BEMIDJI, Minn. (John S. Glas Fieldhouse) - Down 4-1
to Minnesota State University, Mankato after two periods of play, the
Bemidji State University men’s hockey team scored a pair of goals
during the first 10 minutes of the third period, but was unable to
match the Mavericks before time ran out dropping the non-conference
match up 4-3 Friday at the John Glas Fieldhouse.
The
Beavers came out of the second intermission a different team dominating
the final 20 minutes of play, but four early goals by MSU would prove
to be too great a deficit for the Beavers as time would expire on the
BSU comeback.
Mick Berge opened the scoring
for MSU 4:46 in, taking the puck off the stick of a BSU defender just
outside the crease and beating senior goaltender Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) for an unassisted goal--his ninth goal of the season.
The
Mavericks built a 2-0 lead during the 11th minute (10:37) when Kael
Mouillierat found Joel Hanson on the left pipe. Hanson shoveled the
puck across the crease and onto the stick of Trevor Bruess who pushed
the puck past the beaten BSU goalie.
It looked as though momentum was swinging in BSU direction as the second period got underway. Just 1:23 into the stanza, Graham McManamin (So., D, Anchorage, Alaska) dug the puck out the corer and found Matt Read (Fr., F, Illderton, Ontario) who skated past the Maverick defense and passed to a streaking Tyler Scofield
(Jr., F, Prince George, British Columbia). Scofield netted his sixth
marker of 2007-08 flicking the puck over the shoulder of the MSU
goaltender Mike Zacharias. But the Mavericks took the wind right out of
the Beavers’ sails tallying two even-strength goals in just 39 seconds
to extend their lead to 4-1, silence the BSU crowd and end Climie’s
night.
Brian Kilburg would be credited with
the Mavericks’ third goal of the night while James Gaulrapp netted the
eventual game-winner.
Freshman goaltender Matt Dalton
(Clinton, Ontario) came off the bench to relieve Climie, making just
his third appearance of the season. The rookie made seven saves during
the final 35:45 and kept the Beavers within striking distance by
holding the Mavericks scoreless.
The Beavers
owned the third period. The team beat the visitors to the puck and had
plenty of opportunities, out shooting MSU 12-4 during the final 20
minutes.
Read reeled the Mavericks to within
two goals, 4-2, at the 4:11 mark as the beneficiary of being at the
right place a the right time. The freshman was standing on the doorstep
when Scofield managed to center the puck with a Maverick defender on
his back and Read flipped the puck over the MSU goalie. Just over six
minutes later (10:33) Matt Pope (Sr., C, Langley,
British Columbia) took a pass from Blaine Jarvis (Sr., F, Gladstone,
Manitoba) from behind the goal and one-timed it into the net to match
Scofield and Jarvis for the team lead with his sixth goal of the
season. Riley Weselowski (Sr., D, Pilot Mound, Manitoba) earned his
first helper of the season on the play.
The
Beavers battled the rest of the period with an obvious spark. The
team’s urgency came to a head with 1:11 to play. While on the
power-play, BSU head coach Tom Serratore elected to pull Dalton giving
the Beavers a 6-on-4 advantage for 44 seconds but BSU would fail to
capitalize falling for the first time since a 5-2 loss at Wayne State
University, Nov. 17th.
Climie left the game after 23:04. He made 10 saves and allowed four goals falling to 7-3-2 with the loss.
Zacharias
turned away 31 shots including seven in the first, 14 in the second and
10 in the third to gain the win and improve to 5-3-3 in 2007-08.
In
addition to the MSU goalie performing well, the Beavers failed to
record a point on the man advantage. A BSU power-play unit that had
been clicking along at nearly 35 percent over the Beavers’ last five
games, went 0-for-6 tonight generating just seven shots. On the other
end of the rink, the Beavers’ penalty kill held the Mavericks scoreless
on four power-play attempts to extend its streak to 13 periods without
allowing a goal. BSU opponents have gone 0-for-15 during that time.
For
the 17th time this season, the Beavers out shot their opponent, out
dueling the Mavericks to the tune of 34-21 Friday. BSU has yet to be
out shot in a contest this season holding a 541-381 (+160) advantage in
shots on goal. Bemidji State was last out shot Feb. 3, 2007 (43-27) in
a 3-1 victory over University of Alabama-Huntsville.
The
loss is the first suffered at the hands of the Mavericks since Nov. 6,
2004, snapping BSU’s streak of four consecutive victories over MSU.
Minnesota State closed the gap in an all-time series that got its start
in 1974 to 44-30-13.
The Beavers fall to 8-7-2
overall while the win brings their Western Collegiate Hockey League
opponent to .500 at 6-6-3 on the season. Bemidji State will look to
even the series tomorrow night when they face the same Minnesota State
team in a 7:05 tilt at the John Glas Fieldhouse.
--bsu--
