BEMIDJI, Minn. – It is the end of the 2022-23 regular season for the (RV) Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team and home-ice advantage for the first round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Playoffs is within grasp.
 
The Beavers (13-14-5, 11-10-3 CCHA) travel to Mendota Heights, Minn., for a two-game, league series to close out the regular season against University of St. Thomas at Saint Thomas Ice Arena. The Beavers and Tommies (10-20-2, 9-13-2 CCHA) begin the season-ending series Friday, Feb. 24 at 7:07 p.m., and conclude the regular season Saturday at 6:07 p.m.
 
Each game of the series will be streamed online at FloHockey.tv with play-by-play and color commentary provided by Tommie Sports. A Beaver Radio Network broadcast will also be available on the radio for each game and can be found at 92.1FM or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• Bemidji State controls its own playoff fate in terms of home-ice advantage for the first round of the CCHA Playoffs. The Beavers can clinch home-ice with four points against the Tommies this weekend. The Beavers hold just a three-point advantage over Northern Michigan University and Ferris State University in the standings.
• Bemidji State can clinch home-ice on Friday night if it earns two points or more and NMU and FSU each earn one point or less in both of their series.
• Ferris State hosts Lake Superior State University at 6:07 p.m. CT Friday night while Northern Michigan travels to Bowling Green State University for another 6:07 p.m. CT face-off.
• The Bemidji State and St. Thomas series dates all the way back to 1961 despite the Tommies joining the CCHA at the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
• Bemidji State has dominated the all-time series record played mostly in the 70's and 80's and is 29-3-2 all-time against the Tommies.
• The Beavers are currently unbeaten in their last six games versus the Tommies (5-0-1) and 7-1-2 in their last 10.  It has been 25 years since the Beavers last loss against the Tommies (Nov. 29, 1998, six games).
• Bemidji State's longest win streak against UST spanned 17 years where BSU won 21 consecutive games from 1974-1991.
• The Beavers have never lost two consecutive games against St. Thomas.
• The Beavers are 6-1-0 when facing St. Thomas in its home building.
• Bemidji State earned five-of-six league points in their first series of the season back on Dec. 2-3. The Beavers tied a season-high with six goals in a 6-4 victory in game one versus the Tommies and then BSU won in the shootout in game two.
• Ross Armor, Elias Rosén and Lleyton Roed each recorded a goal and two assists in the series to lead the team with Rosén being named the league's Defenseman of the Week for Dec. 5. A total of 12 Beavers recorded a point in their last series versus the Tommies including eight with two or more.
• Junior Erick Martin leads all active BSU skaters with 10 career points (10a) in six career games versus the Tommies. He is followed by fifth-year senior Ross Armour who has seven points (4g-3a) also in six games.
• Sophomore Mattias Sholl leads BSU netminders with five games played against St. Thomas and is 4-0-1 with a 2.56 goals against average and .881 save percentage. Junior Gavin Enright is 1-0-0 with a 1.98 goals against average and .900 save percentage.
• St. Thomas can't finish lower than seventh in the CCHA standings but will be on the road for the first round. The Tommies trail fifth and sixth place NMU and FSU by four points. The Tommies are 10-20-2 on the season and hold 29 points (9-13-2) in the league standings.
• The Beavers continue to receive votes in both the USAToday/USAHockeyMagazine and DCU/USCHO.com top-20 national polls for the ninth consecutive week. St. Thomas is failing to receive votes in both polls.
• Bemidji State moved down one spot to 31st in this week's PairWise rankings after splitting its series against No. 12/13 Minnesota State University, Mankato.
• The Tommies are coming off a series split at Lake Superior State University this past weekend. UST fell 2-1 in game one but rebounded with a 2-1 victory in game two. Freshman goaltender Aaron Trotter was selected as the CCHA Goaltender of the Week after stopping 53-of-56 shots over the weekend.
