Chargers Claim 2nd CHA Crown

Jamie Gilliam, UAH Sports Information

The 2002-03 Charger hockey season was certainly one the UAH faithful will remember for years to come. Facing undoubtedly the toughest schedule in school history and a senior-laden roster, the Chargers finished the season at 18-14-3 and for the 12th-straight season UAH finished with a .500 mark or better.

With an impressive 13-5-2 record in College Hockey America play, the "Boys in Blue" earned their second CHA Championship and the "Bruce McLeod Cup" that goes with it. UAH also posted a huge win in the UConn Holiday Classic as the Chargers upset nationally-ranked Ferris State in the opening round before disposing of CHA rival Findlay in the championship to bring home the hardware.

The Blue and White opened the 2002-03 campaign with three straight road trips travelling to face Wisconsin and Minnesota before heading west to take on Denver. A raucous crowd awaited the Chargers in each of those three venues and it would play a part in the home team's success during the run.

The Chargers' first weekend of action against the Badgers saw Wisconsin jump out to a 4-0 lead in the contest before linemates Karlis Zirnis and Craig Bushey would bang home a pair. Playing in front of 10,300 on homecoming, the Saturday-night tussle between the teams looked much the same as the Badgers cruised out to a 3-0 lead Jared Ross and Zirnis would make it a one-goal contest at 3-2 but UAH could not push home a tying measure.

The following weekend, the Chargers met up with Denver and the Pioneers showed why they are a perennial college hockey powerhouse. With blazing speed on the ice, the Pioneers doused the Chargers with seven goals each night taking a 7-2 victory on Friday night and 7-0 on Saturday evening. Zirnis would combine with fellow senior Steve Charlebois for the weekend's only scores for the Chargers.

It's never an easy task playing the Minnesota Gophers in Maruicci Arena and it's certainly no walk in the park when UM raises a national championship banner during pregame ceremonies as UAH found out. Ahead 2-0 at the first intermission, the Gophers poured in four goals in the second and five more in the third for a 12-1 shelling of the Chargers as Ross scored UAH's lone goal. Following what tied for the worst loss in school history on Friday night, the Chargers gave the back-to-back national champs all they wanted in the series finale.

With newcomer Scott Munroe making his first start between the pipes, the Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan native would show flashes of things to come as the rookie single handedly kept the Chargers in the game stopping a Division I school-record 52 saves versus the Gophers. Had the Gophers' first shot of the night went by Munroe unseen the end result might have been a UAH win but the contest ended with a 4-2 win over UM but the Chargers felt much better about themselves after their heartless effort on Friday night.

The tough start would give the Chargers some needed experience and would finally open up the 2002-03 home schedule against the Air Force Academy. Before 3,000 plus UAH faithful, the Chargers topped the Falcons 4-2 in the home opener with senior Joel Bresciani posting a hat trick. UAH followed up the Friday night win with a 5-2 victory on Saturday night.

Next up on the schedule was a trek to the "Motor City" to face the 2002 defending CHA champion Wayne State Warriors. The game was eerily reminiscent of the Chargers' overtime loss to WSU in Niagara as UAH took a lead into the final period only to lose ironically 5-4 in overtime to the Warriors. Playing better defense, the Chargers took it to Wayne State on Saturday night claiming a 5-2 win.

UAH's Friday night woes continued the next weekend against Niagara at home in the Von Braun Center. With a contest that had battled back and forth, UAH broke open a 2-2 tie with 1:33 remaining in regulation as senior Steve Charlebois scored his fourth of the season but the Purple Eagles would snatch the victory away from UAH scoring with three ticks remaining before a scoreless overtime frame would end in a 3-3 tie. Saturday night saw the Chargers pour it on against their CHA foes as five different players would score as UAH claimed a 7-2 victory against NU.

In what looked to be a trend starting, the Chargers surrendered another third period lead as Sacred Heart overcame a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-3 tie with UAH. With Munroe in net on Saturday night, the Chargers would help him earn his fourth-straight win, all coming in game two of each series, with a 6-2 win over the Pioneers.

Following the traditional Christmas break, the Chargers headed back to Connecticut to play in the UConn Holiday Classic. Heading into the tournament the Chargers knew they had their hands full in the first round against top-10 opponent Ferris State. Most of the scoring came in the first two frames as the two squads headed into the second break with UAH holding a 4-3 advantage after senior defenseman Ryan Leasa scored his second measure of the evening on the power play. With the upset momentum swinging UAH's way, the Bulldogs mounted a comeback and scored the tying goal just over midway through the third.

It would be just over four mintues into the extra frame when Lady Luck would strike for the Chargers as senior center Gerald Overton claimed the upset for UAH with his second goal of the season. Butting heads with CHA foe Findlay in the tournament final saw the Chargers come away with their second UConn Tournament Title defeating the Oilers 4-2. Leasa earned tournament MVP honors while Funk joined the Sarnia, Ontario native on the all-tournament squad.

