Following a short break for Christmas, the Chargers traveled to Storrs, Conn., to compete in the annual UConn Classic hosted by the University of Connecticut. The first round saw a barnburner of a game with the Chargers toppling eighth-ranked Ferris State 5-4 in overtime before UAH brought home their second UConn Classic title with a 4-2 victory over CHA rival Findlay.
In Sunday's contest, senior forward Gerald Overton picked the right moment to score his second goal of the season as the 150 Mile House, British Columbia native beat FSU netminder Mike Brown to give the Chargers their first win over a ranked opponent this season. With assists from senior captain Mike Funk and sophomore Keith Rowe, Overton's goal at the 4:02 mark of the extra frame also picked up the first overtime win for UAH in the past two seasons.
Posting a three-point afternoon, senior forward Karlis Zirnis became the first player wearing a Charger sweater to pass the century mark in points at the Division I level. The Riga, Latvia native scored the game's first goal and later added a pair of assists to reach the 100-point level in his career. The Charger offense was also sparked by senior defenseman Ryan Leasa who scored his first two goals of the season.
Netting his sixth goal of the season, Zirnis opened up the scoring in the match at the 4:51 mark of the first giving UAH a 1-0 advantage with assists from sophomore linemates Craig Bushey and Jared Ross. The Bulldogs' Troy Milam took advantage of the power play with just under five minutes remaining in the period knotting the game at one before Ferris State added two more tallies within two minutes to take a 3-1 lead into the first break.
With freshman Todd Bentley off the ice in the penalty box, Leasa gave the Chargers a huge momentum boost scoring a short-handed measure making it a 3-2 contest just over five minutes into the second. The line of Zirnis, Ross and Bushey then scored their second of the night as Ross beat Brown to make it 3-3 at the 9:14 mark of the second before Leasa scored his second of the night and the period on the power play just before the period expired.
The Bulldogs tied the contest up at the 11:19 mark of the third but FSU would never regain the lead as the UAH defense that killed off six penalties on the tightened its belt and got the job done.
Rookie netminder Scott Munroe notched his fifth straight win improving to 5-2 on the season making 26 saves en route to the victory.
Monday's championship proved to be what most expected, a tough hard-nosed contest between two CHA foes.
Falling behind 1-0 early, UAH battled back as Senior forward Steve Charlebois knotted the game at one just over five minutes into the contest. The Oilers regained the lead in the second period as DJ Voght scored UF's second shorthanded goal of the afternoon at the 2:07 mark. That lead was short lived however as the Chargers finally used the power play to their advantage as freshman defender Jeremy Schrieber beat UF netminder Kevin Fines 42 seconds later.
The match would be all UAH the rest of the way as senior captain Mike Funk scored the game winner at 3:23 of the second and the Chargers held on with Charlebois scoring the game's final goal with an empty-netter with 32 ticks remaining.
Senior netminder Mark Byrne grabbed the win between the pipes stopping 28 Oiler attempts along with picking up a rare goaltender assist on Charlebois' second goal.
Following his outstanding performance in the tournament, senior defenseman Leasa earned the tournament's Most Oustanding Player honors as well as being named to the all-tournament team along with fellow teammate Funk. Leasa also picked up CHA Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts.
With the win, the Chargers have reached the .500 mark for the season at 7-7-2 going 7-1-2 in the last ten outings and are now 4-0 all-time in the UConn tournament as UAH won the event in their only previous appearance in 1998.
Next Series: Fairfield, Jan. 3 & 4
HUNTSVILLE - Charger Radio is proud to announce its partnership with SportsJuice.com to provide online broadcasts of UAH Men's Ice Hockey for the 2002-2003 season.
Fans will be able to log in to the Charger Radio website at http://www.sportsjuice.com/providers/uah/ or click on the logo and follow the Chargers as they embark on their most difficult schedule in the 23 year history of the team.
Mike Anderson and Geof Morris will anchor the first broadcast team to cover all Charger hockey contests, home and away. "This is a great opportunity for fans both in Huntsville and around the world to follow Charger hockey like never before," said Anderson. "We've assembled a dedicated team who will work hard to present all of the action on the ice."
Anderson and Morris will be assisted by George Olden on location and Jim Chaloupka in the studio for all 34 regular-season contests and post-season contests.
During the 2001-2002 season, Charger Radio was able to provide internet broadcasts of some UAH games, including the College Hockey America tournament. Due to technical difficulties, fans had problems listening in to games last season. "SportsJuice.com is going to enable us to overcome the technical hurdles that limited our broadcasts last year," said Morris of the partnership. "That will make for a much more enjoyable experience, not only for our fans, but for Mike and I, since we know that we'll be getting our broadcast out to as many listeners as we can."
The Charger hockey season begins October 18 when the Chargers travel to Madison, Wisconsin to face the Wisconsin Badgers. Fans can tune in to the pre-game show 30 minutes prior to face off.
Charger Radio is a student-run radio station at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The station is funded by student activities fees and outside underwriting. Charger Radio plans to begin its full broadcast schedule in January 2003.
