BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team earned a 3-1 victory over No. 2 St. Cloud State University Friday night at Sanford Center in non-conference action. The victory for the Beavers (3-1-1) snapped a six-game winning streak for the Huskies (6-1-0) and was their first loss of the 2022-23 season.
 
The Beavers' defensive corps stymied one of the nation's top scoring teams in the Huskies and held them to just 18 shots on goal while blocking 22 shots defensively.
 
Sophomore Mattias Sholl held St. Cloud State to just one goal which it scored just 3:01 into the opening period when Zach Okabe tipped in a Jack Peart shot while on a Husky power play.
 
Bemidji State was unable to even the score during the first period and even through most of the second period. However,  senior Elias Rosén effectively one-handed shielded the puck from a defender and drove the net to set up sophomore Jere Vaisanen for the back-door tap in goal to tie the game with 2:35 to play in the middle frame.
 
The goal was Vaisenen's second of the season with Rosén and fifh-year senior Mitchell Martan earning assists on the play.
 
Special teams was the theme during the game especially during the second period and after Vaisanen's goal, the Beavers earned a power play and freshman Adam Flammang would show up big and scored his first collegiate goal after successfully screening goaltender Jaxon Castor while on the man-advantage.
 
The Beavers gained all that momentum after their penalty kill killed off three consecutive Husky power plays in the first 13 minutes of the second period.
 
The Beavers' defense stymied the frustrated Husky squad in the third period and held St. Cloud State to just five shots on goal during the final frame including zero shots on two power-play chances during the period.
 
Bemidji State then sealed the victory with an empty-net goal from sophomore Alexander Lundman after junior transfer Jackson Jutting forced a turnover.
 
Bemidji State's penalty kill held the Huskies to just one power-play goal on seven chances while its power-play unit capitalized on two of its five opportunities.
 
With the win, the Beavers snapped an eight-game winless streak (0-6-2) against the Huskies dating back to Jan. 31, 2016.
 
Bemidji State will now travel to St. Cloud, Minn., looking to capture the non-conference series sweep over St. Cloud State tomorrow night when the two teams meet at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center 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 hockey in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and women's hockey 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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