DULUTH, Minn. – The Bemidji State University women’s hockey team fell to No. 5 University of Minnesota Duluth 6-1 Friday afternoon in Duluth, Minn., to open Western Collegiate Hockey Association play. The Beavers’ (0-5-0, 0-1-0-0 WCHA) lone goal was scored by sophomore Paige Beebe in the first period.

Bemidji State tied the fifth-ranked Bulldogs in shots, 28-28, but junior Maddie Rooney was the difference and made 27 saves for the Bulldogs.

Kara Werth and Tina Kamp tallied assists on the Beebe goal which was scored on the power play. Sophomore Kerigan Dowhy made 17 saves for the Beavers before being pulled for freshman Lexi Baker who stopped five shots in 12:22 of play.

The fifth-ranked Bulldogs didn’t waste time to get on the scoreboard and just two minutes in, Jalyn Elmes put the Bulldogs up 1-0. Just 61 seconds later freshman Anneke Linser scored her first career goal and put UMD up 2-0. The Beavers answered back quickly however, and 28 seconds later Beebe scored her team-leading second goal of the season while on a BSU power play.

The second and third periods would be dominated by UMD with the Bulldogs firing for four-unanswered goals to down the Beavers, 6-1. Naomi Rogge scored two goals for Minnesota Duluth while Gabbie Hughes and Ashton Bell each recorded goals

Dowhy falls to 0-3-0 on the season after allowing five goals on 28 shots while Baker allowed one goal on six shots in 12:22 of relief.

The Beavers close out their series with No. 5 Minnesota Duluth tomorrow afternoon at 3:07 p.m.

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).

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