Tag Archives: Brandon Carlson

Chargers lose point to extra-attacker goal; 3-3 (OT)

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I think that this game was best summed up in our Slack chat tonight:

Could have won. Probably should have lost. Got a tie. All the mixed emotions.

Indeed, that’s a fair assessment.  UAH was out-shot 49-21 on Friday night in Big Rapids: sour sixteens in each of the regulation periods and just one in OT, thanks to Ferris having to kill a penalty.  But junior goaltender Matt Larose (Nanaimo, B.C.) was razor sharp, stopping 46 saves, a season-high for Charger netminders, and UAH got enough puck luck to push it to three goals for the third straight game.  But a fluky extra-attacker goal by the home squad

The Chargers sent a steady stream of white jerseys to the box, including a rare appearance by sophomore forward Max McHugh (Seattle), his first since November 7th.  In all, UAH was whistles for nine penalties taking 21 minutes, the one major a facemasking call against junior defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington, Beach, Calif.).

UAH returned to form with its fine penalty killing after a stumble last week against Alaska, stopping all eight opportunities and potting a shorthanded goal, as junior forward Matt Salhany (Warwick, R.I.) picked up a loose puck for a Stealhany to knot the game at 2-2 and deflate the home side.

BOX SCORE

For the Chargers, tonight’s game was all about sustained effort.  McHugh started the Chargers’ scoring off with his sixth of the season, banging home a backhander low past Ferris State freshman goaltender Darren Smith (Barrie, Ont.) after mucking and grinding down low with sophomore forward Brennan Saulnier (Halifax, Nova Scotia) to know bring the game level at 1-1.

After junior forward Jared VanWormer (Traverse City, Mich.) shocked the UAH defense by scoring :34 into the third and :09 after Saulnier’e penalty expired.  A cross-checking minor penalty committed by freshman forward Madison Dunn (Calgary) just :45 later spelled doom for the Chargers, who looked to be reeling.  Instead, Salhany’s quick reaction and fleet feet were combined with the right move to light the lamp.

UAH couldn’t capitalize on a couple of Ferris penalties, all on the route to go 0-for-6 with the man advantage on the evening.  But the Chargers then shocked the home crowd and pulled ahead when Marooney, Wilcox, and Poulsen brought tons of pressure, with freshman forward Tyler Poulsen (Arvada, Colo.) picking up the goal after finding the puck on a Ferris State stick and pushing it past Smith (18sv).

Sadly for the Chargers, the Bulldogs kept strong pressure in the UAH end, pulling Smith for an extra attacker and eventually getting senior forward Kenny Babinski (Midland, Michigan) his sixth goal of the year to dash the Herd’s hopes of pulling even with Alaska in the standings.  Neither team did much in the extra five minutes, even with the Bulldogs taking the penalty.

Larose moved to 3-4-1 on the season, his GAA edging up to 2.28 but his SV% moving to .927.  Smith is now 6-4-4.

As the Chargers seek to move out of the WCHA basement, they got no help from last week’s foe, Alaska, who won in overtime in Marquette.  The Chargers are still in last place with 9 league points, three behind 9th-place Alaska-Anchorage, who have three games in hand on the Chargers.

Series Preview: WCHA Quarterfinals at Michigan Tech, March 13-15

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CATCHING THE GAMES
Times: Game 1: 6:07 p.m. CT Friday
Game 2: 6:07 p.m. CT Saturday
Game 3*: 6:07 p.m. CT Sunday
* if necessary
Watch it: WCHA.tv (subscription)
Hear it: Pasty.net
Stats: CollegeHockeyStats.net
Twitter: @weloveuahhockey, @uahhockey, @mtuhky, @TechHockeyGuide

As playoff debuts go, this will be tough. Very tough.

UAH makes its first-ever WCHA postseason appearance this weekend with a best-of-3 series at No. 4 Michigan Tech, where the Chargers have simply had problems against the Huskies.

It’s playoff hockey, and strange things can happen, but it’s safe to say that the Chargers are huge underdogs in this series. UAH is the seventh seed, and Michigan Tech is the second seed.

Game 1 is Friday night, game 2 is Saturday night, and, if necessary, a deciding game 3 would be Sunday night. All games are scheduled to start at 6:07 p.m. CDT.

All-time series: The Chargers are 0-6 all-time against the Huskies, and are 0-4 in Houghton. UAH was blown out in both games there in late January this season by scores of 5-0 and 11-1. In 2013-14, the Chargers lost 4-1 and 10-4 at Houghton. That’s a combined score of 30-6 for the Huskies on their home ice.

The two games in Huntsville over Thanksgiving weekend were a bit closer, with Tech winning 4-2 and 5-2.

Brandon Carlson

Brandon Carlson, who scored UAH’s goal on Saturday, is second in the nation with 83 blocked shots. (Photo by Todd Pavlack/BGSUHockey.com)

Charger recap: UAH (8-24-4 overall, 7-20-1 WCHA) saw its losing streak extended to six to finish the regular season by being swept at Bowling Green.

On Friday, the Falcons scored two in the first, two in the second, and three in the third to win 7-2. Two Max McHugh goals in the third period averted the shutout.

Saturday’s game was tighter, but Bowling Green found a way to win 2-1. Brandon Carlson’s goal in the first period erased a 1-0 lead for the Falcons, who retook the lead late in the same period and held on the rest of the way. Matt Larose had his best start of the season, stopping 26 of 28 shots.

McHugh, named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team on Thursday, has 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists to lead the Chargers. He has the most points by a UAH player since the 2006-07 season.

Other top scorers for UAH: Chad Brears (3-12-15), Jack Prince (5-9-14), Brandon Parker (0-14-14), Jeff Vanderlugt (6-7-13), Frank Misuraca (6-6-12).

