The "Boys in Blue" came off a short week of practice to take on the Stags of Fairfield University. The Chargers, who have been guilty of playing down to their opposition in the first half of the season, shook that curse and routed the Stags in two games, 8-1 and 8-2.
In their first game in over a month at the Von Braun Center, the Chargers came out with superior speed and power, and took the game to the Stags. Craig Bushey (Fr., Ignace, ON) opened up the scoring for the Chargers with his third tally of the season at the 10:32 mark of the first period, stuffing home a rebound from the stick of Mike Funk (Jr., Newton, Manitoba) over the left leg pad of Stag goaltender Andrew Martin. Jared Ross also got the first of his two helpers on the night.
Fairfield answered just three minutes later, as Steve Calderara found the back of the net on the power play. It would be the only goal Scott Munroe (Fr., Moose Jaw, SK) would allow on the evening, stopping the other 21 Fairfield shots he saw.
The Chargers went on to score seven unanswered goals. Jeremy Schrieber (Fr., Medicine Hat, AB) netted his third of the year, and the game-winning goal, on the power play at 17:55 of the first, Karlis Zirnis (Sr., Riga, Latvia) and Funk picked up the assists.
Seniors Ryan Leasa (Sr., Sarnia, ON) and Joel Bresciani (Sr., Sherwood Park, AB) scored their third and seventh goals respectively in the second period as the Chargers continued the onslaught, allowing only 5 shots on goal in the frame.
The third period Friday night was the fourth-line show, as Steve Milosevski (Jr., Windsor, ON) scored his first two goals of the season consecutively in the third, two minutes apart. Funk put home a short-handed tally to put a cap on a four-point night (1g, 3a). Rookie Todd Bentley (Fr., Livonia, MI) put home his second of the year unassisted to close out the scoring for the Chargers. Munroe's 21-save performance earned the newcomer his first CHA Defensive Player of the Week honor for his efforts.
Saturday night the Chargers came out with the mindset of "the best defense is a good offense" and pounded the Stags into their own zone, allowing Mark Byrne (Sr., Nepean, ON) to see only two shots on goal in the first frame. Bresciani picked up his eighth and ninth goals of the season, including the game winner, and Milosevski grabbing with his third of the weekend and the season were the scoring compliment for the Chargers in the first period.
The pressure continued in the second, as Zirnis put home his seventh and eighth of the season, and Keith Rowe (So., Livonia, MI) netted his first of two on the evening, and fifth of the year. Fairfield finally got on the board in the third period when Dan Cotter put a shot five-hole thanks to a cross-checking penalty by Joel Bresciani that gave the Stags a five-minute man advantage. Cody Wojdyla also scored on the major power play, but not before Steve Charlebois (Sr., Carbon, AB) knocked home his eighth of the season short-handed.
At the close of the series, no Charger skater who dressed for both games left without registering a point, and only four who dressed only one night did not get on the board. Funk's five-point weekend (1g, 4a) earned him CHA Offensive Player of the Week honors. The 16 Charger goals were the most in a two-game series since February 1999, when the Chargers defeated Findlay 9-2 and 7-4.
With the two wins, the Chargers (9-7-2, 4-1-1 CHA) extended the nation's second-longest unbeaten streak to nine games (7-0-2) and moved their goal differential to a positive (71 GF, 69 GA) for the first time this season. The Chargers will ride this momentum into the Clauss Ice Arena in Findlay, Ohio, as they take on the Findlay Oilers for their second and third meetings this season. Start time Friday and Saturday night is 6:05 p.m. CST. The Friday night game will be carried live on ESPN 1450-AM with pre-game starting at 5:30 pm. Saturday night the game will be pre-empted for Charger Basketball, but will be carried on a tape-delay.
Next Series: Findlay, Jan. 10 & 11
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.
