| |
1st place Chargers bring home split from Bemidji
Mike Anderson, UAH Sports Information
Whenever it's a rivalry game, the records get thrown out the window. That was the case once again, as the Chargers headed up to Bemidji State University looking to clench the Peters Cup for the second time in team history.
Friday night saw the Beavers, winless in their last five games, send out junior Grady Hunt to face off against Charger freshman Scott Munroe. The Beavers would come out of the gate strong, creating two early odd-man rushes. The second time was the charm, as Andrew Murray tallied the first goal of the game at 4:15.
The goal served as a wake-up call for the Chargers, who rattled off the next four scores and never looked back. Steve Charlebois opened scoring with his team leading 16th goal of the season at 8:23 from Jeremy Schreiber and Jason Hawes.
Less than a minute later, Karlis Zirnis streaked up the ice on a line change behind the Beaver defense, took a tape-to-tape pass from Schreiber and sent it off the backhand past Hunt for his 10th goal of the year.
The second period came around, and the Chargers didn't let up, as Jared Ross knocked home the next two markers. The first came at 2:06 from Doug Watkins, and the second at 4:09 from Craig Bushey and Ian Fletcher. The goals represented Ross's 13th and 14th goals of the year.
With a three-goal advantage, the Chargers would fall back a bit, and it cost them, as the Beavers rattled off a two-goal rally of their own. Wade Chiodo snuck one past Munroe at 11:45 of the second period, and Brendon Cook found twine on the power play at 8:17 of the third period after Munroe was knocked back into his own net.
The Chargers answered back, as Karlis Zirnis brought it back to a two goal margin at 11:48 of the third with his second goal of the night and 11th on the year from Bushey and Mike Funk. Joel Bresciani added an empty netter in the final minute to put the final nail in the coffin and make it a 6-3 final.
Munroe stopped 39 of 42 Bemidji shots to post his 11th win of the season (11-4-1) and remain undefeated in conference play (8-0-1). Hunt had 20 saves in the losing effort for the Beavers.
Karlis Zirnis, with two goals on the evening, earned the third star. Scott Munroe's 39 save night was good for the second star, and Jared Ross's three point night (2g, 1a), including the game-winner, got him the first star.
Saturday night was a different story in start and in finish. The Chargers sent Mark Byrne out this night, and Hunt would be in goal again for the Beavers.
Zirnis got it started at 6:34 of the first period with another breakaway tally from Schreiber for this 12th of the year and third of the weekend.
It was then the Jeff McGill show, as he would score the next two Beaver goals. The first was a hard-work shot right in front, as he battled with Ian Fletcher in the slot, but was able to get enough on the puck to wrist it over Byrne's glove with only nine seconds left in the first frame.
His second goal came late in the second period on the power play, and put the Chargers in a tricky position moving in the third frame.
The Chargers were able to show their depth, however, as Ryan Brown was able to keep the puck in the Beaver zone and knock it straight to Todd Bentley, who rifled a wrist shot past Hunt to tie the game up at two 3:05 into the final frame. The goal would hold and the teams would move into overtime.
For the Beavers, it was their 13th overtime game of the season, tying an NCAA record. The Chargers were playing their 8th overtime game, and the third against Bemidji State this season.
Overtime was a back and forth battle. The first minute was the Beavers' to control, and then the Chargers took the next. It was a fluke bounce, a puck dug out of the corner by Bill Methven that bounced off the skate of Ian Fletcher and just past Mark Byrne that sealed the game for the Beavers.
Byrne took the loss for the Chargers, stopping 34 of 37 to fall to 6-5-2 overall this year. Hunt's 28 saves got him the win, and the split kept him to .500 on the season (9-9-4).
Karlis Zirnis's goal to open the game earned him the third star. Jeff McGill recieved second star honors for his two-goal performance, and Bill Methven's unlikely game winner got him the first star.
It was the first win for the Beavers in the last eight meetings of the rivalry, and a very important one for Tom Serratore's crew to position themselves for a run at the top two seeds in the conference.
The Chargers, with the split, managed to clench at least a bye in the CHA conference tournament, as Niagara swept Wayne State. The Chargers can clench the Peters cup this weekend by simply coming out of this weekend with more points than Niagara, who heads to Bemidji to play the Beavers.
The Chargers will take on the Findlay Oilers in the final home series of the season Feburary 28 and March 1. Friday night's game will start at 7:05, and Saturday will see a 1:35 faceoff. Both games will be carried live on ESPN 1450-AM, with the pregame starting 30 minutes prior. Fans outside the Huntsville area can also tune in on the Internet at http://www.espn1450.com, http://www.eyecentric.com, or http://www.sportsjuice.com/providers/uah.
Next Series: Findlay, Feb. 28-March 1
Charger hockey broadcasts move to ESPN 1450
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.
|
|