Starting goaltender Carmine Guerriero had his worst start of the season last Friday, his 11th straight start in a row. He comes into the postseason with a 2.69 goals against average and a .923 save percentage, which is still fifth-best in the WCHA.

UAH Tale of the tape
(WCHA rank)		 MTU
8-24-4
7-20-1 WCHA (8th)		 Record 26-8-2
21-5-2 WCHA (2nd)
1.72 (9th) Goals/game 3.64 (1st)
3.25 (9th) Goals allowed/game 1.78 (1st)
15.5 (2nd) Pen. minutes/game 12.2 (8th)
16.2% (6th) Power play 21.2% (2nd)
81.5% (8th) Penalty kill 85.0% (6th)

About the Huskies: Michigan Tech (26-8-2 overall, 21-5-2 WCHA) fell one point short of Minnesota State in the race for the MacNaughton Cup, but the fourth-ranked Huskies are 10-1-1 in their last 12 after a home-and-home sweep of U.P. rival Northern Michigan to finish the regular season. Tech will be hosting a WCHA playoff series for the first time in 22 years.

Senior foward Tanner Kero was named the league’s Player of the Year after winning the WCHA scoring title with 34 points in 28 conference games. Kero, an All-WCHA First Team selection, is tied for 10th in the nation with 43 points on 18 goals and 25 assists. He totaled nine points against UAH in the four games this season.

Joining Kero on the All-WCHA First Team is goaltender Jamie Phillips. The junior and Winnipeg Jets prospect is second in the league in goals against average (1.76) and top the WCHA in save percentage (.935).

Two junior forwards, Alex Petan and Malcolm Gould, made the All-WCHA Second Team. Petan has 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists), followed by Gould’s 31 (14, 17).

New Jersey Devils draftee Blake Pietila is close behind with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points, putting him on the All-WCHA Third Team. Sophomore defenseman Shane Hanna also made the Third Team.

Around the WCHA: Here are the other three WCHA quarterfinal series this weekend. The winners of the best-of-3 series will go to the WCHA Final Five at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on March 20-21. All times are Central and all games can be seen online on WCHA TV.

No. 8 Lake Superior State at No. 1 Minnesota State
Game 1: Friday, 7:07 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, 7:07 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, 7:07 p.m.

No. 6 Northern Michigan at No. 3 Bowling Green
Game 1: Friday, 6:07 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, 6:07 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, 6:07 p.m.

No. 5 Ferris State at No. 4 Bemidji State
Game 1: Friday, 7:37 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, 7:07 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary), 5:07 p.m.

McHugh named to WCHA All-Rookie Team

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Max McHugh

Max McHugh

Max McHugh, UAH’s freshman forward from Seattle, was named to the All-Rookie Team among the 2014-15 WCHA Awards announced Thursday.

McHugh is the Chargers’ leading scorer with 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points, the most for a UAH player since the 2006-07. He had 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points in WCHA play this season, which was third among all rookies in the league and tied for 19th among freshmen in NCAA Division I.

McHugh has played in all 36 of UAH’s games this season, winning the WCHA Rookie of the Week Award twice. His 12 goals are tied for 12th among all players in the WCHA.

The league also announced its all-academic team, featuring 13 Chargers: Chad Brears (Jr., F, Cold Lake, Alberta, 2013-14 WCHA Outstanding Scholar-Athlete of the Year); Brandon Carlson (So., D, Huntington Beach, Calif.); Alex Carpenter (Jr., F, Portage, Mich.); Brent Fletcher (So., F, New Westminster, British Columbia); Matt Larose (So., G, Nanaimo, British Columbia); Frank Misuraca (Jr., D, Clinton Township, Mich.); Craig Pierce (Sr., F, Roswell, Ga.); Jack Prince (Jr., F, Leicester, England); Doug Reid (Sr., F, Innisfil, Ontario); Ben Reinhardt (Sr., D, Arnprior, Ontario); Regan Soquila (So., F, Maple Ridge, British Columbia); Jeff Vanderlugt (Sr., F, Richmond Hill, Ontario); Anderson White (Jr., D, Caledon, Ontario).

2014-15 WCHA Awards

Player of the Year – Tanner Kero, Sr., F, Michigan Tech
Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year – Tanner Kero, Sr., F, Michigan Tech
Defensive Player of the Year – Colton Parayko, Jr., D, Alaska
Rookie of the Year – Michael Bitzer, Fr., G, Bemidji State
Scoring Champion – Tanner Kero, Sr., F, Michigan Tech
Goaltending Champion – Stephon Williams, Jr., G, Minnesota State
Coach of the Year – Mike Hastings, Minnesota State

2014-15 All-WCHA First Team

Forwards: Tanner Kero, Sr., Michigan Tech; Matt Leitner, Sr., Minnesota State; Tyler Morley, Jr., Alaska
Defensemen: Colton Parayko, Jr., Alaska; Zach Palmquist, Sr., Minnesota State
Goaltender: Jamie Phillips, Jr., Michigan Tech

2014-15 All-WCHA Second Team

Forwards: Bryce Gervais, Jr., Minnesota State; Alex Petan, Jr., Michigan Tech; Malcolm Gould, Jr., Michigan Tech
Defensemen: Matt Prapavessis, Sr., Bemidji State; Casey Nelson, So., Minnesota State
Goaltender: Stephon Williams, Jr., Minnesota State

2014-15 All-WCHA Third Team

Forwards: Blake Pietila, Sr., Michigan Tech; Marcus Basara, So. Alaska; Brendan Harms, So., Bemidji State and Blake Tatchell, Sr., Alaska Anchorage (tied)
Defensemen: Shane Hanna, So., Michigan Tech; Brock Maschmeyer, So., Northern Michigan
Goaltender: CJ Motte, Sr., Ferris State

