BEMIDJI, Minn. – Trailing 4-0 with 26:22 to play in the hockey game, the Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team rallied to score six-unanswered goals and defeat (RV) Michigan Technological University 6-4 Saturday night at Sanford Center and earn the Central Collegiate Hockey Association series split.
Three goals in the final 4:27 of the second period sparked the comeback for the Beavers (4-6-0, 3-3-0 CCHA) who earn three points in the CCHA standings while freshman
Kasper Magnussen tied the game 1:16 into the third period with his first collegiate goal. Fellow freshman
Eric Pohlkamp later scored the game-winning goal with just 3:52 remaining to earn the Beavers to the improbable victory.
Fans at Sanford Center Saturday night witnessed history as the four-goal comeback victory is the largest in Bemidji State's Division I era.
The game couldn't have started any worse for the Beavers as Michigan Tech opened the scoring just 1:00 minute after the opening faceoff and then extended its lead to 2-0 midway through the first period.
Michigan Tech carried the two-goal lead into the first intermission and later extended it to 3-0 with a power-play goal 6:22 into the second period. The goals kept coming for the Huskies and with 6:22 left in the middle frame, MTU took a commanding 4-0 lead.
The Beavers remained positive on the bench, providing encouraging words to each other hoping to just score a quick goal to end the Huskies scoring run. Their hard work finally paid off with 4:27 left in the period when
Alexander Lundman scored his first goal of the season with a quick wrist shot from the left circle.
The goal started a frenzy for BSU and just 1:30 later,
Kyle Looft pulled the Beaves within two after a give-and-go play with Lundman left a wide open net for the fifth-year captain to score his fourth goal of the season.
The Beavers didn't slow down and after earning a late power play, they capitalized on the man advantage when
Jackson Jutting beat goaltender Blake Pietila five-hole for the Beavers' third goal with just 29 seconds left in the frame and give hope of a comeback to a Sanford Center crowd.
Momentum was favoring Bemidji State and carried into the third period when Magnussen made his first collegiate goal a significant one tying the game at 4-4 just 1:16 into the third period to complete the Beavers' comeback.
A raucous crowd now desperately craved a Beaver win and with just 3:52 to play, Pohlkamp scored a power-play goal with a hard wrist shot that found its way through a screened Pietila and into the back of the net.
Michigan Tech pulled Pietila with just three minutes to play looking to work itself back into the game but Looft sent the puck 190 feet from in front of his own goaltender and into the empty net to seal the historic and dramatic victory for the Beavers.
Looft finished the night with three points off two goals and an assist for his second career three-point night both have come in the first 10 games of his fifth season. Six Beavers recorded two or more points in the game including Looft with Jutting, Lundman and Pohlkamp earning a goal and assist while seniors
Carter Jones and
Eric Martin each earning two assists.
After surrendering four goals on the first nine Husky shots, senior
Gavin Enright rebounded to stop the next 10 including eight in the third period to keep the Beavers' comeback hopes alive. He improves to 3-4-0 on the season with the win.
The Beavers now prepare to hit the road to continue CCHA play and travels south to Mankato, Minn., to take on Minnesota State University, Mankato for a two-game series Nov. 17-18.
For more information on the Bemidji State men's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on Twitter or Instagram (@BSUBeaversMHKY), or like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers).
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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