BEMIDJI, Minn. -- (John S. Glas Fieldhouse) -- The Bemidji State University men's ice hockey team was swept for the first time this season as Minnesota State University followed its 5-1 rout Friday by holding the Beavers off, 3-2, Saturday to gain its second win in as many nights at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse.
Trailing 3-1 with just under two minutes to go in the game, the Beavers pulled their goaltender in exchange for an extra attacker. The gamble looked like it might pay off as Jordan George (Fr., F, Madison, Wis.) potted his seventh goal of the season to reel the Mavericks to with a goal with 63 seconds left, but that was all the Beavers could muster as they fell in back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 17 and 23 of last season.
BSU jumped out to a lead just 54 seconds into the game. Matt Read (Jr., F, Ilderton, Ontario) stepped off the bench for his first shift of the game and into a MSU passing lane. After picking off the pass, Read skated past the Maverick defensive pair and placed a shot over the right shoulder of the MSU goaltender and into the back of the net.
Minnesota State's Eriah Hayes evened the score at 1-1 at the 4:29 mark of the period. He took a pass from Kael Mouillierat and Kurt Davis and fired a slap shot that Mathieu Dugas (Fr., G, L'Assomption, Quebec), the BSU goaltender, couldn't handle and it dribbled in for a goal.
Just 10 seconds into the second period, the game would swing in favor of MSU. BSU's top scoring defenseman, Brad Hunt (So., D, Ridge Meadows, British Columbia) was whistled for a checking from behind major penalty and was sent to the showers. The Mavericks took the lead just 35 seconds into the five-minute power-play opportunity on a Mouillierat tally.
Minnesota State added to its lead in the third period. Michael Dorr converted a BSU turnover on the red line into the first goal of his career as he beat the BSU goaltender one-on-one. Dorr is the brother of Frannie Door, a senior forward on the BSU women's ice hockey team.
In the final minutes the Beavers would mount a comeback but would fall short, 3-2.
BSU failed to score on five power-play opportunities on the night, while MSU converted one of three chances into a goal.
The Beavers kept Austin Lee busy tonight out shooting MSU 31-14.
Lee made 29 saves and allowed to goals in 60:00 minutes between the pipes. He improves to 7-5-0 on the season.
Dugas takes his second loss of the season, falling to 3-2-0 after posting 11 saves and allowing all three Maverick goals.
The loss marks the sixth straight to MSU matching a losing skid that stretched from Dec. 20, 1996 to Dec. 17, 2000 and stands as the longest streak without a win over the Mavericks since the series began in 1974. MSU still trails BSU 44-35-13 in the all-time series.
The Beavers, 13/4/1 overall and 8-0-0 in College Hockey America play, now break for the holidays. The team will open the second half of its season Jan. 2 with a trip to Kalamazoo, Mich. for a nonconference series versus Western Michigan University. The series, set for Lawson Ice Arena, will get underway at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 2 and will wrap up with a Jan. 3:30 p.m. matinee.
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