A shorthanded goal with 7:34 remaining in the third period was the difference in UAH’s 5-4 loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The goal came on a turnover behind the UAH net not long into a Charger power play. Julien Yang stole the puck and scored before Charger goaltender Cameron Crawford could recover in time.
It’s a stinging loss to start the spring semester for UAH, who fell to 6-7-1 overall and 4-3-0 in College Hockey South play despite outshooting Vanderbilt 53-20. The Chargers will need to rebound quickly for Sunday’s 1 p.m. series finale.
It was the third straight victory for Vanderbilt (8-13-0 overall, 7-2-0 CHS), who took the lead atop the CHS Division 2 North and clinched a spot in the CHS Division 2 tournament in Huntsville next month.
The first period was mostly quiet until UAH’s Kolton Watts broke the ice with an unassisted goal, his 12th of the season, at the 12:23 mark.
Then everything went haywire.
Andrew Harder tied the game at 1-1 for Vanderbilt with 2:50 to go, but Tyler Trombly regained the lead for the Chargers 48 seconds later.
Vanderbilt capitalized on an Matteo Siciliano slashing penalty to tie the game at 2-2 with 54 seconds remaining with a William Pho goal, and to add insult Harder scored again with 27 seconds left for a 3-2 Commodore lead at the first intermission.
In the second period, UAH outshot the Commodores 22-4 but it sure didn’t feel it. The Chargers did get two Josh Corrow goals 1:25 apart in the middle of the frame to regain the lead at 4-3, but Yang, the Commodores’ leading scorer, countered with a goal for a 4-4 tie at the end of two.
The third period saw lots of up-and-down action, and with Harrison Parent going off for roughing with 7:47 to go, the Chargers had an opportunity. But it only took 10 seconds for Yang’s steal and score to put Vanderbilt up 5-4.