Series Preview: at Air Force, Nov. 7-8

The Chargers finish up three straight weeks on the road with a non-conference trip to Colorado Springs to take on a familiar foe in more ways than one — Air Force.

UAH head coach Mike Corbett spent nine seasons as an assistant coach and one as an associate head coach at Air Force before taking the Huntsville job in 2013.

All-time series: Since UAH became a varsity program in 1985, the Chargers have played Air Force 56 times, trailing only Bemidji State (74 games) and Niagara (57) as UAH’s most common opponent. The Chargers hold a 35-18-3 lead in the series, plus a 3-1 record while UAH was still a club program. Twenty-nine of the meetings came while both teams were members of College Hockey America (1999-2006), with UAH having a 21-7-1 record.

As varsity, UAH is 16-12-1 in Colorado Springs, winning the last two meetings by 4-2 scores on October 16-17, 2009. The Chargers lost to the Falcons 6-1 on Dec. 30, 2012, at the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis. Between those meetings, UAH tied and lost in a two-game series in Huntsville in 2011.

Chargers recap: UAH (0-7-1 overall, 0-4-0 WCHA) notched a tie and a loss in a non-conference series at Northern Michigan last week. The series finished up a contract UAH and NMU had before they both were WCHA members.

On Friday, Matt Salhany’s shorthanded breakaway goal in the second period was the equalizer in UAH’s 1-1 draw. Carmine Guerriero stopped 34 of 35 shots as the Chargers ended the Wildcats’ 4-game win streak and their own 6-game losing streak to start the season.

On Saturday, Northern Michigan blew away the Chargers in the third period in a 4-1 win. Brennan Saulnier had the only goal for the Chargers, who were outshot 20-1 in the final frame. Matt Larose made 37 saves.

About the Falcons: Air Force (2-5-0 overall, 2-2-0 Atlantic Hockey) played one game last week, a tough 3-2 overtime loss at North Dakota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game. North Dakota tied the game at 2-2 with 29 seconds remaining in regulation, and won it with 6.4 seconds left in overtime.

Through seven games, senior Cole Gunner leads the Falcons with eight points on two goals and six assists. Three other players have six points so far: seniors Chad Demers (3-3-6) and Scott Holm (3-3-6), and sophomore defenseman  Johnny Hrabovsky (0-6-6). Sophomore A.J. Reid also has three goals.

Sophomore goaltender Chris Truehl has started all seven games, compiling a 3.26 goals against average and an .885 save percentage.

The Falcons were picked to finish third in the Atlantic Hockey preseason poll.

Around the WCHA: UAH is the only WCHA team playing non-conference action this week. While Lake Superior State is idle, there are four interesting league matchups.

Michigan Tech, now in the top 10 in the latest USCHO.com poll, defends its perfect record at home against the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage. Ferris State looks to kickstart its offense at Northern Michigan in a battle of ranked teams. Bemidji State looks to keep its offense kicking against in-state rival Minnesota State. Alaska, in its first action after learning it will be ineligible for this year’s postseason, hosts Bowling Green.

Here’s the schedule for league teams this week. All times are Central. Games involving WCHA teams at home can be seen online on WCHA TV.

Friday, November 7

UAH at Air Force, 8:05 p.m.
* #16 Ferris State at #20 Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.
* Alaska-Anchorage at #9 Michigan Tech, 6:37 p.m.
* Bemidji State at #13 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
* Bowling Green at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.

Saturday, November 1

UAH at Northern Michigan, 8:05 p.m.
* #16 Ferris State at #20 Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.
* Alaska-Anchorage at #9 Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
* Bemidji State at #13 Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
* Bowling Green at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.