Box Score BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – After a three-point effort (1g-2a) from senior Alex Ierullo the Bemidji State University men's hockey team earned its third consecutive victory Friday night with a 5-3 win over (RV) Bowling Green State University. Freshman goaltender Mattias Sholl stopped 30-of-33 shots for the Beavers (13-10-0, 11-4-0 CCHA) to earn his third straight victory.
Eight Beavers recorded a point in the game including three from Ierullo and two from Owen Sillinger (2a), Tyler Kirkup (1g-1a) and Elias Rosén (1g-1a).
With two assists, senior Owen Sillinger reached 99 career points for the green and white and looks to become the seventh player in Division I history at BSU to reach the 100-point milestone.
Bemidji State got off to another quick start and for the third consecutive game, it score the first goal of the game when Ierullo scored his 10th goal of the season just 5:19 into the opening frame. The Beavers then quickly added to their lead when Ethan Somoza scored his seventh goal of the season just 3:37 after Ierullo's goal. The Beavers weren't finished there and with 10.8 seconds left in the frame Tyler Kirkup scored a short-handed goal to put BSU up 3-0 after the first 20 minutes.
However, the Falcons answered back in the second period and 4:21 into the middle frame, Eric Parker scored an even-strength goal to pull within two of the Beavers. BSU held onto the two-goal lead for most of the period but with 13 seconds remaining, Sam Craggs scored a short-handed goal to pull the Falcons within one.
The Beavers came out the second intermission and earned a five-on-three power play just 48 seconds in. BSU capitalized and 1:23 into the final period, Elias Rosén scored his fourth goal of the season, third on the power play, for the 4-2 lead. Just 30 seconds later, BSU added another power-play goal when Jere Vaisanen scored his fifth goal of the season to give the Beavers the important three-goal lead. Bowling Green would add a power-play goal with 10:22 remaining to make it 5-3 but the Beavers would hold off the Falcons for the remainder of the period to earn their third-straight win and improve to 11-4-0 in Central Collegiate Hockey Association play.
Bowling Green dominated the shot chart and out-shot the Beavers 33-18 but freshman goaltender Mattias Sholl was dominant in net and earned his eighth win of the season, third consecutive, after stopping 30-of-33 shots.
Bemidji State finished the game 3-for-4 while on the power play for the third game this season with three power-play goals while the Falcons went 1-for-4 with a short-handed goal by Kirkup.
Bemidji State will attempt for its second consecutive series sweep tomorrow night when the two teams meet for game two at 6:07 p.m.
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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