UAH scored twice in the first period, then relied on Mark Sinclair to hold on for a 2-2 tie against Ferris State on Friday.
The Chargers (1-13-3 overall, 1-9-3-1 WCHA) got two points in the WCHA contest after Liam Izyk scored in the 3-on-3 second overtime period. UAH has ties in its last two games.
Sinclair made 38 saves for the second straight game. He has made 32 or more saves in his last four starts.
Ferris State fell to 5-9-2 overall and 3-6-2-0 in WCHA play. Game two of the series is Saturday at 6:37 p.m. Central Time.
Josh Latta put the Chargers up 1-0 at the 2:24 mark by putting in a rebound around FSU goaltender Austin Shaw (25 saves) for his third goal of the season.
Drew Lennon got his first point of the season with primary assist, and Christian Rajic also got a helper.
Connor Wood was grimacing in pain from the bench after FSU’s Hunter Wendt checked him from behind, but was able to stay in the game. Wendt was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
During the major power play, UAH had two shots on goal, but so did the Bulldogs on two shorthanded breakaways. Mark Sinclair made the big saves to keep FSU off the board.
Ferris State survived the penalty, but went down 2-0 after Connor Merkley fired a goal in from the high slot. Lennon got his second assist of the game.
The second period belonged to the Bulldogs, who outshot the Chargers 19-5. Sinclair was still solid, but it felt like Ferris State would eventually break through, which it did with 35 seconds remaining.
Marshall Moise slipped one past Sinclair right in front of the crease to cut UAH’s lead to 2-1 at the second intermission.
The first half of the third period was relatively quiet, but the Chargers finally started generating more opportunities in the second half.
However, Moise, scoring twice in his first game after being out for six weeks, would tie the game at 2-2 for the Bulldogs with a high floater from the left point with 4:45 left in regulation.
No scoring in overtime, but not before Sinclair made a couple of critical saves in the final 10 seconds to seal the tie.
With 1:48 left in the 3-on-3 overtime, Jack Jeffers appeared to score just inside the right goal post, but the official waved it off. Shaw didn’t react quick enough, and Izyk followed up and scored in the open net to give UAH the second WCHA point.