BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University women's hockey team fell to No. 2 University of Minnesota Duluth, 5-1 Friday night in the opening game of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association series.

Senior Brittni Mowat made 43 saves but Mowat and the Beavers' defense had trouble slowing down senior forward Lara Stalder who netted a hat trick and totaled four points on the night.

Sophomore Emily Bergland scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season for the lone Beaver goal while Summer Thibodeau and Alexis Joyce each tallied assists.

Minnesota Duluth controlled the pace during the first period and outshot Bemidji State 21-9 in the opening period. UMD’s Stalder scored her first goal of the day 12:26 in the first for the early lead. However, Mowat was excellent in net and held the Bulldogs to just the lone goal after facing 21 shots.

Stalder and the Bulldogs continued to set the pace when the senior scored two goals in the first 11 minutes of the second period to extend the second-ranked team’s lead to 3-0 over the Beavers. The Beavers skated well with their opponent despite the two goals and totaled 13 shots on sophomore goaltender Maddie Rooney. Rooney made all 13 stops for UMD however, and held a 3-0 lead heading into the final period.

The Beavers got off to a quick start to the third period and Bergland scored just 1:57 into the period. Bemidji State pushed play in their offensive zone but Minnesota Duluth extended its lead to 4-1 when Linnea Hedin scored at 12:27. The Bulldogs added another goal when Katherine McGovern scored with just 1:04 remaining.

In total, the Bulldogs’ top line of Stalder, Ashleigh Brykaliuk and McGovern totaled eight of the teams 11 points in the game.

Minnesota Duluth outshot the Beavers 48-27 while Rooney made 26-of-27 saves to improve to 16-4-3 while Mowat falls to 8-12-1 on the season.

The Beavers and Bulldogs will meet again tomorrow afternoon for the final game of the series held at Sanford Center for a 3:07 p.m. puck drop.

For more information on the Bemidji State hockey program, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeavers), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) or sign up for the TXTUpdates from BSUBeavers.com text-messaging system through the "Multimedia" pull down menu on the main page of BSUBeavers.com.

Nestled in Northern Minnesota’s wooden region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, BSU sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--bsu—