Having been on the road for the last two weeks with battles against Wisconsin and Denver, the Chargers headed north to the Twin Cities to face the University of Miinnesota over the weekend.
Behind a trio of hat tricks by the defending national champion Golden Gophers, UM shelled the Chargers 12-1 in Minneapolis, Minn., tying a 15-4 loss at Alaska-Anchorage in 1992 as the two worst losses in school history.
Having watched their 2002 NCAA National Championship banner being unfurled from the rafters, the fouth-ranked Gophers were led by Jon Waibel, Troy Riddle and Thomas Vanek who each scored a hat trick in the UM victory. In front of an announced crowd of 10,058, the 14th largest in school history, Vanek scored a six-point night as he earned three assists to go along with his hat trick.
Trailing 2-0 after the first period, UAH seemed to give up after failing to score on the power play in the first minute of the second frame and then letting in the third goal 19 seconds after the man advantage was done.
Struggling on the power play, the Chargers were 1-for-6 with the man advantage and gave up one short-handed goal and nearly suffered a pair of others. Sophomore Huntsvillian Jared Ross broke up Travis Weber's shutout with just over nine minutes left in the match scoring his second goal of the season and snapping a six-period scoring drought for the Chargers.
Right out of the shoot things looked like Saturday night's contest would resemble the 12-1 shelling the Chargers took on Friday as the Gophers slipped a shot past UAH freshman goaltender Scott Munroe a mere 12 seconds into the contest. It took a pair of third period goals by Minnesota to put the Chargers away 4-2 in front of an announced crowd of 10,031.
Despite falling behind so quickly the Chargers fought through a penalty-plagued first period to go into the locker room down 1-0 after the first. Playing hard in the second, the Chargers tied the game at one at the 15:56 mark as sophomore Ryan Brown scored his first collegiate goal netting a rebound from junior captain Mike Funk. The Golden Gophers responded with a power-play measure with just under two minutes remaining in the period. Just when UM thought they would take the lead into the final period, Ross broke free on a breakaway. Falling to the ice, Ross swept a shot into the open net as Minnesota's goaltender, Justin Johnson, had come out to take away the angle.
Despite allowing four goals in his first collegiate start, Munroe made 52 saves between the pipes a mere ten away from the school record. The Chargers take a much-neeaded week off before opening up home play as the Air Force Falcons come to the Von Braun Center on Nov. 15 and 16.
Series: Air Force Academy Falcons, Friday, Nov. 15th-16th , 7:05 p.m.
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.