2014-15 WCHA All-Rookie Team

Forwards: Brandon Hawkins, Bowling Green; C.J. Franklin, Minnesota State; Max McHugh, Alabama Huntsville
Defensemen: Mark Friedman, Bowling Green; Nolan Valleau, Bowling Green
Goaltender: Michael Bitzer, Bemidji State

Ferris State 2, UAH 1

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It was a wintry night in Huntsville, with many roads closed after a crusting of ice fell atop already snowy lanes.  It was great hockey weather, but for the home fans, it wasn’t a great hockey result.  The visiting Ferris State Bulldogs (13-18-1, 10-13-0 WCHA) scored two quick first-period goals and held on thereafter, winning 2-1 over the homestanding UAH Chargers (8-19-4, 7-15-1 WCHA).

Both Bulldog goals came on poor defensive zone passes.  At 4:33 of the first, senior forward Dominic Panetta (Baldwin, Mich.) picked a puck off and skated in alone on UAH sophomore netminder Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Qué.), potting a shorthanded goal.  Sophomore forward Chad McDonald (Battle Creek, Mich.) took a pass from freshman forward Tyler Andrew (Bethel Park, Pa.), who had just intercepted a puck in front of the UAH bench.

I expect that it’s no surprise that Michael and I have a backchannel during games.  Post-game, he commented, “Lost it in the first, didn’t win it in the 2nd and 3rd.”  He’s right.

The second period is notable only for its penalties.  An early UAH power play was nullified four seconds later by a holding minor.  Two penalties :07 apart by sophomore forward Cody Marooney (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and freshman defenseman Richard Buri (Nitra, Slovakia) left UAH killing a long 5×3 situation, which they did fairly easily, allowing just three shots-on-goal on the disadvantage.  UAH is still the #1 team in combined special teams.

A carry-over penalty from the 2nd period gave the Chargers 1:55 of a man advantage on clean ice.  The home squad would score, as freshman defenseman Cody Champagne (Brookfield, Conn.) took a feed from senior forward Alex Carpenter (Portage, Mich.) for a point shot that appeared to rattle around on bodies in front before going to the roof of the net past Ferris State senior goaltender CJ Motte (St. Clair, Mich.).  Sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington, Beach, Calif.) got the secondary assist.

Ferris State stymied UAH for the remainder of regulation time.  UAH pulled Guerriero (32 sv, 8-12-3) with 1:37 remaining, but the Bulldogs kept UAH to the outside and blocked shots.  Motte (18 sv) moves to 13-18-1 on the season.

The two teams face off again on Saturday night to conclude the season series, which the Bulldogs lead 2-1-0.

Series Preview: at Lake Superior State, Feb. 13-14

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CATCHING THE GAMES
Times: 6:37 p.m. CT Friday
6:07 p.m. CT Saturday
Watch it: WCHA.tv (subscription)
UAH Charger Union
Hear it: 99.5 Yes FM
Stats: CollegeHockeyStats.net
Twitter: @weloveuahhockey, @uahhockey, @LakeStateHockey, @HockeyLSSU,

A couple of wins would go a long way toward securing UAH’s first WCHA playoff spot this weekend.

The Chargers will be in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to take on the Lake Superior State Lakers. The two teams are tied for eighth in the WCHA standings, just two ahead of last-place (and first spot out) Alaska-Anchorage.

Puck drop is 6:37 p.m. on Friday night and 6:07 p.m. on Saturday night. The games can be seen on WCHA.tv. If you don’t have a WCHA.tv subscription, you can watch the game from Charger Union’s World of Wings on the UAH campus.

All-time series: Lake Superior State leads the all-time series 6-3-1, but UAH holds a 2-1-1 record in Sault Ste. Marie. The last series up north occurred in November 2012, where UAH won 2-1 (the Chargers’ lone win versus a Division I opponent in 2012-13) and LSSU won 4-0. Back in November of this season, the two teams split in Huntsville, with the Lakers winning 1-0 and the Chargers winning 5-2 to defeat a Division I team at home for the first time since 2011.

Brandon Carlson

Brandon Carlson has 70 blocked shots this season, tied for the most in Division I.

Chargers recap: UAH (7-18-3 overall, 6-14-0 WCHA) has been idle since being swept by Michigan Tech in Houghton two weeks ago. The scores were 5-0 and 11-1, so we’ll just leave it at that. The Chargers have lost four straight on the road, and have only one road conference win on the season.

Max McHugh leads UAH with 17 points and seven goals. Brandon Parker heads the Chargers in assists with 11.

Other top forwards are Jack Prince (5-7-12), Jeff Vanderlugt (5-6-11), and Chad Brears (3-8-11). Frank Misuraca leads the defensemen with six goals and 10 points, and rounds out the list of Chargers with double-digit points.

Carmine Guerriero is third in the WCHA with a .926 save percentage to go along with his 2.61 goals against average.

UAH Tale of the tape
(WCHA rank)		 LSSU
7-18-3
6-14-0 WCHA (T-8th)		 Record 7-22-3
6-16-0 WCHA (T-8th)
1.68 (9th) Goals/game 1.67 (10th)
3.32 (9th) Goals allowed/game 3.40 (10th)
15.6 (2nd) Pen. minutes/game 10.1 (10th)
15.7% (5th) Power play 8.4% (10th)
80.9% (8th) Penalty kill 74.5% (10th)

About the Lakers: Lake Superior State (7-22-3 overall, 6-16-0 WCHA) is tied with the Chargers for eigth place in the WCHA with 12 points. The Lakers have lost three straight, getting swept last weekend at Alaska, following a three-game win streak. Lake Superior is 3-7-0 this season at home.

