NBCSN will broadcast Friday’s game at Notre Dame.
Friday’s game at Notre Dame will be televised by NBC Sports Network (6:30 p.m.). It will be the third time the Charger hockey will be featured on national television.
You may be wondering how UAH got on national TV. NBC Sports has been the home of Notre Dame home football games, and in recent years the partnership has grown to include Fighting Irish hockey (and some Hockey East) games on NBC’s cable and online channels. Friday’s game was scheduled to go on NBCSN before the start of the season.
You may also be wondering when UAH has been this visible on television. Both NCAA Division I Tournament appearances (the 3-2 double-overtime loss to Notre Dame in 2007 and the 2-1 loss to Miami in 2010) were on ESPNU. The College Hockey America championship game victories that led to these berths were on CSTV (2007), which eventually became CBS Sports Network (2010).
What about the series at Wisconsin two weeks ago, which was shown on Fox College Sports Pacific and Central? It depends if you want to call those networks “national.” Although you could have watched the games in Huntsville with the proper cable or satellite sports package, those games were a relay of Fox Sports Wisconsin, a regional network. This was also the case when UAH went to Wisconsin early in the 2010-11 season.
We believe the only other times the Chargers were on TVs in Huntsville was when they were broadcast on WAAY-TV Channel 31 in the 1990s. The 1994, 1996, and 1998 NCAA Division II championships, along with a couple of regular-season games in 1996-97, were on WAAY.
Other UAH sports that have been on national TV are men’s basketball, which was on ESPN2 during the 2012 NIT tip-off against Kansas State, and softball, which was on CBS Sports Network for the 2009 and 2011 NCAA Division II championship games.
Talbot update: New York Rangers goaltender Cam Talbot now has 14 games and 12 starts under his belt, and the former Charger netminder continues to play well. Talbot has a 9-3 record with a 1.66 goals against average and .938 save percentage. On Saturday, he stopped 25 of 26 shots as the Rangers rolled at Toronto 7-1.
Around the WCHA: It’s been cold.
WCHA temps (in deg. F): BGSU 4, BSU -27, FSU 7, LSSU 1, MSU -20, MTU -10, NMU -11, UAA 31, UAF 9, UAH 14. Yes, Anchorage is warmest.
— Charger Hockey Journal (@ChargerHockeyJn) January 6, 2014
Alaska-Anchorage could surely enjoy the relative warmth of home, whenever they finally get there. After a surprising split at No. 13 Wisconsin — ending the Badgers’ 10-game home winning streak — the Seawolves won’t get back to Anchorage until Thursday, thanks to the cold and snow in the Midwest causing canceled flights and missed connections.
When they do get home, they’ll host Minnesota State, which has been in Alaska for a week, splitting a series with the Nanooks in Fairbanks. The Mavericks are two points behind Ferris State, which beat RPI but was shutout by Colgate in the Mariucci Classic.
The Bulldogs, still undefeated in WCHA play at 10-0-2, dropped a spot to No. 3 in this week’s USCHO.com poll. Lake Superior is the only other league team ranked at No. 19, with Minnesota State and Bowling Green receiving votes.
In other action, Michigan Tech split its series at Lake Superior State, and Northern Michigan went into Bemidji and swept the Beavers. The league has created a “Plays of the Week” video this week.
Also, Bowling Green defenseman Ralfs Freibergs will represent Latvia at the Olympic Games next month in Sochi, Russia.
| WCHA Standings | Conference | Overall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | W | L | T | |
| Ferris State | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 15 | 3 | 3 |
| Minnesota State | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 |
| Bowling Green | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 4 |
| Lake Superior State | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 1 |
| Michigan Tech | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 6 |
| Bemidji State | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 6 |
| Northern Michigan | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| Alaska-Anchorage | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 2 |
| Alaska | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| Alabama-Huntsville | 14 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 0 |
THIS WEEK IN THE WCHA
All times Central.
* WCHA game.
Friday, January 10
UAH at Notre Dame, 6:35 p.m. (NBC Sports Network)
* Alaska at Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Michigan Tech at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
* Bemidji State at Lake Superior, 6:37 p.m.
* Minnesota State at Alaska-Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.
Saturday, January 11
UAH at Notre Dame, 6:05 p.m. (NBC Sports Live Extra)
* Alaska at Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Michigan Tech at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
* Bemidji State at Lake Superior, 6:07 p.m.
* Minnesota State at Alaska-Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.