UAH Athletics

With Lynyrd Skynryd's Ronnie Van Zant's famous "Turn it up" echoing through the Von Braun Civic Center, the University of Alabama in Huntsville ice hockey team took to the ice for the first time in 1979 to the rock anthem "Sweet Home Alabama".
A grass roots effort from the beginning, the UAH hockey program has its roots firmly planted in the melting pot that is Huntsville, Ala. With fewer than 15,000 residents in 1940, things quickly blossomed in the then quiet southern town. Along with the U.S. Army Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal and the Marshal Space Flight center, the town began to grow at a rapid pace as more and more jobs were created and people from all over the world came to live where the first capital of the state of Alabama was located.

The scientists and engineers who moved to the Tennessee Valley brought with them their sticks and skates and youth hockey quickly developed. Some of those players along with others began the movement to start a club hockey team in the summer of 1979. Within a few weeks, they began skating together and practicing without even assurance they would play a schedule that year and without a coach.

Things quickly came together for the first UAH team to take the ice as Joe Ritch came on board as the team's first coach and a schedule was made. October 26, 1979 saw the first Charger team cross the state line to Georgia to take on Emory University near Atlanta. The end result was a precursor of things to come as UAH downed Emory 11-4 in the first hockey contest in school history. A few weeks later, the Chargers would take their first loss at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers. The Big Orange outpaced the Chargers 11-8 but that would be the only taste of defeat the 1979-80 team would endure as UAH went on to take three straight from the Vols and ran the table to finish with a 21-1 mark.

With a year under their belts, the 1980-81 squad also took an early season loss against UT and then went the rest of the way without another loss finishing 27-1 including a 7-6 overtime win over Tennessee, a team in its 14th year of competition, to claim the Southern Collegiate Hockey Association championship.

With a league championship under their belt, the Chargers headed into the 1981-82 campaign as a team to be reckoned with and the "Boys in Blue" upgraded their schedule to face some stiffer competition. Ritch's squad proved up to the challenge and went on to a 31-2-1 record. After a 19-1 thumping of Auburn in the SCHA tournament, the Chargers took out Tennessee in the championship game 6-2 for their second-straight title.

Earning the school's first berth into a national tournament, the 81-82 squad would breeze past Colorado 6-1 in the opening game of the tourney before Penn State put a scare into the Chargers with a 4-3 game. That is as close as anyone would come however as UAH cruised past Northern Arizona 6-2 in the semifinals before crushing Southern Methodist 14-2 to bring the first national championship back to Huntsville.

With the team's success on the ice, the decision was made to bring on a full-time coach as Ritch stepped aside and 1976 Olympian Doug Ross was chosen to take over the reigns behind the bench. At the time, little did anyone know the impact Ross would have on the program and the heights to which the Chargers would swell during his reign.

As the Chargers joined the Central States Collegiate Hockey League, Ross immediately began to upgrade the schedule and dramatically widened the base from which UAH recruited its student athletes. The Ross era got off to a bit of a rocky start with an overtime loss and tie at Iowa State but the Chargers rebounded for a 27-6-2 finish. Despite falling 5-4 in overtime to Marquette in the CSCHL championship game at the VBC, the Chargers earned their second-straight berth into the national tournament hosted on UAH's home ice. A 16-2 thumping of Auburn followed by a 7-4 win over Arizona saw the Chargers back in the championship game for the second-straight season. The Nittany Lions from Penn State would prove to be a tough opponent for UAH but the Chargers prevailed 5-4 defending their national championship.

The 1983-84 season saw UAH stumble out of the gate dropping a pair of home games to Miami (OH). The rebound came quickly for the Chargers as they lost only two more contests the rest of the season for a 27-4 finish. The "Boys in Blue" once again rolled through the national tournament taking revenge on Miami (OH) 3-1 in the opening round before downing Indiana 13-4 in the semifinals. The third title game in as many years saw the Chargers roll past Ohio 12-1 for UAH's third club national championship.

With at the time the toughest schedule to date, the 1984-85 team cruised to a 21-7-1 mark and yet another berth in the club national tournament. Wins over Delaware and Ferris State put the Chargers in their fourth title game in as many years but a stalwart North Dakota State team kept the UAH seniors from winning four crowns in four years.

