Building on a late charge last season and veteran experience, the UAH club hockey team is ready to build momentum and enthusiasm in the 2023-24 season.
The Chargers open the new campaign this weekend against Auburn at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday.
UAH has nine home games in its 19-game regular-season schedule. The Chargers will host the College Hockey South Veteran’s Cup on November 10-11 with Alabama, Auburn, and Middle Tennessee State. The CHS Division II playoffs will also take place in Huntsville on February 15-18.
The Chargers made strides last season, finishing with a 9-6-1 record. It was the best showing for the club team since its 2018 re-establishment.
UAH finished hot, winning six straight. However, the Chargers finished just short of making the College Hockey South D2 playoffs. UAH head coach Tim Flynn knows there’s some unfinished business.
“Our goal for the season is to make the playoffs and compete for a championship,” Flynn said. “I don’t know if there is a specific number of wins in mind to get there, but the goal is to improve over last year’s total. We understand that while we had a strong finish to last season, we ultimately fell short of our goal. I think we have a better understanding of how difficult it is to win games in this league and the amount of work it is going to require to get to where we want to be.
“So far I’ve been impressed with our pre-season skates. The team has been driven and they’re ready to get started. If we can build on that and get better week in and week out, I think we’ll have a great chance of being in a good spot at the end of the year.”
Senior Bradly McDonald, who had a team-high 23 assists to go with his 10 goals last year, will be the captain and team president.
“This upcoming season is probably the most excited we have been for a season in a very long time and I would say the other captains would agree with that,” McDonald said. “Coming off a positive record last year and going from a team with only 10 skaters to a full team of 25 is a huge step in the right direction and makes everyone excited to show up to the rink and work everyday. Not only do we have a full team, but we have a full team that can seriously play hockey and create depth throughout all four lines.”
The Chargers return their top two scorers from last season, Kolton and Keaton Watts. Kolton, now a junior, scored a team-high 22 goals and 41 points, while Keaton, a senior, had 37 points on 15 goals and 22 assists.
“This season we are definitely ready to be competitive against any opponents we face,” Kolton Watts said. “Our core guys have been through adversity over the past couple of seasons and are excited to keep the program moving the right direction.”
“I am excited for a great season and to play with a great group of guys,” Keaton Watts said. “This year we are going to have a strong team with a lot of talent. This year our team is really going to focus on the little things in practice and the games. Ultimately we hope to make the playoffs.”
Two former members of the varsity team sparked UAH’s late surge last season. Josh Corrow and Adrian Danchenko, who were on UAH’s last NCAA team in the 2020-21 season, combined for 30 goals over the Chargers’ final eight games.
Corrow and the Watts brothers will be assistant captains.
“We have more depth on our team than ever and great chemistry off the ice,” Corrow said. “Going into the season, we have high expectations for this group. This group of players and coaches is determined to bring a championship back to this university.”
Hence the Chargers will have veteran leadership experience, which will help their several newcomers this season. Flynn expects Kaleb Watts, Adrian Mai, and Nate Litton to “contribute meaningful minutes throughout the season.”
“We will rely on this group for their play on the ice, but the biggest thing they’ve done since coming on board is help create a culture in our locker room where everyone understands what our team goals are and what it is going to take to get us there. They’re working off the ice and after practice with some of our younger and inexperienced players to help everyone get better and contribute to the team’s success.”
“Despite the results of our last few seasons, I’ve been very impressed with the team leadership since I got here. Guys like Ralph Drensek Jr. and Nick Boyce, who have graduated, really pushed to keep this program going during the tough times and did more than anyone will ever know to make that happen. (Defensemen) Zach Wolfe and Jacob Harrison, who are still on our roster and a part of the leadership group, played through those tough times and stuck with it to help us get to this point where we’re able to compete and have playoff aspirations. We wouldn’t be here without those guys.”
Flynn said that the team wants to expand its reach at the university and community this season.
“I’m excited that we’re able to play at a more family-friendly hour this year to hopefully start attracting the youth hockey crowds,” Flynn said. “That’s really our goal for the program: Be a local team to cheer for and be an outlet for local players to realize there is a place to play college hockey at a high level while representing Huntsville with pride.
“We’ll be trying to get more involved with the alumni and youth hockey groups for out the year. If anyone is interested in sponsorship or donations you can reach out to the officers at ClubHockey@uah.edu.”
The team has also launched an online merchandise store featuring authentic and replica Charger jerseys for this season.
Opinion: Want UAH hockey? Join the club
A little background
If you are new to UAH club hockey, here is who and where the Chargers play.
The club was re-established in 2018, bringing back club hockey to UAH for the first time since the original club team was lifted to varsity status in 1985. This is the team’s sixth season.
The Chargers’ national affiliation is Division II of AAU College Hockey, a new partnership between the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and the original organization, the Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF). This is the first season of play for AAU College Hockey.
UAH’s conference is College Hockey South (formerly the South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference). CHS has multiple divisions based on its teams’ AAU College Hockey national division. The Chargers are in Division 2 North, which includes UAH, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. UAH will play two games against each division opponent (a total of 12) during the regular season, as well as series against Division 1 opponents Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia.
The CHS Division 2 tournament will take place at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center on February 15-18, 2024. The top four teams in the North and South divisions will qualify.
UAH’s 2023-24 schedule (home games at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center in bold). All times are Central.
* College Hockey South D2 North conference game.
- Sept. 7 vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m.
- Sept. 8 vs. Auburn, 6 p.m.
- *Sept. 22 vs. Tennessee, 7:30 p.m.
- *Sept. 29 at Middle Tennessee, 8:45 p.m.
- *Sept. 30 at Middle Tennessee, 8:45 p.m.
- Oct. 13 vs. Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
- Oct. 14 vs. Alabama, 6 p.m.
- *Oct. 20 vs. Clemson, 9:30 p.m.
- *Oct. 21 vs. Clemson, 12:30 p.m.
- Nov. 3 at Georgia, 8 p.m.
- *Nov. 5 at Tennessee, 12:15 p.m.
- Nov. 10 vs. Alabama (Veteran’s Cup), 8:30 p.m.
- Nov. 11 vs. Auburn or MTSU (Veteran’s Cup), 4 or 6:30 p.m.
- *Jan. 19 at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m.
- *Jan. 20 at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m.
- *Feb. 2 at Ole Miss, TBA
- *Feb. 3 at Ole Miss, TBA
- *Feb. 9 at Georgia Tech, 6:10 p.m.
- *Feb. 10 at Georgia Tech, 6 p.m.
- Feb. 16-18 CHS D2 Tournament