MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – Bemidji State University freshman goaltender Eva Filippova stopped all 35 shots she faced to collect her first collegiate shutout as the Beavers blanked University of St. Thomas 4-0 Saturday afternoon to salvage the Western Collegiate Hockey Association series split.
 
The Beavers scored the most goals of the season (4) in the win and snapped a 36-game road winless streak (0-35-1) that began Jan. 14, 2022.
 
Filippova stopped the second most shots she's faced in her career, six-shy of tying a career-high, including stopping all 18 shots in the third period.
 
Four different Beavers scored in the game in Shelby Breiland, Taylor Nelson, Kate Johnson and Mya Headrick while Breiland and Headrick each scored their first goals of the season. Riley Reeves assisted on the Beavers' first two goals for her first career multi-point game.
 
The Beavers got off to the start they needed scoring within the first minute of the game when Breiland followed a Reeves shot on the rush and snapped home the rebound scoring her first goal of the season just 58 seconds after the opening face-off.
 

Shelby Breiland gets us going 58 seconds in with her first goal of the year!#GoBeavers #BeaverTerritory pic.twitter.com/QHUfKkOqt2

— Bemidji State Women's Hockey (@BSUBeaversWHKY) December 9, 2023

 
BSU played with the one-goal lead for most of the first period but scored the crucial second goal minutes before the first intermission when Nelson scored her fifth of the season with a snipe from the right circle off the rush.
 

Taylor Nelson puts the Beavers up 2 late in the 1st!#GoBeavers #BeaverTerritory pic.twitter.com/89S9AXSSUS

— Bemidji State Women's Hockey (@BSUBeaversWHKY) December 9, 2023

 
The goal was Nelson's second of the series after scoring last night and her third in six games.
 
The Beavers played nearly 20 minutes with the two-goal lead and extended their lead to three with a short-handed goal from Johnson who stole the puck after UST netminder Olivia King attempted to clear the puck from her zone and left a wide-open net for Johnson to score her second goal of the season with 3:24 left in the second period.
 

Kate Johnson scores short handed to put the Beavers up by 3!!#GoBeavers #BeaverTerritory pic.twitter.com/nIVAzcntsg

— Bemidji State Women's Hockey (@BSUBeaversWHKY) December 9, 2023

 
The Tommies came out in the third period desperate for a goal but Filippova turned aside shot-after-shot to keep St. Thomas off the scoreboard.
 
Bemidji State sealed the game halfway through the third period when McKayla Zilisch won an offensive zone draw and Headrick cleaned up a loose rebound in front of the net to score her first goal of the season and put the Beavers up by four.
 

Mya Headrick gets her first of the season and the Beavers now lead by 4!!#GoBeavers #BeaverTerritory pic.twitter.com/HnZOFj3c2a

— Bemidji State Women's Hockey (@BSUBeaversWHKY) December 9, 2023

 
Bemidji State earned its second win of the season snapping a four-game losing streak and improved to 2-15-1 and 2-12-0 in league play with the 4-0 victory.
 
The Beavers didn't earn a power play in the game but its penalty kill went 3-for-3 with a short-handed goal.
 
Bemidji State now hits its Holiday break and is off from competition until they travel East to Pittsburgh, Penn., to compete in the Battle at the Burgh tournament at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex Dec. 29-30 to close out the first half of the season.
 
For more information on the Bemidji State women's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on X or Instagram (@BSUBeaversWHKY), 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 and women's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 
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