BEMIDJI, Minn. (Sanford Center) – Bemidji State University men's hockey team used a 4-1 victory over the University of Alabama-Huntsville Saturday to extend its unbeaten streak to seven games (4-0-3) and earn its fourth straight victory.

Gerry Fitzgerald powered the Beavers to victory piling up three points on a goal and two assists, while Zach Whitecloud poured in the game-winning goal for the second straight night and added an assist.

After escaping the first period with a one-goal lead, BSU scored in the opening moments of the second period, sparking a three-goal outburst and supplying the team with a 4-1 edge heading into the final 20 minutes. The Beavers held off the Chargers despite being out shot 9-7 in the third and putting its penalty-kill unit on the line two times during the final four minutes of the game.

Jay Dickman got the Beavers on the scoreboard at the 12:52 mark of the first period with help from Myles Fitzgerald and Kyle Bauman, propelling BSU into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

It would take the Beavers just 18 second into the second to stretch the lead to 2-0. G. Fitzgerald found Whitecloud trailing on a rush and the sophomore defender fired a shot from the slot to net his second goal of the weekend.

The Chargers got a goal from Josh Kestner at the 5:13 mark of the frame to cut the BSU lead in half, but at the 15:57 mark, BSU would convert its first power-play opportunity of the night into a goal. G. Fitzgerald and Whitecloud found Adam Brady and the sophomore potted his third goal of the weekend. G. Fitzgerald finished the period with his fifth goal of the season, deflecting a shot off a UAH defender’s stick and past Jodan Uhelski. Justin Baudry started the play with a blocked shot at the other end of the ice and Jordan Heller hauled the puck into the Beavers’ offensive zone before G. Fitzgerald put fired it on net from the right face off dot.

Michael Bitzer earned his ninth victory of the season turning aside 21 of the 22 shots he faced, while the defense blocked 11 shots in front of him. He moves to 9-5-5 on the season and has not been beaten since a 3-1 loss to Bowling Green, Dec. 1—a streak spanning seven games (4-0-3).

The Beavers, now 9-6-5 overall and 6-4-4-2 in WCHA play, hit the road for the first time since Dec. 2-3, for a two-game league series versus Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The series will get underway at 6:07 p.m. Friday with Saturday’s opening face off set for 6:07 p.m. from Taffy Abel Arena.

For more information on the Bemidji State men’s hockey program, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeavers or @BSUMHockey), 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 wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University 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).

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