UAH sweeps Air Force with 6-4 win

Nov. 1, 2003

Alabama-Huntsville scored three unanswered power-play goals in the second period and held on for a 6-4 win over Air Force in a College Hockey America conference game Saturday night, Nov. 1, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.

UAH swept the two-game series and improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the CHA. Air Force fell to 4-4 overall and 0-2 in the CHA.

Of the 10 goals scored in the game, four came on the power play, three were even strength and three were short-handed. The game also had a four-on-four goal and a five-on-three goal. Air Force set a school record by scoring three short-handed goals in the game. Sophomore forward Mike Knaeble scored two, setting an individual record for shorties in a game.

The two teams combined for 30 penalties for 66 minutes. In the series, the teams combined for 57 penalties for 152 minutes.

For the second straight game, the Falcons took the early lead. Falcon defenseman Steve Mead scored from freshmen Brandon Merkosky and Brian Reese at 8:01. After a Charger goal by Brett Mconnachie at 14:41, the Falcons scored two short-handed goals on the same UAH power play for a 3-1 lead.

Matt Bader scored his first career short-handed goal at 16:33 from Spanky Leonard. Just nine seconds later, Mike Knaeble scored his second short-handed of the season for a two-goal Falcon lead at the first intermission.

UAH roared back with three second-period goals, all on the power play. Grant Selinger scored at 2:15 and Craig Bushey scored at 2:57 to tie the game at 3-3. The Chargers were a perfect three-for-three on the power play as Steve Canter scored the eventual game-winner at 16:08 of the second period.

Canter struck again early in the third period from Steve Milosevski and Todd Bentley for a 5-3 lead. Jeff Winchester's power-play goal at 10:44 gave the Chargers a 6-3 advantage. With UAH on its seventh power play of the game, it was the Falcons that lit the lamp. Knaeble scored his second short-handed goal of the game, this one from Ryan Wiggins, at 12:56 to get the Falcons within two goals.

Falcon goalie Mike Polidor was pulled from the net with 1:33 remaining, but the score remained 6-4. Polidor made 25 saves while allowing six goals. UAH's Scott Munroe made 28 saves while giving up four goals. The Falcons out-shot the Chargers in two of the three periods and had a 32-31 advantage in the game. UAH was 4-for-7 on the power play while AFA was 0-for-5.

Air Force travels to the east coast next weekend for a non-conference series against Bentley, Fri.-Sat., Nov. 7-8, in Waltham, Mass.

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