SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville hockey team won 5-4 in overtime on Friday night in the opening game of the WCHA series at Lake Superior State at Taffy Abel Arena. UAH improves to 2-2-1 (1-1-1 WCHA), while LSSU slips to 2-5-0 (0-1-0 WCHA).
 
"Couldn't be more proud of our guys tonight, coming back to win on the road down two goals heading into the third period," head coach Mike Corbett said Friday night. "We continually picked one another up, battled and maintained possession of the puck, which led to a solid team performance and a key road win."
 
Junior Cody Marooney scored the game-winner for the Chargers – the third game-winning goal of his career – at 1:07 of the third period to give UAH its first conference win of the season, while sophomore Brennan Saulnier and freshman Kurt Gosselin supplied two goals each in the overtime victory.
 
It didn't take long for the Chargers to find the back of the net on Friday night, as Saulnier – the UAH points leader – scored his fifth marker of the season 36 seconds into the contest to give the Blue and White an early lead. Fellow sophomore Max McHugh assisted on Saulnier's tally.
 
However, less than two minutes later, Lake Superior State would knot the score at 1-1 as JT Henke posted the Lakers first score at 2:16. The Chargers followed with a goal at 4:35 of the first by Saulnier to regain the lead at 2-1, thanks to a helper from alternate captain Chad Brears.
 
Lake Superior State went on to score two goals before the end of the first by Alex Globke at 18:45 and Henke at 19:50 to make it a 3-2 Laker lead heading into intermission.
 
The Lakers' Henke notched his third of the game for a hat trick 37 seconds into the second period to put LSSU ahead two goals at 4-2, which would stand through 40 minutes of play.
 
Gosselin – who played in his first collegiate game Friday night – proceeded to notch the Chargers following two goals in the third period with wrist shots from the blue line at 4:00 and 8:46. Matt Salhany and Marooney notched assists on the initial Gosselin tally, while Jack Prince and Brandon Parker helped on the second goal in the third.
 
The four minutes following Gosselin's goal would force overtime, but Marooney ended the extra period with his second goal of the season at 1:07 for the 5-4 win with an assist from freshman Hans Gorowsky. This is the Chargers first overtime victory since the program's first-ever WCHA win over Bowling Green on Dec. 7, 2013 by a score of 4-3.
 
Junior Carmine Guerriero's record improves to 2-2-1 in net with the win, with the Montreal, Quebec, native totaling a game-high 24 saves.
 
UAH looks ahead to the series finale tomorrow at 6:07 p.m. against Lake Superior State at Taffy Abel Arena.