The Chargers headed into the weekend desperately needing a series split to hang on to the top slot in the College Hockey America standings. However, the boys in blue could not come away with a win against the Wayne State Warriors and were swept at home for the first time in school history by a visiting CHA team. The pair of wins by WSU moved the Warriors ahead of UAH in the CHA standings marking the first time this year that the Chargers were not in the top position.
Friday night's contest would conjure up sore memories of a contest last March played at the VBC between the Chargers and the Warriors. That game decided the CHA Tournament championship with the Chargers outshooting the Warriors in that battle but WSU netminder Dave Guerrera was the deciding factor turning away 35 shots to clinch the title. Final Score: 4-1. Just as in the championship game, WSU drew first blood in the match as Jon Brink hammered home a Chris Vail rebound to put the Warriors ahead 1-0.
Freshman Craig Bushey got things going for the Charger offensively with five seconds remaining in the period scoring an unassisted breakaway goal just before the close of the period. Little did anyone know that the rookie's goal would be the lone measure for UAH. Despite hammering out 21 shots in the first period, Bushey's was the only one to find the back of the net.
The score remained knotted at one late in the second period, when junior Jason Hawes made a critical turnover in his own zone on the power play allowing Jason Durbin to take the puck and score a one-on-one goal against netminder Mark Byrne. Brink pushed the WSU lead to 3-1 just over half way into the third period before he completed his first career hat trick with a power-play goal with 49 seconds remaining in the game.
Byrne turned away 37 saves in the losing effort for the Chargers, while the powerplay unit was 0-for-6.
Durbin and the Warriors decided early on Saturday night that they were determined to leave Huntsville atop the conference standings. The junior scored the opening measure a mere 20 seconds into the battle putting the Chargers down early. The Chargers would get three power-play chances in the opening stanza but they could not get anything going.
Jack Redwood and Billy Collins pushed the Warriors out in front by three goals before the Chargers finally ended their power-play drought as junior Tyler Butler got UAH on the board at the 8:03 mark of the second. Senior captain Kevin Ridgeway used the power-play again to pull within two goals at 13:44.
Just when UAH had pulled back within reach of Wayne State, Durbin and Redwood put a dagger in the Charger's comeback hopes putting the Warriors ahead 5-2. Charger freshman Keith Rowe pulled the blue and white back within two goals converting a two-on-one opportunity with fellow rookie Jared Ross. Chris Vail pushed the WSU lead back to three at 6-3 with a power-play goal early in the third before Steve Charlebois netted the games final goal at the 14:56 mark.
Guerrera turned away 37 Charger shots in the win, while sophomore netminder Adam MacLean took the loss for UAH.
UAH-Wayne State Game 1 Boxscore
UAH-Wayne State Game 2 Boxscore
