BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team returns to Sanford Center and hosts new Division I and Central Collegiate Hockey Association member Augustana University.
 
The Beavers (9-14-1, 8-7-1 CCHA) host the Vikings (7-14-3) for the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The series is set to begin Friday, Feb. 2 at 7:07 p.m. and game two will follow Saturday at 6:07 p.m.
 
Each game will be streamed online at FloHockey.tv with play-by-play provided by the Beaver Radio Network with Brian Schultz and Brian Bissonette. Fans can also tune in to the radio broadcast at 92.1 FM or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• Bemidji State returns home for the first time since Dec. 29, ending a five-game road stretch.
• The Beavers are also returning from its final bye week of the season having last played at Michigan Tech on Jan. 19-20.
• Bemidji State went 1-2-1 during the month of January.
• Historically the Beavers are 77-70-24 (.521) in its Division I history during the month of February.
• The Beavers earned two points at Michigan Tech in their last series by earning the shootout victory over the Huskies in the second game.
• After last week off from competition, the Beavers fell from second in the CCHA standings to fourth.
• BSU trails first-place University of St. Thomas and Minnesota State University, Mankato who each sit first with 30 points.
• Lake Superior State University is third with 28 points while Michigan Tech is fifth (26) as the top-five teams in the standings are only separated by four points.
• This weekend's series will not be for league points as the Vikings will become a full member into the CCHA in the 2025-26 season.
• Bemidji State has battled injuries throughout the season yet sit in home-ice positioning for the CCHA playoffs. The Beavers have lost 57 man-games due to injuries this season.
• Head coach Tom Serratore has had to juggle his lines throughout the season because of injuries and has totaled 46 different line combinations and 13 different defensive pairings.
• Bemidji State will be without three of its top six defensemen this weekend in Kyle Looft, Will Magnuson and Tony Follmer. The three have combined for 332 career games played.
• The Beavers will return two forwards to the team in Jackson Jutting and Liam Engström.  Jutting missed the last 11 games and Engström missed the last eight due to injuries.
• Bemidji State remains out of the USAToday/The Rink Live and USCHO.com top-20 national polls with the Vikings also absent from each poll.
• Bemidji State is fourth in the CCHA in goals scored per game averaging 2.71 while ranking eighth in goals against (3.54).
• In conference only games, the Beavers are the third highest scoring team with 51 goals and average 3.19 goals per game.
• The Beavers are sixth in the conference in power-play percentage at .156 (15-96) while its penalty kill is tied for seventh at .747 (59-79).
• In conference play, the Beavers convert on the man-advantage at a 18.8 percentage rate (12-64), fourth best in the league.
• BSU averages just 7:52 penalty minutes per game, the second-lowest average in Division I.
• Bemidji State blocks the second-most shots in the league totaling 347 on the season and average 14.46 per game.
• Bemidji State is led by sophomore Lleyton Roed who has totaled 24 points (12g-12a) in 24 games.
• The Hobey Baker Memorial Award nominee is t-fourth in the CCHA in points and t-fourth in goals.
• His three game-winning goals are tied for the most in the league.
• Roed has five points (2g-3a) over his last four games.
• He is followed by fifth-year senior captain Kyle Looft who was near a point-per-game pace as a defenseman before suffering an injury.
• He recorded 19 points off five goals and 14 assists to pace the team in helpers and is still tied for the league's top scoring defenseman despite playing seven less games than his counterparts.
• Senior Eric Martin follows Roed and Looft and has totaled 15 points (3g-12a) for third on the team.
• He brings a three-game point scoring streak into the weekend, the longest active streak on the team.
• 24 of the team's 25 skaters have recorded a point this season with 21-of-25 scoring a goal.
• 11 Beavers have tied or set career-highs for points in a season.
• 37 of the Beavers' 65 goals have been scored by underclassmen (56.9%).
• Bemidji State is 7-3-1 when scoring first this season but just 2-11-0 when the opponent scores first.
• The Beavers are 4-8-0 on Friday's and 4-5-1 on Saturday's this season.
• Bemidji State is 8-4-0 when scoring at least three goals but just 1-8-1 when scoring two or fewer.
• 13-of-14 of the Beavers' losses this season have come when they allow three or more goals.
• 2023-24 is the 68th season of Bemidji State Men's Hockey and 25th in Division I. The Beavers are 1,180-698-151 (.620) in 67 seasons and 394-404-103 (.496) in Division I.
• Head coach Tom Serratore enters his 23rd season at the helm of the Bemidji State Men's Hockey program. He is 377-358-98 (.512) in his coaching career.
• Serratore is 12th in career victories among active head coaches in Division I.
• Since taking over the Bemidji State Men's Hockey program in 2001, Serratore's teams have achieved six regular-season conference championships, three CHA tournament titles, five NCAA Tournament appearances, one NCAA Frozen Four appearance (2009) and is a seven-time conference Coach of the Year.
• Fifth-year senior Kyle Looft made his return to the Beaver Hockey program and was voted by his teammates to lead the 2023-24 Beavers on and off the ice as the team's captain.
• He is assisted by fellow fifth-year senior Carter Jones as well as seniors Eric Martin and Jackson Jutting who will wear the "A".
• BSU returns 21 athletes from 2022-23 (11 forwards, eight defensemen, two goaltenders) and lost 8 athletes (five forwards, two defensemen, one goaltender) to graduation.
• Serratore has added seven newcomers to the squad with five forwards, one defenseman and one goaltender.
• One of those newcomers is Eric Pohlkamp who was selected in the fifth round (132nd) of the NHL's 2023 Entry Draft. He is the first Beaver NHL Draft pick since Radoslav Illo was selected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (139th).
• Pohlkamp is the sixth Beaver to be drafted into the NHL joining Illo, Chris Peluso (seventh round - Pittsburgh - 194th), Andrew Murray (eighth round - Columbus - 242nd), Gary Sargent (third round - Los Angeles - 48th) and Dale Smedsmo (seventh round - Toronto - 93rd).
• The 2023-24 Beaver roster consists of 28 student-athletes with two fifth-year seniors, five seniors, seven juniors, seven sophomores and seven freshmen.
• The team consists of 11 Minnesotans, 22 from North America including five Canadians and six from Europe.
• By average, the Beavers stand as one of the smallest in Division I. They are the eighth smallest by height averaging 5'11.8" and second smallest by weight averaging 180.5 pounds.

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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