Tag Archives: Hoof Beats

Hoof Beats: Chargers sport five jerseys, including ’96 throwbacks

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The UAH locker room at the Von Braun Center, displaying the five sweaters the Chargers will wear this season.

The UAH locker room at the Von Braun Center, displaying the five sweaters the Chargers will wear this season. (Photo by UAH Athletics)

UAH revealed the jerseys the Chargers will wear in the 2015-16 season in a photo of their Von Braun Center locker room on Tuesday.

The Chargers will wear five different sweaters this season:

  • Home white: A couple of alterations were made to the white jerseys the Chargers wore the last two seasons. The shoulder yoke is now blue, and the blue stripe on the sleeve and waist is thicker.
  • Road blue: Unchanged.
  • Alternate gray: Unchanged.
  • Alternate black: Black version of the road sweater, with a blue shoulder yoke like  the one on the home white.
  • Throwback: For the first time in program history, the Chargers will wear throwback jerseys. These are the home whites to honor the 20th anniversary of the 1995-96 NCAA Division II national champions.

Michael’s opinion: The home whites look better simply because there is more blue, but I still think there’s too much black with “UAH” and the player number for my taste. I’m thrilled we still have the glorious road blues, because I don’t care much for the alternate blacks at all, although I bet I’m in the minority.

The 1996 Division II national champions. (Photo by UAH Athletics)

The 1996 Division II national champions. (Photo by UAH Athletics)

The throwbacks honoring the 1995-96 Chargers aren’t exact replicas. The throwbacks have the red stripe on the waste along the bottom of the sweater, whereas it was sandwiched between blue stripes in the original. The holes in the word “Alabama” were filled in with red 20 years ago, but not in the throwback (this is an improvement, in my opinion). Also, the number and “C”/”A” on the front suggest the throwback will have the same font as the other current jerseys, not the font from the original. Still, it’s great to see the effort to honor the undefeated national champions in this way. It should stir great memories for longtime UAH fans.

Guerriero on CHN’s All-America team: College Hockey News named UAH’s Carmine Guerriero to its preseason All-America team on Tuesday. The junior was selected as the second-team goaltender.

“Had a .927 save percentage last season while facing more shots per minute than any goaltender in the country. Edges out [Michigan Tech’s] Jamie Phillips and [Boston College’s] Thatcher Demko, who had offseason hip surgery and may miss the early part of the season.”

Chargers on TV: UAH’s home game with Alaska on Jan. 8 will be televised by American Sports Network, select affiliates of the Sinclair Networks Group and on several regional sports networks around the country.

The game is one of two WCHA contests ASN will broadcast as part of a deal to televise 30 college hockey games this season. The deal also includes Hockey East, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, and ECAC Hockey.

Hoof Beats: Three ways to get in

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Unfortunately, the Chargers could not yet punch their ticket into the WCHA playoffs over the weekend due to the disappointing losses to Alaska in the final home series of the season. However, UAH still has three ways to clinch a playoff spot in the regular season’s final week.

Here is the bottom part of the WCHA standings. Two teams will be the seventh and eighth seeds in the WCHA playoffs, while the last-place team will be out (remember that Alaska is ineligible, meaning ninth place gets in this season). For more on playoff possibilities and predictions for the whole league, visit Geof’s WCHA Playoff Prediction Blog.

Team W L T Pts.
8. Alabama-Huntsville 7 18 1 15
8. Lake Superior State 7 18 1 15
10. Alaska-Anchorage 5 19 2 12

 

The Chargers need ONE of the following to happen this weekend:

1. Get a point at Bowling Green. UAH needs only a win or tie at No. 13 Bowling Green to earn a playoff berth. Getting that in front of BG’s Bleacher Creatures won’t be easy as the Falcons are 8-5-1 at home this season, and they beat the Chargers 5-0 and 4-1 in Huntsville back in October. Bowling Green is also smarting after losing to Alaska-Anchorage 6-1 on Saturday, which dropped the Falcons into the Pairwise bubble for an NCAA tournament at-large bid, so don’t look for a respite from BG even though it has locked down the third seed in the WCHA tournament. But if this was possible last season…

2. Alaska-Anchorage loses or ties. The same Alaska Nanooks who swept the Chargers over the weekend are now our strongest allies. Alaska-Anchorage must sweep their in-state rivals in Anchorage this week to stay alive (and to win the Governor’s Cup) and hope UAH gets swept to outright pass the Chargers, who have the tie-breaker over Anchorage with their sweep of the Seawolves in Huntsville on Jan. 2-3. The Seawolves stunned the Nanooks in Fairbanks back in mid-January with a pair of one-goal victories, but then lost nine in a row to plummet to the bottom of the WCHA standings before their win over Bowling Green on Saturday.

3. Lake Superior State is swept by Ferris State. UAH and Lake Superior State are tied with identical conference records (7-18-1, 15 points), and the Chargers have the tiebreaker over the Lakers with their 2-1-1 record against them this season. That means if UAH is swept by Bowling Green and Alaska-Anchorage sweeps Alaska, the Chargers would need Lake Superior to get swept and stay at 15 points to use that tiebreaker and get into the playoffs. If the Lakers get any ties or wins in this situation, UAH would be out.

Best get that point at Bowling Green and end all uncertainty.

Carmine Guerriero (Photo by Doug Eagan)

Carmine Guerriero (Photo by Doug Eagan)

Guerriero nominated for Richter Award: UAH’s Carmine Guerriero is one of 28 nominees for the 2015 Mike Richter Award, given to the most outstanding goaltender in NCAA Division I. The award is presented by Let’s Play Hockey and the Herb Brooks Foundation.

