November 11, 2009
Huntsville Forges On Despite Obstacles
by Matthew Ruffini/CHN Reporter
Most college hockey teams came into the 2009-2010 season having to answer the same questions, such as, how do you replace the players who graduated, the expectations of the team and talking about where your team was picked to finish in the polls. However, the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers have had to answer one more question that is more troubling.
The future of the program is in question with CHA coming to an end and the Chargers bid to join the CCHA denied. However, head coach Danton Cole is keeping his team’s focus on what they can control and that’s their performance on the ice.
In addition to the questions about the future of the program, the Chargers also had to deal with the loss of five of their senior players from last year, including leading scorer Matt Sweazy. The beginning of their schedule was also a daunting task for the Chargers, as four out of their first six games were on the road.
Their first two games were at fifth ranked Notre Dame and following that was a trip to the Cadet Ice Arena to take on Air Force.
“In a way, opening up with two tough trips helped us out with that. It made it easy to focus on the games and not all the other things out of our control,” Cole said.
Keeping his players focused on the task at hand was one of Cole’s top priorities.
“I think the best thing a coach can do is to try and eliminate distractions, no matter what they are. The student-athlete needs to be concerned with their studies and getting better as an athlete. Everything else is just noise,” Cole said.
Freshman forward Justin Cseter feels that Cole’s approach to the off-ice distractions has been a big help to the team’s mind set.
“I feel he has helped us by keeping us focused on what we can control, and that is what we do on the ice and in the weight room and at practice every day," Cseter said. "If we work hard and play together good things will happen and hopefully, things will fall into place for us.”
Once the decision had come down concerning the Chargers application into the CCHA, Cole reminded his players that they still had a job to do.
“We had one, and only one, meeting on the CCHA situation," Cole said. "The guys were told it did not work out and that the university was behind us 100 percent and we would be continuing on as an independent. It was important to keep them informed, but now we are moving on.”
Moving on is exactly what the Chargers did as they split the two-game series in Notre Dame and then swept a two-game series at Air Force.
“I think it was huge for our team to get off to a good start," said goalie Cameron Talbot. "After last season I think it was still in the back of people’s minds that we lost a lot of 1 and 2 goal games, so to come out against 2 ranked teams on the road and win a few close games like we did it showed great team character and gave us a lot to build on as we move forward.”
Said Cseter, “I think it meant a lot to our team and the program. It gave our team some confidence to win and showed us that we can play with anyone. When playing CCHA team's I think our team plays with a bit of a chip on its shoulder.”
The Chargers struggled a bit after winning three of their first four games, as they were swept in back-to-back weekends by Western Michigan and Bemidji State. The schedule doesn’t let up much either, with conference nemesis Bemidji State ahead four more times, as well as fifth-ranked Mass.-Lowell.
The Chargers are expected to finish fourth in the CHA but Talbot feels that if they can correct some of their problems from last year the Chargers could surprise some people.
“I think one of our biggest things is just going to be finding ways to win those close games," Talbot said. "In our conference last year we always seemed to be on the wrong side of 2-1, 3-2 and 3-1 games so I think timely scoring and great team defense will change a lot of those outcomes. Special teams will also play a big part on changing some of those outcomes as well.”
Talbot is one of the strengths of the Charger team, last year Talbot had a 2.95 GAA and a .907 save percentage.
“Last year was a good year but still not to where I felt like I was playing my best hockey," Talbot said. "I knew there were some areas I needed to address this off-season and I believe I did just that. The main thing I needed to improve on and where I feel everything begins, is my overall strength and endurance. I worked really hard this year in off-ice as well as on ice training with my goalie coach to make sure I was in the best shape possible coming into this season.”
The Chargers also have two young forwards in Cseter and sophomore Jody Campbell that can create lots of offense and score.
The Chargers have a tough road ahead with all the uncertainly around the program’s future but with a head coach that is keeping the team focused on winning, a solid goaltender and plenty of young talent, the light at the end of the tunnel could be brighter than what people expect.