• The Tommies are led by their freshmen class with five of the team's top six scorers all freshmen. Junior Mack Byers and freshman Josh Eernisse are tied for the team lead with 21 points while Byers leads the team and is fourth in the CCHA with 15 goals. Eernisse is close behind and is tied for fifth in the CCHA with 14 goals.
• Freshman Ryan O'Neill paces the team with 16 assists and is tied for 11th in the conference.
• Eernisse also paces the league with 48 penalty minutes.
• St. Thomas stands seventh in the league with 77 goals for and sixth with 103 goals against. It is sixth in the league with a -0.8 scoring margin.
• Bemidji State is fifth in the league with 82 goals for and third with 83 goals against for a 0.0 scoring margin (5th).
• Bemidji State went 1-for-4 on the power play last weekend and are third in the CCHA with a power-play percentage of .239 (22-of-92). That number is good for 13th in Division I.
• St. Thomas' penalty kill is sixth in the conference at 78.7 percent (96-for-122). It has the third most opponent power plays allowed in the conference.
• The Tommies' power play is fifth in the league at 16.4 percent (20-of-122).
• Bemidji State's penalty kill is seventh at .804 (82-102). The Beavers are the least penalized team in the league and second in DI with just 237 penalty minutes this season.
• Bemidji State's penalty kill is coming off a 1-for-5 weekend against Minnesota State.
• Bemidji State is 10-3-2 this season when scoring a power-play goal.
• The Beavers are led by senior blueliner Elias Rosén and freshman Lleyton Roed who have each recorded 24 points in 30 games.
• Freshman Lleyton Roed paces the team with 25 points off 11 goals and 14 assists. He has five points (3g-2a) over his last five games.
• Roed is having one of the best rookie campaigns in the CCHA and at BSU. He leads all league rookies in points (25) and has compiled the best rookie season at BSU since Jordan George recorded a BSU DI record 34 points in 36 games as a freshman in 2009-10.
• Roed ranks t-18th nationally among Division I rookies and is tied with Tyler Scofield (05-06) for the eighth best season by a freshman in BSU's DI history.
• Senior Elias Rosén follows Roed with 24 points off three goals and 21 assists. He is tied for second among CCHA defensemen in points and tied for the league's defensemen lead with 21 helpers.
• Rosén is tied for 13th overall in points in the CCHA and tied for second in assists. He is also eighth in the league with 49 blocked shots and boasts a +5 rating on the ice.
• Fifth-year senior Ross Armour is third on the team with 18 points and is tied with Roed for the team's lead with 11 goals. Both are tied for 12th in the CCHA in goals.
• Senior Will Zmolek has shutdown opposing forwards and leads the team and is third in the CCHA with 63 blocked shots.  He has also contributed 17 points (2g-15) offensively and ranks sixth among league defensemen in scoring.
• Facing the opposing team's top line night in and night out, the d-pairing of Zmolek/Rosén boasts a combined +/- rating of +11  with Zmolek a +6 skater and Rosén +5.
• Fellow senior Kyle Looft follows Zmolek with 61 blocked shots and is fourth in the conference. He is coming off a weekend where he scored the game-winning, overtime goal against his hometown team Minnesota State for the second time this season.
• Sophomore goaltender Mattias Sholl leads BSU netminders and is 10-10-5 with a 2.14 goals against average and .914 save percentage. He is third in the CCHA in both GAA and save percentage.
• Bemidji State is third in the CCHA by averaging 29.5 shots per game and allow 25.9 shots per game. The Beavers are 10-7-3 this season when outshooting their opponents and 6-6-2 when recording 30 or more shots.
• The Beavers are 9-7-3 when scoring the first goal.
• Bemidji State is undefeated when scoring three or more goals this season with a record of 11-0-1. However, the Beavers have scored three goals or more just three times over the last 14 games (4-9-1).
• Fifth-year senior Ross Armour co-captains the team with senior defenseman Kyle Looft while senior Elias Rosén and senior Will Zmolek serve as alternates.
• Tom Serratore is in his 22nd season at the helm of the Bemidji State Men's Hockey program and owns a 367-341-97 career record (.520).
• Serratore will be coaching in his 806th and 807th collegiate hockey games this weekend.
• He is undefeated against the Tommies at 5-0-1.

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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