Guerriero has a .926 save percentage, which is fourth best in the WCHA and 18th best in the country. The sophomore from Montreal, Quebec has a 2.58 goals against average and has made at least 30 saves in 15 games this season, including a 54-save performance at Minnesota State on October 24.

Five finalists will be announced on March 18, with the winner being presented at the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four in Boston.

Year-end banquet date announced: The annual end-of-year UAH hockey banquet will take place at Spragins Hall on Wednesday, April 1, at 7 p.m.

The price of a ticket to the event is $25 per person, with the opportunity to sponsor a player’s dinner at the banquet for $25 as well. There will be several silent auction items at the event as well as the chance to sit with your favorite player at dinner.

Payments will be accepted at the door upon arrival. You can RSVP online, or if you have any other questions, please email UAH director of hockey operations Nick Laurila at nick.laurila@uah.edu.

Hoof Beats: Final home games for seniors

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2014-15 seniors

The 2014-15 seniors. Top to bottom: Jeff Vanderlugt, Graeme Strukoff, Craig Pierce, Doug Reid, Ben Reinhardt, Alex Carpenter. (Photo by UAH Athletics/Doug Eagan)

Saturday night will be final time coming off the Propst Arena ice for six senior Chargers. They will be honored before the final home game of the season against Alaska.

The 2014-15 seniors are:

Alex Carpenter (Portage, Mich.): Alex transferred to UAH after two years at Western Michigan last season and sat it out because of NCAA transfer rules. He became a regular in the lineup, with three goals and four assists in 30 games.

Craig Pierce (Roswell, Ga.): Craig became an alternate captain this season. In 101 career games with the Chargers, he has nine goals and five assists. He is 3-1-4 this season in 22 games.

Doug Reid (Innisfil, Ont.): Captain of the Chargers the last two years. Doug has played in 120 career games at UAH, scoring four goals and dishing 12 assists.

Ben Reinhardt (Arnprior, Ont.): A defenseman who led the team in blocks last season, Ben returned to the lineup from injury last weekend. In 97 career games at UAH, he has eight assists.

Graeme Strukoff (Chilliwack, B.C.): Graeme has played 114 games at defenseman for UAH, scoring four goals and 14 assists for 18 points.

Jeff Vanderlugt (Richmond Hill, Ont.): Jeff has the most career points on this year’s Charger squad with 32, scoring 19 goals and 13 assists in 101 games. He led the Chargers in goals with seven in the 2012-13 season.

Westy back in Huntsville: Lance West, assistant coach for Alaska, has now coached against his alma mater in two series. Both of those were in Fairbanks, so this weekend’s series will be the first time he’s been on a coaches bench at the VBC since he was an assistant for UAH under Doug Ross from 2000-07.

West is in his fifth season as a Nanooks assistant coach. He is 15th on the Chargers’ all-time varsity scoring list with 113 points on 45 goals and 68 assists, playing from 1991-95.

Mini shuttles will be given away to the first 500 fans at Saturday's game.

Mini shuttles will be given away to the first 500 fans at Saturday’s game.

This week’s promotions: On Friday night, the first 500 fans will receive a set of UAH hockey trading cards. The first 500 fans to Saturday’s game receive a free mini-shuttle courtesy of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Puck drop is 7:07 p.m. both nights.

Kids 12 and under get free admission to both games courtesy of Huntsville International Airport.

Blue Line Club luncheon: For the last time this season, come meet and greet with the coaches at the Blue Line Club luncheon. Alaska head coach Dallas Ferguson and UAH head coach Mike Corbett will speak this Friday at noon in the Varsity Room at Spragins Hall.

Terranova’s is catering. Tickets are $8 at the door, and free for Blue Line Club members.

Hoof Beats: McHugh is WCHA’s rookie of the week

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Max McHugh

Max McHugh (Photo by Doug Eagan)

UAH freshman center Max McHugh was named the WCHA’s Rookie of the Week on Monday.

McHugh scored the game-winner in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Lake Superior State. His power-play goal in the third period broke a 1-1 tie.

The Seattle native leads the Chargers with eight goals and 18 points this season. He is fourth among freshmen in the WCHA in points.

Doug Reid, who scored a goal in each game this weekend at Lake Superior, was nominated for WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. Carmine Guerriero, who stopped 25 of 26 shots in both games, was nominated for WCHA Defensive Player of the Week.

Ferris State approaches: The Chargers are now alone in eighth place in the WCHA, which is also the seventh seed among playoff eligible teams. They have a chance to move up this weekend with the Ferris State Bulldogs coming to the Von Braun Center. Puck drop on Friday and Saturday nights is 7:07 p.m.

UAH, with 15 league points, is three behind Ferris State. A Charger sweep would pass the Bulldogs, who are coming off a split at home to No. 8 Bowling Green.

The Chargers and Bulldogs split their series in Big Rapids, Mich. in November. UAH won the first game 3-2 and lost the second game 5-2. More to come in our series preview on Thursday.

This week’s promotions: On Friday, the first 500 fans will receive a set of UAH hockey trading cards. The first 500 fans to Saturday’s game receive a free pair of UAH thunder stick noise makers. As always this season, kids 12 and under get free admission courtesy of Huntsville International Airport.

Blue Line Club luncheon: Before every home series, come meet and greet with the coaches at the Blue Line Club luncheon. Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels and UAH head coach Mike Corbett will speak this Friday at noon in the Varsity Room at Spragins Hall.

Terranova’s is catering. Tickets are $8 at the door, and free for Blue Line Club members.