The Holiday weekend turned out to be a solid one for the Chargers as they took over first place in the CHA conference standings after downing visiting Niagara 7-4 on Sunday afternoon after a 3-3 tie on Saturday afternoon.
All was going well for the Chargers on Saturday as they held the lead with eight seconds remaining but things went south quickly as the Purple Eagles won the faceoff and slipped a shot past an outstretched Mark Byrne to knot the matinee at three. Seeing the win slip through their fingers, UAH held on for the tie to pick up a lone point in the CHA race.
The Chargers jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 10:06 mark of the first as senior Jason Hawes scored his second goal of the season with an assist from fellow senior Tyler Butler. The Purple Eagles took advantage of the power play to tie the game at one in the second before senior captain Mike Funk with assistance from Keith Rowe and Gerald Overton gave the Chargers their second lead of the afternoon.
NU's Joe Tallari, the nation's leading scorer, snatched the lead away from UAH later in the second at the 18:51 mark with an assist from Jason Williamson. Just as it looked as the game was doomed for overtime, the Chargers got their hopes up for a seventh-straight home win as senior Steve Charlebois slipped a shot past Jeff VanNynatten to give UAH a short-lived win.
The Purple Eagles were not done however as Niagara's Barret Ehgoetz put home a Tallari rebound to push the game into an extra frame.
It took three third-period goals to stave off a late Niagara charge, but Alabama-Huntsville survived behind a great team effort to defeat the Purple Eagles 7-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Senior captain Mike Funk led the way for the Chargers with a two-goal performance including the eventual game winner just under seven minutes into the third period while Ehgoetz led NU in their losing effort scoring a pair of his own and adding an assist.
The Purple Eagles took a 1-0 lead right out of the gate as Andrew Nahirniak blasted a shot from the blue line past UAH netminder Scott Munroe a mere 31 seconds into the contest. UAH fought back quickly as sophomore Doug Watkins settled a pass from Craig Bushey to get the Chargers on the board at the 4:31 mark. The rest of the period would belong to the Chargers as sophomore Keith Rowe and freshman Jeff Winchester gave UAH a two-goal lead chasing NU starter VanNynatten from between the pipes at the first break.
Leading 3-1 and on the power play, freshman Jeremy Schreiber blasted a shot from just inside the blue line at the 9:27 mark of the second to push the lead to three goals with his first collegiate goal.
Whatever coach Dave Burkholder told his guys in purple at the second intermission lit a fire under them as Niagara stormed out of the locker room and scored a pair of goals in the first six minutes of the final frame as Ehgoetz and Baylis picked up tallies making it a one-goal game again. Funk then ignited the Chargers putting the blue and white back up by two with less than seven minutes gone in the third.
With the Chargers' Jared Ross in the sin bin for cross checking, Ehgoetz redirected a Brian Hartman shot to give the Purple Eagles life with the score 5-4. Senior Steve Charlebois then found the back of the net off of a NU miscue giving UAH a much-needed insurance measure before Funk sealed the win with his unassisted goal in the 18th minute.
Stopping 56 Purple Eagle attempt, Munroe ran his record to 3-0 in conference play en route to setting a Division I school record, while Ryan MacNeil made 22 stops in two periods of action in relief of VanNynattan. The win gives UAH nine points and a slim lead in the CHA conference standings ahead of Bemidji State, who have seven points in four contests while the Chargers have played six.
Series: Sacred Heart Pioneers, Dec. 6, 6 p.m. and Dec. 7, 4 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.