In a situation somewhat reminiscent of UAH last season, Lake Superior State is at the bottom of just about every major category in the league as they continue to work on rebuilding under first-year head coach Damon Whitten.

Freshman Gordon Defiel has a 3.11 goals against average and a .915 save percentage this season. He has three shutouts, one of which was against the Chargers in Huntsville on November 14.

Senior forward Stephen Perfetto leads the Lakers with eight goals, and has a five-game point scoring streak coming into this series. Junior Bryce Schmitt has seven goals and seven assists to lead LSSU with 14 points.

Freshman defenseman James Roll is the only other Laker with double-digit points with 10. His nine assists leads the team.

WCHA Standings Record Pts.
Minnesota State** 19-2-1 39
Michigan Tech** 17-4-1 35
Bowling Green* 13-4-3 29
Northern Michigan 8-8-4 20
Alaska^ 9-12-1 19
Ferris State 8-12-0 16
Bemidji State 6-10-4 16
Alabama-Huntsville 6-14-0 12
Lake Superior State 6-16-0 12
Alaska-Anchorage 4-14-2 10
** Clinched home ice in first round
* Clinched playoff berth
^ Ineligible for postseason play

Around the WCHA: No more non-conference action — it’s all league play the final four weekends to determine who wins the MacNaughton Cup and clinches home ice and playoff berths. All 10 teams are in action this week.

For the second straight weekend, Bowling Green and Ferris State meet up, this time in Big Rapids, Michigan. BG took both games in Bowling Green last week as it clinched a playoff spot and edge closer to home ice in the first playoff round.

The race for the MacNaughton heats up in Alaska, where both No. 1 Minnesota State and No. 5 Michigan Tech, separated by just four points, visit Fairbanks and Anchorage, respectively.

Bemidji State visits Northern Michigan looking to move up into home ice territory in the standings.

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

Friday, February 13

UAH at Lake Superior State, 6:37 p.m.
#8 Bowling Green at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
Bemidji State at Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.
#5 Michigan Tech at Alaska-Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.
#1 Minnesota State at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.

Saturday, February 14

UAH at Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m.
#8 Bowling Green at Ferris State, 6:07 p.m.
Bemidji State at Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.
#5 Michigan Tech at Alaska-Anchorage, 10:07 p.m.
#1 Minnesota State at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.

Last-minute goals lead to UAH loss against USA U-18s

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UAH showed the could battle with the best talent in America for two days. Although these were exhibition games, the results were still two heartbreaking defeats.

Jeremy Bracco scored the game-winner on a breakaway with 26 seconds left, then got the empty net goal to seal the deal with nine seconds to go to give Team USA a 4-2 victory over the Chargers to finish a two-game exhibition sweep at the Von Braun Center on Sunday.

Team USA outshot UAH 43-13, but the final result was in doubt for about the entire game, similar to Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win on Saturday.

Like Saturday, UAH scored the first goal of the contest. This time, Brandon Carlson did the honors during the Chargers’ second power play, putting in a rebound past Team USA goaltender Luke Opilka at the 8:15 mark. Alex Carpenter and Frank Misuraca, who fired the initial shot from the right point, got the assists.

Another similarity to Friday night’s game was Team USA’s dominance of the second period. Team USA outshot the Chargers 17-3 in the second after leading 17-1 the night before.

Fortunately, Team USA could not parlay it into a lead. They were able to tie the game at 1 on Colin White’s tally at 4:12.

At 9:45, on only the Chargers’ second shot of the period, Alex Carpenter ripped one from near the left circle, beating Opilka on the top left corner to give UAH a 2-1 advantage. He was assisted by Brennan Saulnier and Matt Salhany.

Just 52 seconds later, Team USA knotted the game at 2 as Jack Roslovic was able to shove the puck past UAH goaltender Matt Larose.

The Chargers put the body on Team USA to start the third, but Cody Marooney had a slashing penalty at 9:52 — necessary to stop Team USA from taking the lead.

UAH killed the ensuing power play, but Team USA used it to gain momentum in the Charger end. UAH did not have many chances the rest of the way.

With 1:30 to go in regulation, Larose stopped Brendan Warren’s breakaway opporunity. Then another defensive lapse gave Bracco his own breakaway, which he converted to give Team USA the 3-2 lead.

UAH immediately pulled Larose for the extra attacker, but Bracco the puck and scored the empty-netter for the final result.

Larose finished another solid outing with 39 saves. He stopped 31 of 33 shots on Saturday when he played the second period on.

Next week, the Chargers begin the stretch run in the race for a WCHA playoff berth. UAH, currently tied with Lake Superior State for eighth place in the league, visits second-place Michigan Tech on Friday and Saturday.

UAH returns home on February 20 and 21 to face Ferris State.

Notes: UAH stopped all three Team USA power plays on Sunday, and all eight for the weekend. UAH was 1-for-5 with the power play for the series. … UAH is now 0-7-1 all-time in exhibitions with the U.S. National Under-18 Team.

Michigan Tech 5, UAH 2

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The UAH Chargers (3-11-2, 2-8-0 WCHA) were perfect again on the penalty kill, stopping the Michigan Tech Huskies (12-2-0, 10-2-0 WCHA) on all five opportunities.  Unfortunately, the Chargers couldn’t reprise last night’s perfect special teams performance, falling to the #6/5 team in the country by a 5-2 score, the final marker being an empty-netter.

The Huskies went up early when senior forward and co-captain Tanner Kero (Hancock, Michigan) scored fifth goal of the season unassisted as he and his teammates crashed the net minded by sophomore goaltender Matt Larose (Nanaimo, B.C.).  The Huskies kept up the pressure for the remainder of the period, outshooting the home squad 14-3.  The Chargers’ penalty killers were stout in defense of their net when sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) went off for holding at 14:54.

