HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Despite outshooting the opposition for a second consecutive night, the UAH hockey team fell in a close one on New Year's Eve afternoon as it fell 4-3 to visiting Mercyhurst at the Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center. With the loss, the Chargers drop to 1-21-1, and the Lakers improve to 10-8-2.
 
UAH outshot the visitors by a 26-22 clip – including a 12-6 advantage in the second frame – and the Chargers were impressive on the penalty kill as it killed off eight opportunities Mercyhurst had with the man-advantage.
 
The Chargers showed resiliency throughout the contest, starting in the first period after the squad fell behind 1-0 when Derek Elliott put one past UAH netminder John Griggs at 4:07. Just 44 seconds later, Craig Pierce scored his third goal of the season as he was setup by Sebastian Geoffrion and Curtis deBruyn to knot the affair at 1-1.
 
Notching his first tally of the season, Alex Allan scored at 7:46 to put the Chargers up 2-1. Geoffrion picked up the primary assist again to record his first multi-point night of the year, while Tyler Kotlarz also picked up a helper on the go-ahead strike.
 
The lead proved to be short-lived, however, as Chris Bodo scored only 21 seconds later at 8:07, and the visitors regained the lead when Daniel Bahntge scored at 15:42 to produce a 3-2 advantage for the Lakers at the first intermission.
 
Not deterred by the deficit, the Blue and White put together a solid second stanza and were rewarded for the strong effort at 8:34 when Graeme Strukoff scored to tie the contest at 3-3. The goal marked the first of the freshman defenseman's career.
 
Justin Cseter earned the assist on the score.
 
Ryan Misiak, however, scored early in the third at 3:43 to put the Lakers up by the 4-3 final.
 
The Chargers will return to action on Friday, Jan. 6, when they travel to Colorado to take on Denver. The contest is slated to start at 8:37 CST.