Considering the start to the season No. 15 Michigan Tech have had, it seemed like a bit of a long shot that a winless Alabama Huntsville squad could come in and take away a regulation win from the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
Yet that is just what the Chargers did Saturday, 4-2.
It was not the type of game Chargers coach Mike Corbett would want to brag about, given that they gave the Huskies four of their eight power plays in the third period, but it was a win all the same.
“This is how we have to be able to build our program,” Corbett said. “Every win we have had the past two years, we have to make it hard on ourselves because we [try] to find a way to lose rather than find a way to win.”
The Chargers rode their special teams, including getting a shorthanded, game-winning, goal and their senior goaltender, Jordan Uhelski, to the victory.
“Special teams were the difference tonight,” said Huskies coach Joe Shawhan. “They had a shorthanded goal, so they outscored our power play and they had a power play. We don’t know if we have made any headway on our penalty kill… There needs to be more accountability in that area.”
The Chargers came into Friday night’s contest against the defending WCHA playoff champions having gone 1-for-10 on the man advantage, but that changed in the series opener as the Chargers went 3-for-4.
On Saturday, they continued that trend when, while trailing 1-0 in the first period, assistant captain Kurt Gosselin wired a shot from the top of the right circle past Huskies goaltender Robbie Beydoun, who was making his first career start.
The goal, which came at 9:17, and nearly repeated a play in which it appeared that Gosselin had scored 22 seconds earlier. Beydoun was pulled after the goal, giving way to Patrick Munson, who finished the contest for the Huskies.
The Chargers’ penalty kill, which surrendered three goals on Friday, came through with a big play in the second period Saturday night to help extend their lead to two, 3-1.
Junior defenseman John Teets forced Huskies freshman center Greyson Reitmeier into turning the puck over near the Chargers’ blue line. Teets exploded down the ice and beat Munson with a wrist shot that snuck through at 10:29.
Uhelski was tested early and often by the Huskies, who came out of the gates flying. He surrendered the game’s first goal to Huskies sophomore winger Thomas Beretta, who scored on a one-timer at 4:46.
After that goal, Uhelski made another 13 stops in the opening frame, to finish the period with 16 saves. He kept that stingy play going throughout the second period, where he came up big with multiple stops on Huskies assistant captain Dylan Steman and sophomore winger Raymond Brice on the same shift before blocking a blast from sophomore center Alex Smith with a little more than four minutes left in the middle frame.
He was then tested again when he stopped a shot from Huskies assistant captain Mitch Reinke on a one-timer from the left point before blocking the rebound chance from senior winger Alex Gillies.
Uhelski finished his night with 41 saves.
“When your goalie is your best penalty killer, you are going to have a good night,” Corbett said. “Tonight, he was our best penalty killer. He wants to be the No. 1 goalie, so he has to win here.”
The Chargers took the lead at the 16:03 mark of the opening period when assistant captain Josh Kestner crashed the net and turned a cross-ice pass from freshman center Christian Rajic.
Junior center Hans Gorowsky sealed the victory for the Chargers with an empty net goal just 57 seconds after Huskies sophomore winger Gavin Gould cut the Chargers’ lead to one at 17:50 of the third.
No. 14 Minnesota State at Bowling Green
The Falcons scored the game’s first four goals and then added one more late to take a 5-2 win over the Mavericks.
Lukas Craggs scored twice for the Falcons while Connor Ford, Max Johnson, and Brett D’Andrea also found the back of the net.
Zeb Knutson and Nicholas Rivera both scored in a span of 53 seconds in the second period for the Mavericks in the loss.
Ferris State at Mercyhurst
Zach Yoder tied the game, 1-1, for the Bulldogs in the second period, but the Lakers struck three times in the third to seal the non-conference win, 4-1.
Matthew Whittaker scored twice for the Lakers in the win.
Wisconsin at Northern Michigan
The Badgers scored in all three periods as part of a 4-0 victory against the Wildcats in Green Bay.
Ryan Wagner and Cameron Hughes both netted power play goals while Will Johnson and Linus Weissbach added even strength tallies.
Air Force at Bemidji State
The Beavers surrendered two goals in the first period and then two more in the second as part of a 5-1 loss to the Falcons.
Jordan Himley scored twice for Air Force in the win.
Jay Dickman scored the lone goal for the Beavers on the power play in the second period.