The Chargers’ power play proved unable to the task early in the second, with two consecutive minor power plays coming off of a high-sticking minor on senior forward David Johnstone (Grande Ledge, Mich.) at 7:06 and hooking by Chris Leibinger (Saginaw, Mich.) at 9:06.  The Chargers again struggled with the pace, being outshot 12-5 in the middle frame.

Carlson atoned for his earlier sins late in the 2nd, ripping in a shot off of the faceoff past Tech junior goalie Jamie Phillips (Caledonia, Ont.).  Carlson’s goal was his third on the season, and he was assisted by freshman forward Brennan Saulnier (Halifax, Nova Scotia), who marked his sixth assist on the year.

Unfortunately for UAH, the momentum was short-lived.  Carlson went to the box for tripping just :19 after his goal (and oddly 19:50 after his first-period infraction), but his teammates again picked up the pace, limiting grade A chances for the Huskies.

The Huskies would pull back ahead 1:08 after the Chargers returned to full strength when junior defenseman Walker Hyland (Woodbury, Minn.) picked up the puck just above the dot in the right-wing circle and ripped it through a forest of bodies in front of Larose (0-5-1, 32 sv) to move the score to 2-1.  After that point, the Huskies would never trail again.

The Michiganders took it up a notch when the Kero-Petan-Gould line struck again.  The trio were each +3 on the evening, with each netting a goal.  It was junior forward and assistant captain Alex Petan‘s (Delta, B.C.) turn with just :38.5 in the 2nd, ripping a shot from the high slot that came to him because of the relentless pressure of his line.  Petan’s shot froze Larose, with the missile rising over his shoulder to the top shelf.

Petan would give the Chargers a chance to narrow the game 1:12 into the third when Petan was whistled for a hooking minor.  A tripping minor by Saulnier 1:25 later negated the advantage, however, and the Chargers would have to wait another 4:20 for some signs of life — other than sophomore forward Matt Salhany‘s (Warwick, R.I.) Brian-Rolston-like shorthanded dash into a slapshot from the right-wing dot.

The Chargers were pressing from around the 6:40 mark.  Senior defenseman Ben Reinhardt (Arnprior, Ont.) fed a D-to-D pass to freshman defenseman Brandon Parker (Faribault, Minn.), who ripped a slapshot so hard that he broke his stick.  Instead of Parker retrieving a stick, junior defenseman Frank Misuraca (Clinton Township, Mich.) swapped into the game and skated to the top of the RW circle.  After Reinhardt kept the puck in, he moved it closer in to freshman forward Max McHugh (Seattle, Wash.), who saw Misuraca near the blue line with time and space.  Receiving the pass, Frank edged closer to the center of the ice, wound up, and fired through traffic and past Phillips (12-2-0, 13 sv).  Misuraca’s goal was his fourth of the year, and it was the fifth assist for McHugh and first for Reinhardt.  McHugh’s marker would push him to a team-leading eight points.

At that point, Phillips left the net for an equipment malfunction with his pads, giving sophomore goaltender Matt Wintjes (Holland Landing, Ont.) his first game action of the season.  Phillips returned quickly and would proceed to stop all five shots he saw for the remainder of the game.

Junior forward Malcolm Gould (North Vancouver, B.C.) gave the Huskies some breathing room, potting his fifth goal of the season at 6:57 of the third on an assist from Kero.  While the Huskies would give the Chargers some life a minute later when Johnstone took a slashing penalty, the blue and white would not raise their sticks in celebration.

The last gasp for the Chargers came with just 1:51 left in regulation when Petan took an interference penalty.  UAH coach Mike Corbett called timeout and pulled Larose for a sixth skater.  The Chargers held the puck in for a while, but senior forward Blake Hietala (Houghton, Mich.) made his hometown team happy, potting a short-handed, empty net goal at 18:56.  Matching minors to Leibinger and Carlson at 19:24 finished the scoresheet.

The series in a nutshell: a decided speed and skill advantage by the Huskies, who drew penalties from the Chargers when they were afraid of being beaten; strong penalty killing (12-for-12 on the weekend); and the boys hanging in while being outshot 34-14 and 37-15.  UAH had a litmus test this weekend: how would it fare against one of the top two teams in the league in their own building?  This wasn’t a weekend like the one earlier this season in Mankato, where the Mavericks out-shot UAH 57-18 and 41-9 on the way to a sweep.  Given that the Huskies played the Mavs last weekend to two one-goal games, 2-1 and 3-2, you can sorta hand-wave a transitive theory and show how the Chargers have grown as the season has gotten along.

As I left the arena, I chatted with some Tech fans who’d made it down for the games.  One of them said, “You’ll be in the playoffs if you keep playing like this.”  While the Chargers are tied for 7th in the league, they’ve played more league games (10) than any of the other three teams at four points (8, with Alaska down 3-1 to Northern as I finish this recap).  This makes it harder for UAH to keep pace.

The Chargers have played four of their six games against the cream of the WCHA, with a return trip to Houghton at the end of January.  BG is definitely up there as well, and the Chargers have to go on the road to face the Falcons to end the season in what very well could be a trip for a playoff seed.  UAH has to do well against old pal Lance West and his Alaska Nanooks both in two weeks and when the kids come from Fairbanks to Huntsville in late February.  The Chargers also host the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage in the first home series of 2015.  Two wins in the next four league tilts would buoy any playoff hopes.

The Chargers are off next weekend, as finals are this next week at the University.  They will next play Alaska in Fairbanks at 10:07 p.m. starts.  We’ll have coverage then, but it could be slow here this week while Michael and I take a bit of a breather.

