It's official, the 2000-2001 Chargers are for real. On Friday night, the Chargers went up to Kalamazoo, Mich. and outgunned the homestanding Western Michigan Broncos 6-5 in overtime.
The Chargers blew a 5-3 lead in the third period to force the extra period. But, Ron Baker's goal at 1:49 in overtime to lift the Chargers to victory.
UAH improved to 3-0 on the season, while WMU fell to 1-1-1 going into tonight's second game.
Western Michigan scored first on its home ice with a goal at 7:42 in the first period. Karlis Zirnis evened things up for UAH with a power-play goal off of an assist by Darren Curry at 16:43. The Broncos retook the lead less then 30 seconds later on a goal by Mark Wilkinson and led 2-1 at the end of a period.
The second period belonged to UAH. The Chargers outscored the home team 3-1 to take a 4-3 lead going into the final period. Zirnis tied the game at 2-2 on another power-play goal, with assists from Steve Charlebois and Dwayne Blais 32 seconds into the period.
Jeff Campbell put the Broncos back on top with a goal at 2:20.
Jessi Otis and Darren Curry scored back-to-back goals at 5:18 and 6:49 to give the Chargers their first lead of the game.
Fourty-five seconds into the third period, Curry gave the Chargers a 2-goal lead with his second goal of the season. It was UAH's third power-play goal of the game.
However, the Broncos came roaring back in the third period. Shaun Rose cut the UAH lead to one with a goal at 9:26 into the period. Dana Lattery tied the score 22 seconds later with a shot past Charger goalie Mark Byrne.
In the overtime period, Joel Breciani and Zirnis combined to find Baker for the game winner.
Zirnis and Curry each finished the game with two goals and two assists. Bresciani and Dwayne Blais had two assists each, while Charlebois, Mike Funk and Ryan McCormack had one.
The Chargers will try to remain unbeaten and go for the sweep tonight against the Broncos.
UAH vs Western Michigan Game 1 Box Score
