BEMIDJI, Minn. – The regular season is over and playoffs have begun for the Bemidji State University Women's Hockey team as the Beavers travel to top-seeded Ohio State University for the quarterfinal round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Playoffs.
 
The Beavers (4-28-2, 3-24-1 WCHA) travel to Columbus, Ohio as the eighth seed looking to knock off the regular season champion Buckeyes (29-3-0, 26-2-0 WCHA). The best-of-three series begins Friday, March 1 at 5 p.m. Ct from OSU Ice Rink with game two Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. If needed, game three will be Sunday also at 2 p.m.
 
Each game will be streamed online at B1G+ with play-by-play OSU Athletics. A Beaver Radio Network broadcast will be unavailable for this weekend.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• Bemidji State faces Ohio State in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs for the second consecutive season.
• The Beavers fell in two hard-fought games last season in Columbus falling 4-1 and then 2-1 in the series clincher.
• Bemidji State finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 4-28-2 record and went 3-24-1 in league play.
• The Beavers have lost their last eight games and last won on Jan. 27 against University of St. Thomas.
• Bemidji State is 0-2-0 all-time against Ohio State in postseason play.
• Ohio State won all four games in the regular season series versus Bemidji State, outscoring BSU 34-3.
• Ohio State is 60-28-13 all-time against the Beavers and 34-12-6 when playing in Columbus.
• Head coach Jim Scanlan is 11-27-2 in his 10 seasons when facing the Buckeyes.
• Senior Kayla Santl leads the Beavers with three career goals against the Buckeyes. Three of her eight career goals have come against Ohio State.
• She is followed by Calli Forsberg (2g) and Kendra Fortin (1g-1a) who have each recorded two points against OSU.
• Two of Calli Forsberg's three career goals have also come against Ohio State.
• Bemidji State's last win in Columbus was Feb. 8, 2019, a 13-game winless streak (0-12-1).
• Bemidji State is led by seniors Taylor Nelson and Gabbie Smith who have each posted 12 points.
• Smith paces the team with 11 assists while freshman Hailey Armstrong leads the team with nine goals and has recorded 10 points.
• Armstrong's nine goals are the most by a BSU freshman since Tara Hiscock also scored nine goals in the 2004-05 season.
• Nelson, Smith and Armstrong have combined to score 17 of the team's 41 goals (.415).
• The Beavers' second line of Kayla Santl, Shelby Breiland and Alyssa Watkins has found its scoring touch of as of late and has scored eight of the last 13 Beaver goals.
• Santl drives the line scoring a career-high 10 points off six goals and four assists while Breiland (2g-4a) and Watkins (3g-2a) follow with six and five points, respectively.
• Senior Khloe Lund leads the Beavers' blue line with seven points (2g-5a) while junior Makenna Deering and freshman Riley Reeves each follow with six.
• Bemidji State leads the nation with 597 blocked shots, led by national leader Riley Reeves (96). Lund follows with 84 blocked shots and is tied for second in the country while Deering has totaled 65 to sit 12th.
• 14 Beavers were named to the WCHA All-Academic Team last week with 11 earning WCHA Scholar-Athlete distinction by achieving a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• 2023-24 is the 26th season of Bemidji State Women's Hockey. In 26 seasons, the Beavers are 274-540-79 (.356).
• Head coach Jim Scanlan is in his 10th season at the helm of the Bemidji State Women's Hockey program. He is 121-200-22 (.413) in his coaching career. He is one of 22 head coaches in Division I Women's Hockey with 100 career victories and is sixth among active WCHA coaches in victories.
• Senior Taylor Nelson was voted by her teammates to lead the 2023-24 Beavers on and off the ice and will dawn the "C" on her sweater. She will be assisted by fellow seniors Khloe Lund and Gabbie Smith who will serve as alternates and wear the "A".
• The Beavers have 24 student-athletes rostered for the 2023-24 season with 14 forwards, six defensemen and four goaltenders.
• The 2023-24 BSU Women's Hockey roster consists of 16 Minnesotans, one Alaskan, one North Dakotan, one Wisconsinite, four Canadians and the program's first Russia native in freshman goaltender Eva Filippova.

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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