BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team made an improbable comeback Saturday night at Bowling Green State University to earn a 4-4 tie and shootout victory over the Falcons in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Beavers scored two, extra-attacker goals with under three minutes to play to push the Falcons to overtime and later earned the extra point in Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings with a 2-0 shootout victory.
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The Falcons held a lead over the Beavers for most of the game including a three-goal lead late in the second period, but the Beavers persevered tied the game at 4-4 with 57.5 left to play. Senior
Jere Vaisanen played a huge part in the Beavers' comeback scoring twice in the game including the game-tying goal with 57.5 remaining.
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Junior
Adam Flammang led the Beavers totaling a career-high three points after assisting on three of the Beavers' four goals. Freshman
Isa Parekh added two assists while
Eric Martin and
Kasper Magnussen each scored goals. Senior goaltender
Mattias Sholl made 37 saves, the second most for the Beaver netminder this season.
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Bowling Green dominated the first half of play jumping out to a three-goal lead through the games first 37 minutes. But a late power-play goal by sophomore
Kasper Magnussen in the second period sparked a memorable Beaver comeback.
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Just 23 seconds after Magnussen's goal Vaisanen brought the Beavers within one scoring his first goal since Oct. 26.
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However, 6:53 into the third period, the Falcons retook a two-goal lead after Ryan O'Hara netted his second goal of the game.
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With 3:33 to play, head coach
Tom Serratore pulled Sholl in favor of the extra attacker and the play paid off when
Eric Martin scored with 2:47 remaining to pull the Beavers within one.
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BSU regained possession of the puck and pulled Sholl again and with just 57.5 left on the clock, Vaisanen netted the game-tying goal for the first time in his career.
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The Beavers would enter the overtime period with a 5-on-3 advantage but BGSU goaltender and the Falcons' defense gave a complete effort denying multiple Beaver chances.
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The game would head to the shootout to decide who would receive the extra point in league standings where Vaisanen and Martin scored on their attempts while Sholl denied both chances he faced to win the shootout 2-0.
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The Beavers finished with a season-high 47 shots on goal and scored a power-play goal in their third consecutive game.
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Bemidji State is now 8-10-4 on the season and 5-6-3 in conference play. The Beavers return home and prepare to host Northern Michigan University Jan. 17-18.
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For more information on the Bemidji State men's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit
BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on
X or
Instagram or like them on
Facebook.
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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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