1985 brought about a change for the athletics department as a whole as UAH was accepted into the NCAA and hockey moved to varsity status for the first time in the history of the program. The Chargers battled through a tough initial season at 13-10 in 1985-86 of NAIA play in preparation for the department's move with the 1986-87 school year.

UAH enjoyed a successful season in 86-87 playing NCAA Division II hockey finishing with a 20-10 mark and was Huntsville was proclaimed by then Governor George C. Wallace as "The Hockey Capital of the South". The following season, the NCAA did away with the Division II championship forcing UAH to make the jump to the Division I level. It would be a tough adjustment for the Chargers as UAH went 11-18-1 in 1987-88. Things would fare better in 1988-89 for Ross' squad with a 15-10-1 mark on the year. The following two seasons would be the roughest of Ross' career as the Chargers struggled going 10-22-3 in 1989-90 and 9-21-3 in 1990-91.

The 1991-92 season saw things begin to turn around with the team finishing 18-10-1 as the Chargers continued to compete as an independent. The 1992-93 season saw the NCAA reinstitute the Division II championship and UAH moved back down a division. Following a 15-12-1 campaign in 92-93, the Chargers made a return to the national tournament hosting Bemidji State for the Division II championship and finished the season at an impressive 20-5-1. The Chargers lost a pair of one-goal contests falling short of the first NCAA championship in school history in front of the largest crowd (6,451) to watch a Division II championship game.

The 1994-95 season was another impressive year for Ross squad as UAH finished with a 20-5-2 mark and headed into the final regional ranking slated to host the national finals again. Despite winning their final four games including the final two on the road at Mankato State (now Minnesota State), the Chargers were snubbed in the final poll and left out of the championship all together.

Being denied a chance to play for the title in 94, the team came together with a renewed passion for the 1995-96 season and the end result showed as the "Boys in Blue" went undefeated at 26-0-3. A repeat of the 1994 championship series was on the slate as Bemidji State made a return trip to the "Rocket City". The Chargers did not play the role of nice hosts to the Beavers smashing BSU 7-1 in the first game and shutting out Bemidji State 3-0 to win the school's first NCAA title in the championship game. The win denied BSU's chance at four straight titles and a rivalry was born.

The 1996-97 season saw the Chargers return to the title game but this time it was not in the friendly confines of the VBC as Bemidji State earned the right to host as UAH finished with a 20-8-0 mark. With outdoor temperatures in the single digits, the Chargers fought hard but fell 3-2 and 4-3 on the Beavers' home ice.

The two familiar foes would meet yet again in Huntsville in 1998 with the NCAA crown on the line. Like in 96, the Chargers dominated the series with a 6-2 decision in game one followed by a 5-2 victory in the championship in front of more than 5,000 fans as UAH finished 24-3-3.

With the NCAA closing the door on the Division II championship again, the Chargers moved back to Division I hockey for the 1998-99 season as an independent. Playing primarily a schedule of Division II teams or teams in transition like UAH, the Chargers went an impressive 21-5-1. The 1999-2000 campaign saw the UAH join College Hockey America as a founding member along with Air Force, Army, Bemidji State and Niagara.

With the success of the Division II national tournaments in Huntsville, the CHA opted to play the first league championship in the "Rocket City." After posting a 15-4-1 mark in league play, the Chargers advanced to the finals but fell short 3-2 to Niagara, who went on to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. On the year, UAH finished 17-10-4.

2000-01 saw the Chargers again host the league championship and after running through the league with a 15-4-1 CHA mark earning the CHA title, the Charger faithful knew this was the year UAH would claim a tournament title to go with the regular season championship. After a 7-0 thumping of Air Force in the semifinals, Wayne State upset the favored Chargers 4-1.

With a host of new faces on the squad, UAH had its ups and downs in 2001-02 finishing the season 18-18-1 overall and 10-9-1 in the CHA. The season is remembered most of all for the finish as UAH advanced to the CHA Tournament finals for the third straight year. With Niagara playing host, the Chargers faced off against Wayne State again and the Warriors came away with a 5-4 overtime win denying UAH yet again of the chance to hoist the Peters Cup.

With the toughest start to a schedule in school history, 2002-03 turned out to be a solid year for the Chargers. After road series at Wisconsin, at Denver and at Minnesota, UAH found league competition a piece of cake and earned the school's second CHA Championship finishing the season 18-14-3 overall and 13-5-2 in league play. The CHA tournament saw UAH make an unfamiliar semi-final round exit as Bemidji State bounced the Chargers 2-1 in overtime in Kearney, Neb.