Michigan Tech 4, UAH 2

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UAH (3-10-2, 2-7-0 WCHA) was perfect on special teams on tonight, killing all seven Michigan Tech (11-2-0, 9-2-0 WCHA) penalties, scoring on their own power play, and potting a short-handed goal just 1:08 into the game.  But sharp-angle shots and relentless forechecking by the #6/5 team in Division I saw the Huskies come away with a narrow 4-2 win (on an empty netter) in front of 1,880 fans — many of whom were clad in Black and Gold — at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala.

Senior forward Craig Pierce (Roswell, Ga.) got the crowd fired up just a minute into the game, breaking out of the Chargers’ end with the puck and slashing through the slot.  He whiffed on his first shot, but the puck stayed with him and he slipped one past Husky junior goaltender Jamie Phillips (Caledonia, Ont.) for a 1-0 lead.  The goal was Pierce’s third of the season and the Chargers’ third SHG of the 2014-15 campaign.  Assists were credited to sophomore forward Brent Fletcher (4th of season, New Westminster, B.C.) and sophomore forward Cody Marooney (3rd, Eden Prairie, Minn.).

Tech freshman forward Dylan Steman (Hanover, Minn.) would knot the game at one with his second collegiate goal, scoring when a delayed penalty call 0n freshman defenseman Cody Champagne (Brookfield, Conn.) let the Huskies use their speed advantage to slice along the boards in front of the Chargers’ bench and let Steman find a pass from junior forward C.J. Eick (Appleton, Wisc.).  The assist was Eick’s first of the year.

The Chargers would then kill Champagne’s penalty — we’re told that goals on delayed penalties do not vacate the penalty as they do in most leagues — and one by sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) just 2:35 later.  In all, the Chargers killed four penalties in the first period, and it felt like the Chargers were doing well to stay with the pack.  Optimism reigned that the penalties would slow.

Indeed, that optimism was met, with the Chargers committing just three penalties for the rest of the game, one coming in the late minute when Fletcher was whistled for charging.  Unfortunately for UAH, time at even strength did not lead to many shots on goal, as Tech showed their bona fides as a top-flight team.  The Huskies took a 2-1 lead 2:21 into the second period when freshman forward Alex Gillies (Vernon, B.C.) scored on a low-angle shot from the left circle that beat Charger sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Que.) high over the right shoulder.

The Chargers registered just four shots on goal in the second frame against 12 for the Huskies.  Lest you be worried that the overall shot differential of 34-14 was influenced by killing seven penalties, the Huskies landed just seven shots on goal in those opportunities.

One Charger shot did find twine, as senior forward Jeff Vanderlugt (Richmond Hill, Ont.) pounded a puck home off of a feed from junior forward Jack Prince (Leicester, England).  The goal was Vanderlugt’s team-leading fourth of the season, with Prince recording his fifth assist (and team-lead-tying seventh point).  Freshman defenseman Brandon Parker (Fairbault, Minn.) notched his team-leading seventh assist of the year.

The Chargers didn’t keep the game level for long, as sophomore defenseman Shane Hanna (Salmon Arm, B.C.) winged a puck at the net from an even steeper angle than Gillies, beating Guerriero (3-6-1, 30 sv) to put the Huskies up again.  The Chargers would kill two more penalties in the remaining minutes of the second, but the visitors carried a one-goal lead into the locker room for the second intermission.

UAH came out stronger in the third, bringing more pressure and getting deeper into the Husky defense.  But Phillips (11-2-0, 12 sv) stopped all six Charger shots on goal, keeping his teammates clean on the defensive end.  Assistant captain and sophomore defenseman Cliff Watson (Appleton, Wisc.) ended the Chargers’ attempts at a comeback, lofting a puck that rolled past a Charger lunging to swipe it into the corner.  Fletcher’s final penalty with :37.5 left ended any chance that the Chargers had in coming back.

Mike Corbett tells me all the time that there are no moral victories, and he’s right.  But I heard a number of people — my old broadcast partner Mike Anderson being one of them — tell me that they were proud to see the strides that this team had made.  This wasn’t last year’s blowout against top team St. Cloud State.  This was a solid effort from a team in the bottom half of the WCHA against a team at the top of the league.  You’re not going to win a lot of those games, but it’s not unreasonable to think that the Chargers couldn’t come out and win this one tomorrow night.  We’ll see if that happens, even though there will be few paying attention given that we’re up against the Iron Bowl.  Oh well.

Special teams notes

UAH is now 7th in the nation in PIM/G at 17.1, less than a minor a game out of 2nd and just a major behind Cornell in 1st (22.4), who have played just eight contests.  The Chargers’ combined special teams are still #2 in the country, with a 64.0% rate that comes in just 1.0% behind #1 Harvard.

UAH 3, Ferris State 2

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The boys are back.  I repeat, the boys are back.

The Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (3-8-2 overall, 2-5-0 WCHA) never trailed in this hockey game, scoring in the first two minutes and holding the lead for the next 31:08.  The homestanding Ferris State Bulldogs (6-6-0 overall, 3-4-0 WCHA) pulled even midway through the second, but two third-period goals pushed the home fans to the brink, and the Chargers held on for a 3-2 win at the Robert L. Ewigleben Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.

The Chargers are now 3-1-1 in their last five games.  Their last two-game win streak against Division I opponents came when that Cam Talbot guy was in net, backstopping the Herd to the 2010 CHA Championship.  The last stretch of at least 3-1-1 was also in 2010, when UAH won the replacement game from the Amy Bishop shooting at Niagara, lost by one goal and tied Bemidji at the VBC next weekend, and then beat Robert Morris and the Purple Eagles for that NCAA berth.

