The longest unbeaten streak in the nation was snapped last weekend, as the Chargers couldn't take the measure of the Northern Michigan Wildcats, and fell by the scores of 7-3 and 2-0.
Friday night saw Scott Munroe in net for the Chargers squaring off against Craig Kowalski's Wildcats. Play was even in the first period until a Karlis Zirnis checking from behind penalty turned into a major and game misconduct at the 12:38 mark. With one of their premiere special teams players back in the locker room, the Chargers would allow three goals in the 5-minute power play. Dirk Southern's fifth of the season found the back of the net at 14:22. Terry Harrison would follow it up 19 seconds later with his ninth of the year. Harrison put another behind Munroe at 17:05 before the power play expired. Kevin Gardner closed out scoring in the first period, netting his second of the year with just 41seconds remaining in the opening frame. The Chargers, back on their heels from the five-minute disadvantage, were outshot 20-8 in the period.
The first period was all Munroe would see of the ice Friday, as Coach Doug Ross elected to put senior Mark Byrne between the pipes to try and shake things up for the already down Chargers. Things didn't quite go to plan, as Cockburn would put the Wildcats' first shot of the period past Byrne at the 0:29 mark to keep the rally alive for the Wildcats. All told, Northern would score all seven of their goals before the Chargers erased the goose-egg. Bryce Cockburn found the twine again at 8:24, and Harrison completed the hat trick, the first of his career, on the power play at 15:28. Jared Ross finally answered back for the Chargers with his tenth of the year in the closing minute of the second period with assists from Ryan Leasa and Craig Bushey. The Chargers began getting their legs underneath them, outshooting the home team 13-9 in the second.
The third period was all Blue, as they refused to quit down the stretch. Jason Tinwick put home a Tyler Butler rebound at 6:28 to score his first goal of the season. Things got chippy towards the end, and Wildcat defenseman Juta Alen spent almost half of the final frame in the penalty box, taking a couple of roughing double-minors. The Chargers took the spark to put another past Kowalski, as Jeremy Schrieber's blast from the blue line would find a home on the power play at 16:48. It wasn't enough though, and the Chargers fell by that 7-3 measure.
Munroe took the loss for the Chargers with 16 saves in 20 minutes of work, dropping to 9-3 on the season with Byrne had making 13 stops in relief. Kowalski got the win for Northern Michigan. The Wildcat power play was too much for the Chargers, netting four goals in seven attempts. The Chargers were 1-6 with the man advantage.
Saturday night's contest smacked of "here we go again," as Munroe would again be in net for the Chargers, with Kowalski coming out for a second helping of the Chargers. Northern struck early, as Gardner put home his second of the weekend and third of the season just 55 seconds into the contest. Munroe would settle down after that, and stop the remaining five shots of the period to send it to the locker room down 1-0.
The second period provided no fresh air for the Chargers, as Gardner put another rebound past Munroe's leg pad at 11:06. It would be all the Wildcats would need, as Kowalski saw fit to stop all 25 Charger shots to get his eighth career shutout, a Northern Michigan school record.
The shutout was the second the Chargers have taken this year. Their first being a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Denver on October 26. The Chargers' weekend sweep takes them to 13-9-2 on the season, while Northern Michigan climbs to 13-10-1. As the Chargers end their non-conference schedule on a sour note, finishing with a 5-8-1 record outside of CHA play, they now focus their attention to the Peters Cup. The Chargers ride a five-game conference winning streak into Colorado Springs as they look to get the season sweep against the Air Force Academy Jan. 31st and Feb. 1st. Games will be played at 8:05 central time both nights. Friday's game can be heard live on ESPN 1450-AM. Saturday's game will air on ESPN 1450-AM on a tape delay, but can be heard live on the internet at http://www.eyecentric.com and http://www.sportsjuice.com/providers/uah.
Next Series: at Air Force, Jan. 31-Feb. 1
Charger Radio is on the air, after a manner of speaking. Charger Radio will be moving the second half of its UAH men’s ice hockey schedule to WTKI-AM, ESPN 1450, where it will broadcast up to 13 of the remaining 18 regular season contests and all post-season play live for the city of Huntsville.
Not only will this affect listeners in the Huntsville area, but internet listeners will be able to listen to a higher quality audio stream at ESPN 1450’s website, http://www.espn1450.com. All games will still be available live via SportsJuice (http://www.sportsjuice.com/providers/uah), as they were in the first half of the season.
“This move will be beneficial for everyone involved,” said play-by-play announcer Mike Anderson. “We are excited to get the games out to the public in an easier to access format, and we’ve had many fans at home games wanting to listen in the arena, so bring your radio to the game!”
UAH hockey broadcasts on ESPN 1450 will begin on January 3 when UAH takes on Fairfield University from the Von Braun Center. Pre-game starts at 6:30 pm, with a face-off at 7:05.