The "Boys in Blue" returned home for the New Year and Fairfield made what would be their final trip to Huntsville. Opting to shutdown the program after the season concluded, the Stags did not prove to be much of a challenge for UAH as the Chargers hammered Fairfield 8-1 and 8-2.

Cranking the action back up in CHA play, the Chargers headed to Findlay and came away with a pair of 5-2 wins over the Oilers. The weekend series saw Charlebois pour in four goals en route to winning CHA Offensive Player of the Week honors. The pair of wins would also make UAH "The Belle of the Ball" with the nation's longest unbeaten streak.

UAH returned home after the trip to Findlay to host long-time rival Bemidji State and 60 minutes would not be enough time for either battle. The Chargers did the unthinkable however and won both games in the extra period taking Friday night's contest 3-2 before winning 4-3 on Saturday as the unbeaten streak ran to 13. Bresciani would provide the heroics on Friday night while it was sophomore winger Craig Bushey who slammed the door on the Beavers on Saturday night.

All good things must come to an end and thus was the case with the streak. Unfortunately a questionable call would keep the Chargers from ever having a chance to extend it playing against Northern Michigan in an extremely hostile environment. With the game scoreless over half-way through the first period, Zirnis was whistled for a 5-minute major for checking from behind along with a 10-minute game misconduct. The five-minute major would be the doom of the streak as NMU banged home three power-play goals. With Zirnis out, the Chargers just could not get into rhythm offensively and the streak would end with a 7-3 thumping by the Wildcats. Saturday night's contest proved to be a different game altogether as UAH skated toe-to-toe with NMU outshooting the Wildcats 25-22 but the Chargers could not get the puck to bounce their way with Northern taking a 2-0 shutout.

After the long trip to Marquette, Mich., the Chargers returned home only to have to make a long haul again, heading west to the Rocky Mountains and the annual meeting against Air Force. Game one saw the Chargers give one up blowing a two-goal third period lead for a 2-2 tie in which the Falcons scored an extra attacker goal in the final 30 seconds. Saturday night saw the UAH seniors take care of business as Charlebois scored twice and Bresciani added a third for a 3-1 win over the Falcons.

It would be the next four series that decided the CHA Regular Season title as the Chargers faced off against Wayne State at home before the haul to face Bemidji State. After the Beavers, the Chargers hosted Findlay and finished up the regular season on the road at Niagara. Game one of the Wayne State series saw the lone shutout of the year by UAH as Munroe blanked the Warriors stopping 31 shots in a 4-0 Charger win. Game two would prove to be the biggest blowout in the history of the series between UAH and WSU as the Chargers hammered the Warriors 8-2. Six different Chargers scored tallies as UAH cruised to the win. Bresciani and Munroe would both earn player of the week honors from the CHA for their efforts.

The offensive explosion would continue in game one of the series at Bemidji with UAH hammering home six markers as the Zirnis/Ross/Bushey line poured in four in the 6-3 win. 34 saves by Mark Byrne would not be enough on Saturday night however as the Beavers gave UAH a dose of their own medicine with a 3-2 overtime win as they bounced a puck off of defenseman Ian Fletcher for the victory.

A lackluster performance on homecoming weekend followed in the next game as the Chargers let UF's Mark Bastl score four goals as UAH fell 4-2 to the Oilers. The Chargers took care of business on "Senior Day" though in a win that would wrap up the McCloud Cup and the Regular Season CHA Title for UAH along with the top seed for "The Great Faceoff in the Great Plains" and the CHA Tournament in Kearney, Neb.

With nothing on the line against Niagara, the Chargers fell to the homestanding Purple Eagles, 7-4 and 7-5. The lone highlight from the weekend came as Ross was credited with five goals on the weekend as UAH had lost four of its last five games.

A top-notch affair awaited the Chargers in Kearney, Neb., as the Nebraskans rolled out the carpet for UAH and the rest of College Hockey America. The awards banquet held prior to the first faceoff saw Ross, Leasa, Charlebois, Butler and Munroe all earn All-CHA honors. Munroe also earned a slot on the All-Rookie team as the Rookie of the Year and was joined on the squad by fellow newcomer Jeremy Schreiber.

The first-round bye setup a rematch of last year's second-round contest between UAH and Bemidji State and the result would be the closest contest of the year between the two schools. The power play would result in the only goals scored in regulation as Jared Ross tied the game at 1-1 19 seconds into the third period. Overtime heartbreak awaited UAH in the extra frame again as the Beaver capitalized on a 2-on-1 chance at the 12:30 mark dashing UAH's hopes of the NCAA Automatic Bid and the school's first tournament championship.