If you want to look at the last three-game winning streak, it also comes that season: two wins at home against Niagara, a road win there before being called home, then a home win against the Colonials.  Oh, and last night, Talbot shut out the Flyers and Bemidji alumnus Matt Read.  #CHAForever

There are three major stories to the evening’s proceedings.  They are: junior forward Chad Brears (Cold Lake, Alta.), an overtaxed but strong penalty kill, and sophomore netminder Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Que.), who made his fourth start in five games.

Brears

Brears hadn’t lit the lamp all season, but he did it twice tonight on five shots-on-goal.  His first goal came at 1:48 of the first, when a splendid feed across the goal mouth from freshman forward Max McHugh (Seattle, Wash.) and an entry pass from senior defenseman Graeme Strukoff (Chilliwack, B.C.) gave him the time, space, and angle that he needed to rip the puck hard past Ferris senior goaltender CJ Motte (St. Claire, Mich., 6-6-0, 15 sv).  The primary assist put McHugh temporarily atop the team’s scoring chart.

Brears would score the game-winning goal on the power play in the third, when a point shot rattled from freshman defenseman Brandon Parker (Faribault, Minn.) around and found his stick after touching that of junior forward Jack Prince (Leicester, England).  The assists for Parker and Prince pushed them to six points, alongside McHugh.  It was a fine night for Chad.  Cheers, buddy.

Penalty Kill

After giving up three, third-period power play goals against Air Force, the Chargers limited Lake Superior to one on Friday and none in ten on Saturday.  Tonight, the Chargers again had problems staying out of the box, committing nine minor penalties resulting in eight power play chances for the homesteading Bulldogs.  The Chargers nearly killed them all, but the Bulldogs struck gold on their seventh when sophomore forward and New York Islanders draftee Kyle Schempp (Saginaw, Mich.) scored to make it a 3-2 game.

A late-period interference penalty by Strukoff led to the Bulldogs pulling Motte for an extra attacker with around :50 left.  While you hate to see them get all the opportunities, the fact is that the Chargers have killed 21 of their last 23 penalties, a 91.3% clip that’s well above their season rate of 84%.

One concern that I (and I’m sure that many of you as well) have with all the penalties is that you take Prince off of the ice.  Anyone who’s watched UAH play even-strength hockey for any length of time has come away with good impressions of Prince and his freshman linemates Brennan Saulnier (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and Josh Kestner (Rocket City, U.S.A.).  Prince leads the team in shots on goal (30) despite losing ice time every time that his team is down by a man or more.  Saluter is second with 24 and Kestner fifth with 19.  With UAH mired at 1.92 goals per game, you want your volume shooters out there as often as you can.

Guerriero

What is there to say about Guerriero?  Last year’s squad struggled with puck possession, and when they did finally get it across the center line, they were often there just to dump, change, and chase.  What we’re seeing right now is a lot better than that, but it still starts between the pipes for the Chargers.  CG35 made 36 saves as the Bulldogs outshot UAH 38-18.  If he wasn’t the best player in blue out on the ice tonight — you could argue that Brears was — he was in the top two or three.

The confidence that exudes from Guerriero radiates out through his teammates, and it’s really clear to me that Parker and fellow freshman defensemen Cody Champagne (Brookfield, Conn.) and Richard Buri (Nitra, Slovakia) know what to do with the puck when they get just a little room to move it out of the zone.  Combine their work with that of Strukoff, senior Ben Reinhardt (Arnprior, Ont.),  junior Frank Misuraca (Clinton Township, Mich.) ,and sophomore Brandon Carlson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and the Chargers have a solid D core that feels like it improves every weekend.

But it’s always going to stop and start with the fantastic Québécois, who pushed his GAA down to 2.23 and his SV% up to .939.  The WCHA is clearly a goalies’ league, what with Motte (8th), Northern Michigan’s Mathias Dahlström (Smedjebacken, Sweden, 1st), and Michigan Tech’s Jamie Phillips (Caledonia, Ont., 2nd) all in the top ten of Division I net minders in terms of goals-allowed average.  Guerriero currently stands at 31st, but more outstanding efforts from him that are coincident with his teammates limiting shot opportunities and strongly possessing the puck could see him pick up his first collegiate shutout.  (I’m sure that folks in Bemidji might start in here by saying something about small sample sizes, but the only people that take that course at Bemidji are math majors, and …)

Random thoughts

  • The go-ahead goal from junior forward Alex Carpenter (Portage, Mich.) was a fantastic workmanlike goal.  He and Saulnier worked to corral a bouncing puck low.  Carpenter hasn’t gotten to play competitive hockey since 2010-11, his final year in the USHL.  After not getting ice at Western Michigan, he came to Huntsville and seems to have found a place to play after sitting out a transfer year.  Alex, we’re excited for you.
  • Sophomore forward Cody Marooney (Eden Prairie, Minn.) just kept popping off of my TV screen tonight.  He had two shots on goal, stick-checked a number of pucks, and was really active on the PK.  The Shattuck St. Mary’s product should be joined next season by his brother Joey.
  • Carlson (3), Brears, and Marooney were the only Chargers with more than one SOG.  I’d do something with ±, but they don’t have that for our players.

So the hopes for tomorrow:

  1. Six or fewer minor penalties, no majors.
  2. Fewer than 30 SOG.
  3. At least 28 SOG.
  4. A road sweep.

Keep up with the game tomorrow night, and we’ll be back then.

Oh, one last thing: while the Chargers are 3-1-1 in their last five matches, the hated Bemidji State Beavers are 0-5-0.  The teams are tied for sixth in the WCHA standings with four points apiece.