Goaltending woes and a number of other factors led to a subpar finish for the Chargers in 2003-04 with an 11-16-4, 10-9-1 CHA finish. Despite the record, UAH played extremely well at times including a series at nationally-ranked Maine where the Chargers tied the Black Bears 2-2 and fell 1-0.

The Chargers quickly returned to their winning ways in 2004-05 finishing the slate with a 18-10-4 record overall and 14-5-1 in the CHA. The "Boys in Blue" advanced to the CHA Tournament finals before falling short yet again, this time to Bemidji State playing in their home state in Grand Rapids, Minn.

The 2005-06 season saw the Chargers finish with a 19-13-2 mark overall but saw their CHA record slip to 12-7-1 and a third-place finish in the league. The highlight of the season came in early December when some late-game heroics earned the Chargers a 4-3 win and a 2-2 tie at Ohio State. UAH fell in the semifinals of the CHA Tournament in Detroit, Mich., falling 4-3 in overtime to Bemidji State.

A Hollywood producer would reject the script for the 2006-07 season as too far fetched but the unthinkable happened. Going 5-12-1 before Christmas, the Chargers turned things around in the second half of the season notching a mark of 8-8-2 over the final 18 games. January 2007 saw Coach Ross announce that this season would be his last behind the UAH bench.

Finishing below .500 in conference play (7-11-2) for the first time in school history, the Chargers entered the CHA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa as the bottom seed. A first-round matchup against Wayne State saw the Chargers fall behind 3-0 before mounting a four-goal comeback to win 4-3 in overtime snapping an 18-game winless streak in OT. CHA regular season champion Niagara awaited the Chargers in the semifinals and the high-powered Purple Eagle offense staked NU to a 3-1 lead. The no quit Chargers responded with four unanswered of their own to advance to the finals a matchup with Robert Morris.

With Ross' last chance to win a tournament title as well as the first-ever win on national or regional television for the Chargers, UAH came out and did the unthinkable spotting Robert Morris a 4-0 lead in the first period. A pair of early goals in the second period made it a game again and a third Charger goal pulled UAH to within one of the tie just before the stanza drew to a close. The comeback Chargers then pulled even in the third period and brought home the first CHA Tournament Title in school history with a short-handed goal in overtime to advance to the NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Championships.

With Air Force winning the Atlantic Hockey Championship, it setup the matchup all of the UAH faithful wanted, a shot at top-ranked Notre Dame in Grand Rapids, Mich. The game against the Green and Gold would prove to be one for the ages. Again falling behind early after two Irish goals, the Chargers kept the composure and played their game. A pair of second period goals would tie the contest at two but it would be nearly 60 more minutes of hockey before either team would score again. With both teams having their chances late in the game and in the first and second overtime periods, the game came down to a late power play for the Irish and Notre Dame avoided the huge upset topping the Chargers 3-1 in double overtime. UAH finished the season 13-20-3 but the record will be something no one will remember about the magical 2006-07 season for the Chargers.

With Coach Ross’ retirement following the 06-07 run, former NHL veteran and Stanley Cup winner Danton Cole was tapped as the third coach in the history of the UAH program in the summer of 2007.  With 10 seniors gone from the first CHA Tournament Championship team in school history, the Chargers struggled in 2007-08.  UAH finished the campaign 6-21-4 overall and 3-13-4 CHA play.  2008-09 proved to be another uphill battle for the Blue and White as well as UAH finished 5-20-5 overall and 3-11-4 in league play.

2009-10 turned out to be another special season for the Chargers as UAH won the final CHA Tournament hosted in Niagara, N.Y. beating hosting Niagara 3-2 in overtime in the tournament finale.  The victory claimed the Chargers’ second-ever berth in the NCAA tournament where UAH faced top-ranked Miami in the NCAA Midwest Regional in Fort Wayne, Ind.  UAH again played a solid game on the national stage with the Chargers falling 2-1 to the Redhawks.

Change would be the name of the game for the 2010-11 season for the Blue and White as UAH became the only independent in college hockey with the dissolution of College Hockey America.  UAH also faced another switch at the top of the program as Chris Luongo took over the reins for Cole in the offseason.  The rugged independent road schedule proved to be a tall task for UAH in 2010-11 as the Chargers finished the campaign 4-26-2.