Six different Chargers lit the lamp, including four on the power play, as Alabama-Huntsville bested Bentley, 6-1, in non-conference hockey action at the Von Braun Center Friday night. It was the season-opener for both clubs.
Bentley struck first, with Matt Kowal giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead just 3:24 into the game.
However, the rest of the game belonged to the home team, which did almost all of its damage on special teams, scoring four times on the power play and once shorthanded in a penalty-filled game (15 on UAH, 14 on Bentley for a combined total of 75 minutes).
Four of Huntsville’s goals came in the opening period, beginning with three power-play goals in a span of 2:36. Mike Funk evened the score at 9:28 of the first, and classmate Tyler Butler netted what proved to be the game-winner 40 seconds later. Both came on a 4-on-3 situation.
A 5-on-4 power play goal from Jessi Otis at the 12:04 mark of the first made it 3-1, and then Steve Charlebois made it a three-goal game with 3:13 left in the opening stanza.
It stayed a 4-1 game until late in the fourth when the Chargers received a shorthanded goal from Steve Milosevski at 13:20 and a power play from Gerald Overton with 2:50 left.
Charlebois, Otis, Overton and Butler all enjoyed three-point nights for Huntsville, picked number two in the College Hockey America, with each complementing their goal with two assists. While the Chargers scored on four of seven power plays, Bentley came up empty the six times it had the man-advantage.
Adam MacLean earned the win in net for the Chargers, making 17 saves as his teammates outshot Bentley 33-18. Freshman Simon St. Pierre made 27 saves for the Falcons in his collegiate debut.
The two teams meet again tomorrow night at the Von Braun Center at 7:05 pm CT.
