DETROIT (Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum) - Bemidji State University rookie Matt Read
(F, Ilderton, Ontario) helped generate the Beaver's first period
game-winning goal and scored his first collegiate marker during the
final 20 minutes as the Beaver men's hockey team skated to a 3-1
victory over Wayne State University Friday in College Hockey America
play at the Michigan State Fairground Coliseum.
The
two points the Beavers earned with the win helped them to slide past
Robert Morris, who was involved in non-conference play Friday, and into
first place in the CHA standings with seven points.
Active in from the get go, the Beaver attack put pressure on the Wayne State goaltender from the drop of the puck.
Matt Pope
(Sr., C, Langley, British Columbia) got the Beavers on the board just
93 seconds into the contest as BSU made good on its first power-play
opportunity. Graham McManamin (So., D, Anchorage, Alaska) and Joey Moggach (So., F, Brandon, Manitoba) were credited with assists on the play.
The Beavers' fifth power-play goal of 2007-08 moved Pope into a tie with Travis Winter (Jr., C, St. Cloud, Minn.) and Blaine Jarvis
(Gladstone, Manitoba) for the team lead with four while recording his
sixth assist on the play, Moggach now leads the team and the league in
assist scoring.
The Warriors would even the
score during the 15th minute. Tyler Ruel would net the first goal of
his career on a play involving Jordan Inglis and Matt Krug.
Read
would help the Beavers move back into the lead in the final minutes of
the first stanza. He would find the puck on the red line and skate it
into the zone finding Winter who got the puck to the stick if Cody Bostock
(Salmon Arm, British Columbia) for a one-timer in the slot. Bostock's
first goal of the season would stand as the game winner as the defender
and his teammates would hold the Warriors without a goal and to just 10
shots on goal during the final two periods of play.
After
a scoreless second period, Read would take out an insurance policy on
the BSU win picking off a misplayed puck, skating it into the zone and
making good on a one-on-one situation with the goaltender. The goal
stands as the first of Read's young collegiate career while he becomes
the 13th different BSU skater to find the net this season.
Matt Climie (Sr.,
Leduc, Alberta), the CHA's reigning Defensive Player of the Week, made
18 saves in 60 minutes of play allowing only the first period tally to
move to 4-1-1 on the season and remain unbeaten in league play (3-0-1).
On
the other end of the ice, the WSU goalie Kyle Funkenhauser fell to
1-4-1 overall turning away 20 shots, including 10 during the first
period, and allowing three goals in 58:40 between the pipes.
The
Beavers were 1-for-4 on the power play. After struggling to generate
scoring on the man advantage, the Beavers have now netted a power-play
goal in each of their last three games going 3-for-11 during those
contest (.273).
BSU penalty kill continues
to roll. Shutting the Warriors out on six opportunities tonight, the
Beavers have now held their opponent without a power-play goal in eight
of 11 games this season and hold down the top spot among conference
foes killing 27-of-29 power-play opportunities (.926).
Keeping
with another trend of the 2007-08 season, the Beavers out shot WSU
23-19. BSU not been out shot in a single contest this season and holds
a 345-263 (+84) advantage in shots through 11 games.
The
Beavers improve to 22-7-5 all-time versus WSU and are now 10-4-3 when
facing the Warriors on their home ice. Since Dec. 5, 2003, BSU holds a
15-2-2 advantage in the series including a 10-game unbeaten streak
spanning nearly two years.
The Beavers (5-5-1;
3-1-1 CHA) look to extend a league unbeaten streak to a season-long
five games as they wrap up the two-game set versus the Warriors
tomorrow. The game is scheduled for a 6:05 p.m. CT at the Michigan
State Fairgrounds Coliseum.
--bsu--
