You have to admire the Chargers’ resilience, turning a bad night Friday into a better night Saturday for the third straight week. And you have to think that soon, they can and will win these types of games.
But it’s still heartbreak for UAH, which lost to Ferris State 3-2 on Saturday night at the VBC. This one will hurt a little more, as the Chargers had two one-goal leads that were short-lived.
UAH, which was shutout in its last two games, finally broke its scoring drought UAH with 8:31 left in the second period. Alex Allan knocked in the rebound off a sprawling C.J. Motte to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead. Brent Fletcher and Steve Koshey got the assists on the 4-on-4 goal.
Ferris State responded just 1:16 later as the Bulldogs crashed the net. Justin Buzzeo got the equalizer on an assist by Dom Panetta.
The Chargers regained the lead again at 2-1 with 6:56 to go, as Matt Salhany beat Motte on a breakaway. It was Salhany’s first goal and point for UAH, with assists to Wade Schools and Ben Reinhardt.
But it only took 19 seconds for FSU to tie it up. Kyle Schempp scored on a rebound from the left circle with 6:37 left.
Then a penalty bit the Chargers again. Frank Misuraca was called for cross-checking with 3:49 to go, and Ferris State needed only 28 seconds of power-play time to take the lead on Buzzeo’s second goal of the game.
UAH had its chances to tie it up after Cody Marooney and Jason Binkley got tangled up in front of the penalty boxes. Both would sit in said boxes for roughing, but Binkley got four minutes to set up one final push for the Chargers with 3:19 to go.
The Chargers couldn’t capitalize, but then FSU’s Garrett Thompson received a high-sticking penalty with 1:14 left. UAH also pulled goaltender Matt Larose for a 6-on-4 advantage. Regan Soquila’s shot with five seconds left hit the post, and that’s as close as UAH would get.
Larose was spectacular, working the glove and body en route to 42 saves. After two rough starts, he earned the third star of the game. He had to be strong, as Ferris State outshot UAH 45-17.
The Chargers showed they came to play defensively by shutting out the Bulldogs (5-2 overall, 2-0 in WCHA play) in the first period. It was the first scoreless opening period allowed by the Chargers this season. Coming into the game, half of the goals UAH allowed this season had come in the opening frame.
UAH has had three leads this season for a combined 2 minutes and 53 seconds, including the two in this game and the first game against Bemidji State last week.
The Chargers (0-6 overall, 0-4 in WCHA play) will have their first conference road series next week as they head to Alaska-Anchorage. Both games Friday and Saturday will start at 10:07 p.m. Central Time. The next home series is Nov. 15 and 16 against St. Cloud State.