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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The University of Alabama in Huntsville hockey team travels to St. Cloud, Minnesota, this weekend for a doubleheader against the Huskies of St. Cloud State. The puck drops Friday night at 7:37 p.m., while Saturday's contest will start at 7:07 p.m.
 
The Chargers (2-1-1) opened their 2012-13 season this past weekend by hosting another school from the WCHA, Minnesota State-Mankato. UAH fell to the Mavericks 4-1 on Friday and lost a late lead on Saturday to finish in a 2-2 tie.
 
Meanwhile, St. Cloud State (0-2-0) traveled to New Hampshire and lost a pair of games. Although the Huskies were right in the game and probably could have earned two wins instead of two losses, they failed to execute down the stretch and came up short 5-3 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday.
 
This will be the home-opener for the Huskies who will be looking to bounce back after an opening weekend sweep at the hands of the Wildcats.
 
SCSU junior forward Nic Dowd is a resident of Huntsville and currently leads the Huskies in scoring with three assists in two games. Dowd is the first resident of Alabama to play college hockey at SCSU during the Huskies' NCAA Division I era.
 
The overall series lead between the two teams belongs to St. Cloud State who owns a 7-0-0 record over the Chargers. The last meeting between the two schools was back in 2002, with the series dating back to 1988.
 
UAH received solid play from Craig Pierce in the first series of the season. The sophomore recorded a goal in each game and is tied for point-lead on the team with two. Doug Reid also has two points as he notched a pair of assists against the Mavericks.
 
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UAH senior goaltender John Griggs played one of the best games of his career on Saturday, racking up 37 saves and making clutch save after clutch save. The end result turned out to be a tie for Griggs, but he played more than well enough to pick up the win. He totaled 88 saves in the series.
 
POINTS from PIERCE
It has been sophomore Craig Pierce who has looked the part so far this season for UAH, as he scored a goal in both games against Minnesota State over the weekend. The native of Marietta, Georgia, has found the back of the net on two of the three shots he has attempted this young season.
 
PENALTY PROBLEMS
The Chargers had trouble staying out of the box this past weekend, being credited with 15 total penalties which totaled up to 41 minutes. In the process UAH set up Minnesota State with 12 power play opportunities in which they converted on three of them. They simply can't put that type of pressure on Griggs and the defense and expect to see positive results.

For more information contact Joey Daniels, Sports Information Coordinator, at joseph.daniels@uah.edu

Photos credited to Doug Eagan, UAH Hockey Photographer