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Former Charger Munroe called up to NHL

Jamie Gilliam, UAH Sports Information

Scott Munroe, Courtesy Philadelphia Flyers
Following his standout career at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, former goalie Scott Munroe has become the first Charger to dress in an NHL contest having served as the backup netminder for the Philadelphia Flyers for the past three contests.

"It's been very exciting, especially being on the road and seeing all the different rinks," remarked Munroe. "It was also exciting to play against Tampa Bay and Carolina, the last two Stanley Cup champions. Just to look across the red line in warm-ups and see the guys who last year I was watching on television is just very exciting and a real honor."

The former Charger was called up from the Philadephia Phantoms of the AHL last month after seeing action in 16 games and posting a 3.03 GAA and .909 save percentage. Munroe was called up from the Phantoms after the Flyers' starting goaltender Antero Niittymaki and is expected to return to the AHL club when Nittymaki returns to the lineup . Munroe spent time with the Flyers during the 2006 playoffs as Philadelphia's third goaltender but did not dress.

A 2005 graduate of UAH, Munroe played four seasons with the Chargers, amassing a record of 49-35-8 with a .918 save percentage and a 2.76 goals against average. He proved to be UAH's ironman in the 2005-06 season, breaking single-season records for games and minutes played, shots faced and saves made. He also broke career records in each of those categories. His .918 save percentage also stands as a career best at UAH.

Narduzzi and Morrison earn CHA honors after solid weekend

Jamie Gilliam, UAH Sports Information

Marc Narduzzi
Kevin Morrison
After a solid weekend of play in the Dodge Holiday Classic in Minneapolis, Minn., senior netminder Marc Narduzzi (Vancouver, British Columbia) and freshman winger Kevin Morrison (Mississauga, Ontario) have been named College Hockey America's Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively as announced by the league.

Posting a 2.50 goals-against average, Narduzzi was solid in net for the Chargers in the tournament. The senior posted a career and season high 45 saves against top-ranked Minnesota on Friday night in a 3-1 loss to the Gophers. Narduzzi then followed Friday night's outing with a 36-save outing in the 5-2 consolation game win over Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.

Morrison played a huge part in the Chargers win over the Minutemen on Saturday. The freshman lit the lamp for UAH with an even-strength marker just 1:28 into the contest. Morrison then added a key insurance tally at 6:26 of the second period with a shorthanded goal giving UAH a three-goal margin.

The Chargers have the weekend off before returning to action on Jan. 12-13 hosting CHA foe Robert Morris at the Von Braun Center.

Chargers top Minutemen in first-ever meeting

Jamie Gilliam, UAH Sports Information

Kevin Morrison
Marc Narduzzi
Behind a two-goal performance from freshman winger Kevin Morrison (Mississauga, Ontario), the Alabama-Huntsville hockey team downed Massachusetts 5-2 in the consolation game of the Dodge Holiday Classic on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Chargers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs as Morrison scored from fellow rookie Cale Tanaka (Stoufville, Ontario) with only 1:28 gone from the opening drop of the puck. The Minutemen took advantage of a Charger power play to even the score at 8:15 of the first when Mark Matheson scored for UMass.

UAH sophomore center Kevin Galerno (Kitchener, Ontario) broke the tie open with an even-strenghted tally from Tom Train (Hurst, Texas) and Dominik Rozman (Wallaceburg, Ontario) at 14:47 of the first. The Charger power play then made the Minutemen pay for a penalty of their own with just over two minutes left in the stanza as senior winger Brett McConnachie (Ajax, Ontario) scored his ninth goal of the year with assists going to seniors Mike Salekin (Castlegar, British Columbia) and David Nimmo (St. Albert, Alberta). The power-play tally at 17:53 of the frame gave the Chargers a 3-1 margin heading into the first intermission after both teams managed 11 shots on goal.

The Chargers found themselves on the penalty kill early in the second period after senior A.J. Larivee (Dublin, Ontario) was whistled for hooking. Morrison had other ideas however and scored a short-handed unassisted lamp lighter at 6:26 of the second giving UAH a three-goal cushion. Senior Steve Canter (St. Louis) pushed it to a four-goal lead later in the period with his eighth of the season from freshman defenseman Davide Nicoletti (Toronto, Ontario). The Minutemen went on to score another power-play tally to make it a three-goal contest again at 1:49 of the third but Narduzzi turned in a 14-save performance in the stanza as part of a 36-save night to earn the win. With the win, the Chargers improve to 6-13-1 while the Minutemen drop to 8-6-3.

The Chargers return to action on Jan. 12-13 hosting CHA foe Robert Morris at the Von Braun Center.

Chargers come up short against top-ranked Minnesota

Jamie Gilliam, UAH Sports Information


Giving up three first-period goals to the nation's top-scoring offense, the Alabama-Huntsville hockey squad battled hard against top-ranked Minnesota in the opening round of the 16th annual Dodge Holiday Classic but fell short 3-1 on Saturday night in Minneapolis, Minn.

On the power play for four of the first six minutes of the contest, the Gophers cashed in on a UAH penalty at 5:36 of the opening frame when Ben Gordon scored in front of a crowd of 10,015. Senior netminder Marc Narduzzi (Vancouver, British Columbia) faced a tough task in the first stanza as the Gophers poured 22 shots on net. Narduzzi and the Charger defense held Minnesota to the one-goal margin until 18:44 of the period when Ryan Flynn made it a 2-0 contest. UM's Jim OBrien then pushed it to a three-goal margin just before the period closed at 19:36.

The rest of the contest would see the Chargers play the Gophers well, keeping Minnesota off the scoreboard for the final forty minutes of action. After being outshot 15-7 in the second period, the Chargers won the shot battle in the final frame via a 13-11 margin.

Senior winger Grant Selinger (Regina, Saskatchewan) ended UM's Kellen Briggs' hopes of a shutout with a tally from sophomore Joe Federoff (Pittsburgh, Pa.) with 12 seconds remaining in the contest.

With the loss, the Chargers fall to 5-13-1 overall and 0-4-0 all-time against the Gophers while Minnesota improves to 16-1-3 despite missing five of their top players, who are playing in the World Junior Championships. Narduzzi made a season-high 45 saves in the loss while his counterpart Briggs 25 saves to pick up the win.

The Chargers take on the University of Massachusetts Minutemen in the consolation game on Saturday afternoon 4:05 p.m. in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The championship game features Minnesota against Ferris State, who topped UMass 2-1 via a shootout.