GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Ralph Engelstad Arena) -- Down 4-1 with 3:56 left in the game, Jamie MacQueen (Sr., F, St. Thomas, Ontario) scored two goals in just 19 seconds to reel the Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team to within a goal of the University of North Dakota, but the nationally-ranked Fighting Sioux would hold on for a 4-3 victory and earn a berth into the Red Baron/WCHA Final Five.
This victory gives UND a sweep in the WCHA best-of-three opening round following a 4-1 victory last night, ending the Beavers 2011-12 season.
For the second consecutive evening, Connor Gaarder put the Fighting Sioux ahead early, tonight netting his fourth goal of the season at the 13:48 mark of the first period collecting a loose puck near the left face off dot and firing a wrister through traffic. Dan Senkbeil and Mark MacMillan were credited with assist on the play.
The Sioux would take a 1-0 lead into the locker room after an evenly-played first period.
Bemidji State would make up some ground in the opening minutes of the second period when Jordan George (Jr., F, Madison, Wis.) tipped in his team-best 19th goal of the season at the 6:25 mark. Brad Hunt (Sr., D, Ridge Meadows, British Columbia) and Ben Kinne (Jr., F, St. Paul, Minn.) were credited with assists on the scoring play.
The game would be tied for just 65 seconds. Cater Rowney scored his 17th of the season at the 7:30 mark of the period. The goal served as a fulcrum point as UND would begin to tighten its grip on the series.
The Fighting Sioux carried play for extended stretches during the period and would get a Michael Parks goal at the 18:17 mark to take a two-goal lead into the final 20 minutes of play, 3-1.
When Dillon Simpson scored to put UND up 4-1 with 14:54 to play, it looked as if the Sioux had all but punched their ticket to St. Paul, Minn., but the BSU senior class would not see their collegiate careers cut short without a fight.
During the final four minutes of the game, seniors Shea Walters (Sr., F, Hibbing, Minn.), Hunt and MacQueen would combine for two goals and two assists and with 3:37 to play, BSU had the near capacity Ralph Engelstad Arena crowd 11,140 more than nervous.
Trailing 4-3 with 1:22 left, BSU head coach Tom Serratore would pull goaltender Dan Bakala (Sr., Calgary, Alberta) for an extra attacker, but the Beavers were unable to knot the game.
One night after surrendering a pair of UND power-play markers, BSU killed both Fighting Sioux man advantage opportunities to finish the season strong at 123-of-147 (.837) to rank among the nations’s top penalty-killing teams.
UND returned the favor snuffing out both of BSU’s power-play chances.
Bakala posted a game-high 28 saves in the loss. He finished the season 11-13-2 and in three seasons as the Beavers’ primary goaltender, he piled up 2,379 saves to sit second on BSU Division I-era saves list, while his 43 victories is second only to Matt Climie’s 44 since BSU made the jump to the NCAA Division I level prior to the 1999-2000 season.
North Dakota continues its dominance in the all-time series. Dating back to 1970, the Fighting Sioux have now won 24 of 27 meetings (24-2-1) and hold a 16-1-1 record when hosting the Beavers in Grand Forks, N.D.
Loss to North Dakota (22-12-3) marks an end to the Beavers’ 2011-12 campaign. Bemidji State state will finish with a 17-18-3 overall record with an 11-14-3 mark in WCHA play to finish the season ninth in the final league standings.
The end of the season also mark an end to the collegiate career of BSU’s six seniors. Dan Bakala, Darcy Findlay, Drew Fisher, Brad Hunt, Jamie MacQueen and Shea Walters played their final game a Beaver sweater tonight. As a class, these men have an overall record of 74-61-13, won a pair of College Hockey America championships, two trips to the NCAA Tournament which included a magical ride to the 2009 Frozen Four, and an upset of eventual national champion Minnesota Duluth in last year’s WCHA Final Five. They also played on the last BSU team to skate in the storied John S. Glas Fieldhouse and the first to make its home in Bemidji’s new Sanford Center as a member of the WCHA.
--bsu--
