Yes you read that right. Tigers: 1, UAH: 0. Not the high-scoring blowout many of us were hoping for, even expecting. The Tigers were faster, more physical and shot more tonight and yet only had 1 goal to show for it. The embarrassingly small World Arena crowd was restless for most of the game as the Tigers danced circles around the Chargers and yet couldn’t find the back of the net. Add two cross-bars, a post hit and two empty-net near-misses to that and it made for a nervous night. UAH had numerous penalties in the area of hooking tonight trying desperately to slow down the CC speed. Numerous times, Tigers were so open that they elected for the pass instead of the shot. UAH did a horrible job of puck control throughout the game and looked like they were either bracing for a hit, or looking for an out before they had control of the puck. The Tigers stole the puck at will and ran all around the over-matched visitors. However, the goaltending by Cameron Talbot was superb and he hung with the Tigers’ shooting barrage, which ended with 45 shots on goal. The Tigers, other than scoring, looked very good and I have yet to see an area of real concern. A close win like this will only help the team when they get into WCHA action. It will be fun to see what kind of game we get tomorrow night; UAH was visibly wearing down as the night went on so it could be a radically different score.

Notes from the stands:

Chad Rau and Richard Bachman were All Americans and more as Rau had the only goal (a top-shelf rip with under a minute in the 2^nd) and Bachman stayed focused and notched a shutout on 16 shots, often with 5+ minutes in between shots.

The crowd was sparse, a shame since we have such a great team and it was the regular-season opener

No injuries yet, though ex-Lincoln Star Steve Shultz did go off the ice favoring his right shoulder/arm at one point.

Cameron Talbot was visibly devastated after letting in the only Tiger goal

UAH had new uniforms that looked purple in the arena lights but, alas, followed the trend of ugly RBK NHL jerseys. I liked the old ones better.

The odd black stripe down the side was not all that attractive, and I wasn’t a fan of the black nameplates.

And the socks, ohh the socks. I HATE the funky designs that companies try to wedge onto socks (yuck!). Why can’t they stay traditional?

Tiger UNI note: CC wore their yellow alternates which are a great color but I’m still not sold on the shoulder stripe going all the way down the sleeve.

Last game I said the players’ helmets had “TIGERS” on the side this season, well that’s just the left side, the right is “CC” lettering.

It was 75 degrees in the Springs today and could be a wintry weekend, come out to the game Saturday night!!!

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