Standing with a .500 record (3-3) at the Springs in the previous three trips, the first place Chargers came in with a purpose. With Doug Watkins taking a week off to nurse a foot injury, John Bradley got the chance to impress, and impress he did, starting early Friday night. Scott Munroe was between the pipes against the Falcons' Mike Polidor. Munroe was strong, and the Chargers were able to draw first blood on the power play, as Jason Hawes fed Ryan Leasa on the backdoor, who buried his fifth of the season at 4:08 to give the Chargers an early first period lead. Just 36 seconds later Bradley, earning his first point of the season, sent Keith Rowe a long pass through neutral ice, who touched it over to Jason Tinwick for a backhand wrister past Polidor, his second of the season.

The Charger offense slowed at that point, and the physical play picked up in the second period, as Leasa found himself tying up with a couple of Falcons on multiple occasions. The netminders didn't make it out unscathed, either, as both were the target of collisions throughout the night. In all, 24 penalty minutes were assessed in the second period alone.

The third period saw the Falcons' fortunes turn. At 4:55, Ross Miller was able to put the breaks on at the bottom of the face-off circle and unwind a slap shot that careened off Ian Fletcher's skate and past Munroe to bring it to a 2-1 game. A Charger skate was the culprit in the game-tying goal as well, when late in the third the Falcons opted for the extra attacker, and it paid off when Brian Reaney ripped a shot from the blue line two feet wide, but right off of Tinwick's skate and into the net, knotting it up with just 27 seconds left in regulation.

Overtime was back and forth, and took a turn for the strange when Joel Bresciani got nailed for an interference call at the 2:37 mark. Referee Randy Schmitt, looking for a make-up call, took Ryan Wiggins in just 35 seconds later, turning the second half of the extra frame into a 4-on-4 show. The Falcons dominated until the Chargers got Bresciani back on the ice, and using their timeout with 20 seconds left, lined up several scoring opportunities, but were unable to break past the Air Force defense, and the match ended as a "sister-kisser" tied at two.

Munroe stopped 34 shots in his first collegiate tie to go to 9-4-1 on the season, and Mike Polidor had 24 saves on the night.

Saturday night saw the other half of the Charger goaltender platoon, Mark Byrne, face off against Polidor in a game that was a characteristic weekend turnaround for the Boys in Blue. Bresciani got it started just 69 seconds into the contest as he picked up a blocked shot and threw it past an unsuspecting Polidor on the stick side to give the Chargers the early advantage. The Charger penalty kill would continue to shine, as they killed off a pair of 5-on-3 power plays in the first period alone to allow Bresciani's goal to stand through the first 20 minutes.

Bresciani's goal would be all the Chargers would get until late in the second period, when Steve Charlebois ripped home two straight goals; the first was an even-strength measure from Bradley and Jason Hawes at 18:12, and the second a shorthanded strike with just two seconds left in the period created by a neutral ice turnover by Karlis Zirnis. The goals were Charlebois' 13th and 14th of the season, and his third shorthanded goal of the year, putting him in a tie for the lead in the nation. It was also the eighth Charger shorthanded goal, putting them in a tie for the national lead with Maine, Denver, and North Dakota.

Byrne would maintain perfection until 12:12 of the third, when Spanky Leonard redirected Mike Knaeble's blue line slapper into the net to make it a 3-1 game, where it would end. Byrne stopped 31 on the night to earn his fifth win of the season (5-4-2). Polidor took the loss, stopping 32 of 35 and falling to 7-17-2 on the season.

The Chargers moved to 9-1-2 in conference play (14-9-3 overall), totaling 20 points, and were able to take advantage of a Purple Eagle stumble to gain in the College Hockey America standings, opening up a 5 point lead over Niagara and Bemidji State, who are tied at 15 points each (both 6-3-3). Across the conference, every school earned at least one point on the weekend, as each conference series had one game end in a 2-2 tie.

The Chargers will take the week off, and will see the ice again when they host the defending McLeod and Peters Cup champion Wayne State Warriors February 15-16 at the Von Braun Center. Note the change from the original schedule, as the games will be Saturday at 8:30 pm and Sunday at 4:00 pm. Saturday's game will be joined in progress on ESPN 1450-AM, and Sunday's game will be available over the Internet at http://www.eyecentric.com and http://www.sportsjuice.com/providers/uah.