BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University Women's Hockey team rings in the 2025 calendar year Wednesday by participating in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Face-Off Classic held at the Lakeville Hasse Arena in Lakeville, Minn.
 
The Beavers (3-14-1, 2-12-0 WCHA) face-off against No. 3 University of Minnesota (13-4-1, 9-4-1 WCHA) for a single non-conference game New Years Day. Puck drop between the Beavers and Golden Gophers is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
 
The game will be streamed online on B1G+ but a Beaver Radio Network broadcast can be heard on the radio at 94.3 FM The Legends or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com with Rob Aitken providing play-by-play commentary.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• The Beavers kick-off three-games in four days with the Face-Off Classic against the Gophers Wednesday evening in Lakeville.
• The Beavers will remain in the Twin Cities area for the next three nights to participate in the University of Minnesota Showcase at Ridder Arena where they will face Penn State University and Brown University Jan. 3-4.
• The annual game elevates awareness for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, Minnesota, showcases women's college hockey at its highest level and will raise funds for the Hendrickson Foundation.
• The game will also feature an all-female on-ice officiating crew.
• 2025 will mark the eighth time the Beavers have played in the annual game but first since 2018.
• Bemidji State is 4-3-0 all-time when playing in the Face-Off Classic.
• The Beavers will face a familiar conference foe in the game in Minnesota but will be a non-conference game.
• Bemidji State is 9-96-7 all-time against the Gophers and 2-7-0 when facing Minnesota in non-conference action.
• The Beavers and Gophers met earlier this season on Nov. 1-2 for a WCHA series at Sanford Center where Minnesota earned 2-1 and 4-1 victories over BSU.
• Bemidji State plays its first game since Dec. 13-14, an 18-game span.
• The Gophers have an even longer span between games and last played Dec. 6-7 (25 days).
• The Beavers finished the first half of the season with six points in Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings while the Gophers sit third with 27 points.
• Minnesota is on a 24-game winning streak over BSU with the Beavers last win over UMN on Dec. 2, 2017.
• Minnesota enters Wednesday's game ranked third in both the USA Hockey/The Rink Live and USCHO.com top-15 national polls.
• Senior Genevieve Hendrickson is the Beavers leading scorer against the Gophers with four points (1g-3a) in 10 career games versus Minnesota.
• Freshman goaltender Kaitlin Groess started both games in their first series of the season and stopped 55-of-61 shots but four of the Gophers six goals that weekend were power-play goals.
• Bemidji State is led by redshirt freshman and Minnesota transfer Isa Goettl who has nine points (3g-6a) in 18 games.
• She is followed by sophomore Hailey Armstrong (6g-2a) and freshman Morgan Smith (5g-3a) who have totaled eight points each.
• The Beavers' top six scorers are all underclassmen with four sophomores and two freshmen leading the way.
• Freshman Kaitlin Groess leads the Beavers in the net starting 13 of the team's 18 games.
• She is 3-10-0 on the season with a .904 save percentage and 3.18 goals against average.
• However, sophomore Eva Filippova has started two of the last three games.
• Freshman Morgan Smith is coming off her first collegiate hat trick on Dec. 14 at Minnesota State. She became the first Beaver freshman since Reece Hunt (2020) to record a hat trick.
• Sophomore Riley Reeves paces the Beavers' blue line with five points (2g-3a). She also leads the WCHA and fourth in the nation with 50 blocked shots.
• Bemidji State is sixth in DI Women's Hockey with 290 blocked shots and Reeves, Kendra Fortin and Olivia Dronen rank first, fourth and fifth in the WCHA, respectively.
• Senior Alyssa Watkins was voted by her peers to captain the team during the season and is the 40th team captain in the program's history. She is joined by senior Genevieve Hendrickson and junior Mya Headrick who will serve as alternate captains.
• The Beavers' roster consists of 17 Minnesotan's, 19 from the U.S., five from Canada, and three from Europe.
• 2024-25 is the 27th season in Bemidji State Women's Hockey history and the program is 278-556-81 (.350) in 913 games played.

For more information on the Bemidji State women's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on X or Instagram, or like them on Facebook.
 
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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