WEST CHESTER, Pa. — The UAH club hockey team did what they needed to do: beat Farmingdale State in their final pool play game at the AAU Division 2 championships, and then hope it was enough to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Chargers rolled over FSC 8-3 on Sunday, finishing with a 2-1 record and four points in Pool C. After the dust settled on the other four pools, UAH qualified by allowing just nine goals in their three games. The Chargers shut out Central Florida 2-0 on Friday, which turned out to be critical, and lost to top seed High Point 6-4 on Saturday.
“Our focus was goals against,” UAH head coach Tim Flynn said after the game and before the announcement. “We weren’t too concerned with scoring once we got a little bit of a buffer. We had a number in our head: I think we hit it, and we’ll see what happens.”
The remaining eight teams will be reseeded based on their final national ranking. This will pit UAH (12-11-1 overall), the No. 13 overall seed, against Florida, the No. 2 seed and winner of Pool B, on Monday at 12:45 p.m. CDT. The Gators allowed only two goals in their three wins in pool play.
The other matchups are: Top seed Florida Atlantic vs. No. 17 Union (N.Y.); No. 3 High Point vs. No. 11 Clemson; and No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Penn State-Harrisburg. That makes five College Hockey South teams out of the eight.
“We feel pretty good, but regardless, it’s a great weekend for us no matter what happens,” Flynn said. “The guys worked extremely hard. Very proud of them, and they deserve it.”
The first nine minutes saw non-stop action with no stoppages, and then the Chargers (12-11-1 overall) scored two quick goals.
First, Kolton Watts led a 3-on-1 break down the right side, burying the puck with 9:35 left in the first. Forty-one seconds later, Josh Corrow roofed it from the left side for a 2-0 UAH lead.
“It was a must win for us,” Watts said. “Coach talked to our leadership, talked to our goaltending, talked to our whole line, and we just really wanted to get the win and be prepared.”
Farmingdale State scored its first on a gimme, as goaltender Andrew Sledge misplayed the puck right to Brendan Dixson, the overall scoring leader in AAU Division 2, in the slot. Dixson scored with 1:05 remaining in the period.
That was one of the few errors Sledge made, however, as he stopped 23 of 26 shots in his first action of the tournament while giving Cameron Crawford a rest.
“It felt really good. I love playing under pressure,” Sledge said. “Makes me have to get focused more and make me play good. The boys were very supportive of me in the net. The D-lines did a pretty good job of boxing out so I could see shots.”
UAH scored three goals in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Corrow notched his second of the game on a drive to the net 3:45 in, and nearly three minutes later Bradly McDonald sank in a rebound on a Corrow shot. Then with 3:19 remaining, Henry Hoff tucked one through the FSC goalie’s five hole.
The Watts brothers pushed three more for the Chargers in the third. Kolton Watts scored his second of the game in the middle of the period, sandwiched between two Keaton Watts goals and the beginning and the end.
If there was any blemish that might cost the Chargers, it was the two shorthanded goals they gave up in the third period, including one by Dixson.
Still, the game was primarily UAH’s from the opening faceoff, as the Chargers outshot the Rams 45-26.
While Kolton Watts led the team with five points, the offense was shared around the usual suspects: Corrow had two assists for a four-point game, Hoff also had four points thanks to three helpers, and McDonald and Keaton Watts pitched in three points as well.
“We talked last night and we really wanted to motivate the guys on the team,” Kolton Watts said. “We wanted to push our team so we could be the best we could be. And I think bringing Hoff and Corrow back really helped us today.”