# 1995–96 Alabama–Huntsville Chargers men's ice hockey season

The 1995–96 Alabama–Huntsville Chargers ice hockey team represented the University of Alabama in Huntsville in the 1995–96 NCAA Division II men's hockey season, winning the national championship. It was the school's first NCAA national championship, following club national championships in 1981–82, 1982–83, and 1983–84. The team was coached by Doug Ross, who was in his 14th season as head coach, and played their home games at the Von Braun Civic Center.
The Chargers completed the regular season with 22 wins, zero losses, and 3 ties. They were then invited to play the Bemidji State Beavers in a two-game series to determine the Division II National Championship at Huntsville's Von Braun Civic Center. The Chargers would dominate in both a 7–1 victory on March 8, followed by 3–0 shutout to clinch the championship the following day.
In the weeks following the championship, speculation on plans for a new 4,000-seat arena near the Benton H. Wilcoxon Municipal Iceplex for the Chargers were later abandoned. Additionally, whether or not to move back to Division I became an issue, but UAH would refrain from the jump until 1998.

## Regular season
### Schedule

* Green background indicates win.
* Red background indicates loss.
* Yellow background indicates tie.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season |||||||
| October 27 | St. Norbert* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 5–4 | 1,908 | 1–0–0 |
| October 28 | St. Norbert* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 4–2 | 811 | 2–0–0 |
| November 3 | Windsor* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama (Exhibition) | Puppa | W 7–1 | n/a | 2–0–0 |
| November 4 | Windsor* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama (Exhibition) | Puppa | W 6–5 $^{OT}$ | n/a | 2–0–0 |
| November 17 | New Hampshire College* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 13–2 | 3,259 | 3–0–0 |
| November 18 | New Hampshire College* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 7–0 | 923 | 4–0–0 |
| November 25 | RIT* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 7–3 | 1,138 | 5–0–0 |
| November 26 | RIT* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | Puppa | W 3–0 | 753 | 6–0–0 |
| December 1 | Augsburg* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 12–1 | 2,113 | 7–0–0 |
| December 2 | Augsburg* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 13–2 | 1,001 | 8–0–0 |
| December 15 | St. Scholastica* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | Puppa | W 6–0 | 1,427 | 9–0–0 |
| December 16 | St. Scholastica* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 10–0 | 916 | 10–0–0 |
| December 29 | St. John's (MN)* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 6–3 | 1,698 | 11–0–0 |
| December 30 | St. John's (MN)* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 5–3 | 1,332 | 12–0–0 |
| January 5 | Salem State* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 3–2 | 2,331 | 13–0–0 |
| January 6 | Salem State* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | Puppa | T 3–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,307 | 13–0–1 |
| January 12 | Curry* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 16–0 | 3,595 | 14–0–1 |
| January 13 | Curry* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 20–1 | 850 | 15–0–1 |
| January 26 | at Mercyhurst* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Puppa | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 950 | 15–0–2 |
| January 27 | at Mercyhurst* | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | | W 3–2 | 1,200 | 16–0–2 |
| January 28 | at Elmira* | Murray Athletic Center • Elmira, New York | | W 4–2 | 347 | 17–0–2 |
| February 10 | Minnesota–Crookston* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 4–2 | 1,500 | 18–0–2 |
| February 11 | Minnesota–Crookston* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 2–1 | 1,403 | 19–0–2 |
| February 16 | Mankato State* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 4–2 | 3,756 | 20–0–2 |
| February 17 | Mankato State* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | | W 3–1 | 2,196 | 21–0–2 |
| March 1 | at Mankato State* | Mankato Civic Center • Mankato, Minnesota | Puppa | T 3–3 $^{OT}$ | 2,310 | 21–0–3 |
| March 2 | at Mankato State* | Mankato Civic Center • Mankato, Minnesota | | W 4–3 | 2,674 | 22–0–3 |
| NCAA Division II Championship Series |||||||
| March 8 | Bemidji State* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | Puppa | W 7–1 | 6,126 | 23–0–3 |
| March 9 | Bemidji State* | Von Braun Civic Center • Huntsville, Alabama | Puppa | W 3–0 | 6,291 | 24–0–3 |
| *Non-conference game. Sources: |||||||

## Player stats
### Skaters

| Player | Pos | Yr | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mario Mazzuca | LW | Sr | 27 | 30 | 22 | 52 | 60 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
| Tony Guzzo | C | Jr | 27 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Ryan Wood | RW | Sr | 26 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 62 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| Shledon Wolitski | D | Sr | 27 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Taso Sofikitis | D | Sr | 27 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Wade Tulk | C | Sr | 26 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| K. C. Schneider | RW | Jr | 27 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Jamie Baby | C | Fr | 27 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Bilyeu | LW | Jr | 27 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Matt Parker | LW | So | 26 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Hamlin | RW | Fr | 27 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| John McCabe | LW | So | 23 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Darren Awender | C | So | 25 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brad Dame | D | Sr | 27 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Macera | D | Sr | 26 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 65 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Usmail | D | Sr | 26 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Schloss | LW | Fr | 24 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Price | LW | Fr | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Stewart | RW | So | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Provenzano | D | Fr | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | | | 27 | 172 | 261 | 433 | 548 | 46 | 8 | 24 |

### Goaltenders

| Player | Yr | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SV% | SO |
| Derek Puppa | Sr | 25 | 1316:10 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 1.69 | .936 | 3 |
| Mike Zeller | So | 6 | 229:44 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1.83 | .929 | 0 |
| Cédrick Billequey | Fr | 4 | 89:06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.67 | .964 | 0 |