Box Score BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University men's hockey team lost its sixth consecutive game Friday night after Northern Michigan University scored the game-winning goal with just 1:56 to play to earn the 2-1 victory over the Beavers.
With the loss, the Beavers fall to 13-16-0 (11-10-0 CCHA) but remain third in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings with 34 league points.
Bemidji State got off to a quick start in the game and scored just 1:30 into the first period when Tyler Kirkup scored his 11th goal of the season after Ethan Somoza forced a turnover while on the forecheck. The Wildcats would answer before the period's end however, and at 9:45 of the period, Bo Hanson netted a power-play goal to tie the game.
It was a tight contest for most of the game as each team had little opportunities to score. Neither team could break through the others defense during the second period and would head into the final frame still locked in the 1-1 tie.
The third period continued just like the last after neither team could best the other's goaltender but just as it seemed the game would head into the three-on-three overtime, Northern Michigan's David Keefer scored the go-ahead goal with just 1:56 to play. Keefer's goal would prove to be the game-winner after the Wildcats denied the Beavers the game-tying goal after a flurry of chances while its netminder was pulled for the extra skater.
Freshman Mattias Sholl turned aside 24-of-26 shots for the Beavers but earned the loss to fall to 8-10-0 this season while his counterpart Charlie Glockner earned the victory after stopping 24-of-25 shots by the Beavers.
Bemidji State earned three power plays during the game but came up empty on all three chances while the Wildcats converted on one of their four opportunities.
Bemidji State and Northern Michigan will meet again tomorrow night at 6:07 p.m., to wrap up their CCHA series at Sanford Center.
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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