BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team and University of North Dakota went back-and-forth in Friday's series opener at Sanford Center as the two teams skated to a 3-3 tie in non-conference action. Twice the Beavers (5-3-3) held a two-goal advantage over the Fighting Hawks (5-6-3) but twice they rallied to tie the game.
 
Bemidji State opened the game by scoring just 3:57 into the first period when Jakub Lewandowski tipped in an Elias Rosén slap-pass.
 
The Beavers didn't stop there and with just 3:10 left in the first period, junior Eric Martin tapped in a rebounded Lleyton Roed shot while on a Beaver power play to score his third goal of the season.
   
The second period was a back-and-forth affair as a flurry of goals came before the five-minute mark of the middle frame. North Dakota began the scoring with a goal from Griffin Ness 2:25 into the period. The Beavers responded just 29 seconds later when Lleyton Roed capitalized on a two-on-one started by Kaden Pickering.
 
North Dakota answered again however when Jackson Blake scored just 1:34 after Roeds tally. UND would then strike again before the period's end when Ty Farmer scored with just 1:23 remaining to tie the game at three.
 
The two teams fought a much more defensive battle in the third period and neither team was able to find the go-ahead goal in the final frame as the game would head into the three-on-three overtime period. UND held most of the possession during the extra frame and totaled two shots which sophomore netminder Mattias Sholl turned aside while BSU only recorded one shot on goal as the two teams failed to find a winner during the extra period.
 
North Dakota finished the game with 31 shots on goal while Bemidji State totaled 21 and Sholl turned aside 28-of-31 shots and is now 3-2-2 on the season.
 
The Beavers and Fighting Hawks will now make the drive west on Highway 2 to play game two of their series tomorrow night at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Puck drop is slated for 6:07 p.m.
 
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University 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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