For the Charger hockey squad, things were looking up after a sweep of CHA foe Findlay in the friendly confines of the Von Braun Center. UAH could control its destiny in its seeding for the College Hockey America tournament. Overtaking Wayne State firmly entrenched atop the standings was likely out of the picture for the Chargers but finishing in second and earning a bye in the first round of the tourney was certainly within reach.
After this weekend, UAH no longer controls its own destiny after being swept in Colorado Springs by Air Force who entered the weekend with only one previous win in conference play. With only 15 points in the standings and only four CHA contests remaining, UAH will need some help to finish in the upper tier of the conference.
On Friday night, Air Force drew first blood against Charger netminder Mark Byrne as Mike Carrano scored his first goal of the season 2:36 into the game. UAH would bounce back with goals from Steve Charlebois and Craig Bushey before the first period horn sounded. Shane Saum knotted things at two with the only goal of the second period.
Aided by the power play, Charlebois scored his second of the night and 11th of the season to give UAH a 3-2 advantage before things fell apart. Brian Gornick tied things up at the 7:19 mark of the third and then the Falcons rattled off the three fastest goals in CHA history scoring the trifecta in a mere 35 seconds of action.
The Chargers drew first blood on Saturday night as Bushey netted his second goal of the weekend just over three minutes into the contest. Air Force responded with a game-tying power-play measure at 12:06. Each time UAH took the lead, Air Force would respond with a goal of their own it seemed. Charlebois, Jared Ross, and Joel Bresciani each scored giving UAH a lead as late as 3:20 into the third period. Gornick scored his third goal of the series and second of the night only 32 seconds after Bresciani's to take away UAH's lead for good.
The Falcons took their first lead at 5-4 with over five minutes remaining and then added an empty-net goal to score their sixth and eventual game winner as Bresciani pulled UAH back within one goal with ten seconds remaning. Sophomore netminder Adam MacLean took the loss for UAH making 32 saves as the Chargers were outshot 38-29.
The twelve goals given up by the Charger defense were the most ever in a CHA series by UAH. The last time Air Force won two games in a row against UAH was in the 1989-90 season when the Chargers went 10-22-3.
