Chargers beat Falcons, 3-1

Feb. 1, 2003

Steve Charlebois scored two goals in less than two minutes late in the second period as Alabama-Huntsville defeated Air Force, 3-1, in a College Hockey America game Saturday at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena.

UAH took three points in the series as the teams skated to a 2-2 tie on Friday. UAH improved to 14-9-3 overall and 9-1-2 and in first place in the CHA. Air Force fell to 8-18-2 overall and 2-10-2 and in fifth place in the CHA. The Falcons' winless streak reached 11 games.

The Chargers struck first as Joel Bresciani scored just 1:09 into the game. After Ryan Leasa's shot hit a Falcon defenseman who was down on the ice, Bresciani collected the loose puck at the bottom of the circle and beat Mike Polidor short side. UAH held the 1-0 lead until late in the second period. The shots were even at nine apiece after one period.

UAH controlled the puck for most of the second period and out-shot the Falcons, 18-8. With 1:48 remaining in the period, Charlebois gave the Chargers a 2-0 lead. The Falcons got caught on a long shift as UAH held the puck in its offensive zone. Charlebois stick-handled past a Falcon defenseman in the slot and scored hit 13th of the season from just outside the crease.

The backbreaker for the Falcons came in the final seconds of the period. A penalty on Craig Bushey put the Falcons on the power play for the final minute of the second period. However, a turnover in the neutral zone led to a 2-on-0 breakaway. Karlis Zirnis made the pass back to Charlebois right in front of the net and his shot hit Polidor's pad and rolled over the goal line for a 3-0 advantage.

Air Force got on the board at 12:12 of the third period on a rush up ice. Freshman Mike Knaeble raced the puck down the right wing and took it to the net. He made a short pass that was deflected, but Spanky Leonard found the loose puck just outside the crease and beat Mark Byrne through the five hole.

The Falcons out-shot the Chargers, 15-8, in the third period and had several rushes in the final four minutes. Air Force went with the empty net for the final 1:55 but did not score.

UAH out-shot AFA, 35-32, and won the battle of the special teams with the short-handed goal. Air Force, which entered the series ranked 12th in the nation in the power play, was 0-for-8 in the game and 0-for-17 in the series. UAH was 0-for-6 on the power play in the game. Byrne made 31 saves for the Chargers while Polidor made 32 with several coming on breakaways.

"Mike Polidor played great tonight and he kept us in it," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We have some huge holes to fill. Some shifts we showed some juice and some we didn't. We didn't get it done on the power play either."

Air Force is now idle until Feb. 14-15 when the Quinnipiac (Conn.) Bobcats come to the Cadet Ice Arena for a two-game non-conference series.

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