NIAGARA, N.Y. (Dwyer Arena) - The Bemidji State University men's ice hockey team earned a 2-2 tie with College Hockey America foe No. 17/19 Niagara University Saturday at Dwyer Arena in Niagara, N.Y. in a well-played, pure hockey game. The Beavers rode the strength of their penalty kill and a hot goaltender through regulation and overtime to earn the tie on the Purple Eagles' home ice and skate out of Niagara with three crucial points in the league standings.

The Beavers scored first and held the lead for 52:12 minutes, but when Matt Caruana fired the puck past Matt Climie (Sr., G, Leduc, Alberta) to knot the game at 2-2, Bemidji State hunkered down and managed to salvage the tie.

Freshman Matt Read (F, Ilderton, Ontario) got the Beavers on the board during the seventh minute (6:14) of play netting his third goal of the season with BSU down a man. He picked off an errant NU pass and quickly drilled the puck past the Niagara goaltender and into the back of the net. The unassisted goal marked the second consecutive night Bemidji State has recorded a short-handed goal after playing the first 12 games of the season without one.

Riley Weselowski (Sr., D, Pilot Mound, Manitoba) put BSU up 2-0 in the final seconds of the first period (19:33) when he converted a one-timer from the slot on a Tyler Scofield (Jr., F, Prince George, British Columbia) pass from behind the net. Travis Winter (Jr., C, St. Cloud, Minn.) was also credited with a helper on the play. The goal was the first of the season for Weselowski putting an end to a personal 17-game scoreless streak for the defenseman.

With four points on the weekend, including a Cody Bostock (Jr., D, Salmon Arm, British Columbia) game-winner in the opening game of the series, the BSU defense has accounted for 6-10=16 points on the season extending its streak of consecutive games with at least one point to 11 games.

Niagara would come back in the second out shooting the Beavers 13 to 10 with one of those shots sneaking past Climie to cut the NU deficit to one, 2-1. Chris Moran scored the first Purple Eagle goal 2:04 into the stanza on a pass form Ryan Annesley.

BSU would hold off the aggressive NU attack for the remainder of the second, stymieing three Purple Eagle power-play opportunities to get to the second intermission clinging to a 2-1 lead.

That advantage would hold up until Caruana connected with the back of the net during the 19th minute of the third period.

BSU was out shot in the five-minute overtime period, 4-1, but the teams failed to score settling for a tie.

Climie was on his game again tonight. He gave up a goal during the second period and the game-tying goal with 1:26 remaining in regulation, but turned away 23 Niagara shots in 65:00 minutes of play.

Despite only being called upon one time during the first 20 minutes, he stopped 12 NU shots in the second, six in the third and made four saves in the overtime period including a great recovery on a bullet that he tipped with his glove and covered just before it trickled across the goal line. He moves to 5-2-2 on the season.

The NU goaltender Juliano Pagliero made 28 saves playing every minute of the game and is now 6-3-1 in 2007-08.

The BSU penalty kill was stellar in the contest. The unit squashed all nine of the Purple Eagles' opportunities with the man advantage marking the eight time this season the Beavers have held their opponent without a power-play tally. BSU completes the series holding Niagara to just 1-of-13 on the power-play. On the year, BSU has successfully killed 68-of-80 (.850) opponent power-play chances.

As with every other game this season, win or lose, the Beavers out shot their opponent, 30-25. BSU now holds a 440-340 (+100) advantage in shots through 14 games.

Bemidji State improves to 13-17-8 versus Niagara since the series began in 1999. BSU is now 4-11-3 all-time when facing the Purple Eagles on their home ice and is 2-1-4 in the last seven meetings with the defending regular-season league champion. The only time BSU has earned more points in a weekend series at Dwyer Arena was a Nov. 19-20, 2004 twinbill in which the Beavers completed their only sweep of the Purple Eagles on their home ice.

The Beavers (6-6-2; 4-2-2 CHA) return to the John S. Glas Fieldhouse for the first regular-season game on home ice since Nov. 3rd Friday when it hosts long-time CHA rival Alabama-Huntsville for the Chargers' only visit to the First City on the Mississippi this season. The puck is scheduled to drop on the series at 7:35 p.m. Friday with the series final set for a 7:05 p.m. start Saturday.

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