy Huntsville International Airport, at the VBC box office.
- UAH hockey trading cards will be given to the first 500 fans on Friday.
- UAH team photos (sponsored by SportsMed) will be given to the first 500 fans on Saturday.
- Tickets to Saturday’s Huntsville Havoc game will be good for general admission to UAH’s Saturday game.
Charger update: UAH (6-23-1 overall, 6-15-1-1 WCHA) ran into trouble at sixth-ranked Minnesota State, losing 6-1 and 4-0.
“Playing teams like Mankato is a great learning experience for our guys,” UAH head coach Mike Corbett said. “Obviously, certain teams have more talent, but for us it’s to get our guys to compete consistently.
“I was proud of our guys on Saturday because we knew we were out of gas after about midway through that game. We had a good third period and hopefully take that into this weekend.”
This weekend is Senior Weekend, the final home series of the season. The eight seniors will be honored before Saturday’s game.
Two of those seniors are Hans Gorowsky and Kurt Gosselin, who were named the WCHA Forward and Defenseman of the Month, respectively, for January. Each scored 10 points in eight games for the month.
Gosselin, one of the team’s captains who battled injury through most of the season’s first half, has 13 points in 17 games. He scored the lone goal for UAH at Minnesota State.
“[Gosselin] is the guy leading the charge as far as commitment,” Corbett. “That’s a guy right now we need to play 25 to 26 minutes every single night and every other shift for us to be successful.
“Whether he wants it or not, he’s willing to jump the boards for us. That’s kind of a ‘watch me, follow me’ type of leadership, and we need other guys to follow.”
About the Wildcats: Northern Michigan (14-13-0 overall, 13-7-0-0 WCHA) sits in fourth place in the WCHA standings, meaning the Wildcats are fighting for home ice in the conference playoffs. NMU split with then 13th-ranked Bowling Green last week, ending a three-game losing streak.
NMU and UAH got very familiar last season, meeting four times in the regular season, splitting both series, and the Wildcats besting the Chargers in three games in the WCHA quarterfinals at NMU.
The Wildcats have two players leading with 24 points. One is senior forward Troy Loggins, who has 12 goals on the season. The other is junior defenseman Philip Beaulieu, who has 19 assists (tied for third in the WCHA).
Senior goaltender Atte Tolvanen has started all 27 games for NMU this season, posting a 2.33 goals against average and .914 save percentage with four shutouts.
Northern Michigan statistics 2018-19
Series notes:
Overall: NMU leads 15-7-3. First meeting: Jan. 24, 2003.
In Huntsville: NMU leads 5-3-2.
Trend: Series tied 5-5-0 over the last 10 meetings.
Last series: March 2-4, 2018, WCHA quarterfinals in Marquette, Mich. NMU won game 1, 7-1; UAH won game 2, 3-2; NMU won game 3, 5-2.
Friday, February 8
Northern Michigan at UAH, 6:07 p.m.
Bemidji State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
#6 Minnesota State at Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Saturday, February 9
Northern Michigan at UAH, 3:37 p.m.
Bemidji State at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
#6 Minnesota State at Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Idle: #16 Bowling Green, #19 Lake Superior State