UAH 5, LSSU 2: It’s Been a Long Time

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Hey, UAH won at home tonight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WzG64syKHA

The last Division I home win was back in January 2011 over our least favorite rodents, Bemidji State, a game where Matt Baxter (Toronto, Ont.) scored two of UAH’s three power-play goals and an unassisted, shorthanded goal by (That Damn) Matt Read wasn’t enough to bring the Beavers level.  It may seem a little painful to think about all what I’ll write next, but I think that it’s important.  Why?  This is another turning point.  This is the way up.  This is our road back to .500.

So the last time UAH won a D-I home game:

So let’s talk about why they won.

“Our PK was 10 for 10, and our power play was 3-for-3,” junior forward Jack Prince (Leicester, England) said.  It’s not often that you can say that your special teams are 100%, and tonight it was for us.  When your special teams are 100%, that’s usually going to be a good result, and for us, tonight, it was.”

Prince’s power-play goal put the nail in the coffin in a 5-2 defeat of WCHA foe Lake Superior State University.  The Lakers fall to 2-10-0 (2-6-0 WCHA) on the season, while the Chargers improve to 2-8-2 (1-5-0).

There were significant changes to the lineup.  Senior defenseman Graeme Strukoff (Chiliwack, B.C.) was in and senior defenseman Ben Reinhardt (Arnprior, Ont.) was out.  Junior defenseman Anderson White (Caledon, Ont.) was in so that sophomore defenseman Brandon Carlson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) could play forward.  Sophomore forward Regan Soquila (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and junior forward Alex Carpenter (Portage, Mich.) left the forward rotation for Carlson and senior forward Jeff Vanderlugt (Richmond Hill, Ont.) respectively.

But the most important lineup move was one that didn’t make a change, as sophomore goaltender Carmine Guerriero (Montréal, Que.) again started in net for the Chargers.  His 23-save effort was enough to move him to 2-4-1 on the season.

For UAH coach Mike Corbett, playing Guerriero both nights was an instinct.  “He was the best player on the ice.  Matt Larose didn’t lose his spot.  [Guerriero]’s playing so well that we just had to give him the extra game.”  Throughout their tenure as a tandem, neither Guerriero nor Larose had started both nights of a weekend, though each had come to relieve the other for the bulk of a start before playing their full game.  The change surprised many, including both Michael and me.

When I spoke with Guerriero late last season, I asked him what he’d be working on over the summer.  I hadn’t even finished the question when he responded with one word: “Conditioning.”  It always felt to me that Corbett felt uneasy about playing either goaltender both nights regardless of the success from the Friday game.  Witness the Air Force weekend: after a solid night on Friday, Carmine gave way to Matt on Saturday, who stopped 36-of-39.  Even after stopping 61 shots in a game last season, Guerriero knew that he’d have to come back stronger for his sophomore campaign.

“I worked hard this summer with my goalie coach, and I think that it paid off, honestly,” Guerriero said.  He was effusive in his praise for his teammates — despite enduring 10 power plays, UAH allowed just 25 shots on goal.  “I was just there in case they needed me.”  When asked if he missed the extra work, he said, “That’s okay.  I like it.  It’s what I’m there for.”

Senior captain Doug Reid (Innisfil, Ont.) was elated after the win.  “It feels great, and it’s been a long time coming,” he said of his first Division I home win.  “We knew that we had to come in and compete.  We really out-worked them, and we got the result that we wanted.”

Reid praised his teammates’ work on the PK.  “We play a very disciplined game when killing penalties.  We know that we’re a defensive team, so our focus is to just get to the puck and get it out.”

The Chargers got goals from five different skaters.  Sophomore forward Cody Marooney (Eden Prairie, Minn.) got the first goal of the night with a shorthanded marker that came most of the way through a bench minor served by Prince for too many men on the ice.  Marooney forced a turnover with pressure and sliced right through the Laker defense and past freshman netminder Gordon Defiel (Stillwater, Minn.), who had just 25 saves on the night.

Freshman defenseman Richard Buri (Nitra, Slovakia) scored fifteen seconds after serving a minor tripping penalty to push the Chargers to 2-0 5:22 into the second period.  Laker goals off of the sticks of senior forward and assistant captain Chris Ciotti (Oxford, Mich.) and sophomore forward Garret Clemment (Wausau, Wisc.) knotted the game up at two apiece with just 3:23 left in the second.

But a tripping penalty by sophomore forward Gus Correale (Prince George, B.C.) set up the Chargers’ power play with their first opportunity of the night after killing seven Laker power plays.  Freshman forward Max McHugh (Seattle, Wash.) made the Lakers pay for their sin a minute into the advantage, and the Chargers would retain a one-goal lead into the third.

The UAH offense would turn into overdrive in the final frame, peppering Defiel with ten shots, including a power-play marker by Vanderlugt in his first action in two weeks.  Prince would roof the puck to finish the Lakers off, laughing off an early miscue.  “I had a wide open net early and hit the post, and I knew then that it would be a long night.”

The Chargers travel to Ferris State next weekend for a tilt against the tough Bulldogs, who nearly doubled their season scoring output with fourteen goals this weekend against Alaska-Anchorage.  “I’m super excited,” Guerriero said.  “It’s a nice rink and very rowdy.  We just want to keep up this momentum that the boys have and pick up two W’s on the road.”

And then there’s Michigan Tech in two weeks, who are the likely #1 when the next round of polls come out, as they defeated Bemidji State tonight to move to 10-0-0 (thanks, boys) while the other unbeaten all lost this weekend.  “I’m excited for that as well,” Guerriero said.  “It’s a challenge, and we want the opportunity to show everyone what we’re capable of.”  The Huskies go to Mankato next weekend to face the Mavericks, and the Verizon Wireless Center is a tough place to play.  That said, the Huskies are rolling right now, and we could have the #1 team in town the day after Thanksgiving.