ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State University defeated the Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team 4-2 Saturday in their non-conference series finale at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.
 
Freshman Ben Vigneault and senior Reilly Funk scored goals for the Beavers with Vigneault scoring the first of his collegiate career. Hudson Thornton, Adam Flammang, Vann Yuhas and Oliver Peer each collected assists. Freshman Max Hildebrand made his second start and totaled 27 saves.
 
The first period began with Bemidji State's Oliver Peer winning the opening faceoff. Despite an early penalty on BSU, the Beavers successfully killed the ensuing SCSU power play. However, the Huskies capitalized on a subsequent power play, with Nolan Roed scoring at 09:41, assisted by Max Smolinski and Tanner Henricks. SCSU extended their lead to 2-0 with 55 seconds remaining in the period, as Josh Zinger found the net with helpers from Tyson Gross and Cooper Wylie. Despite some offensive pressure from Bemidji State, they were unable to score, and SCSU closed the period with a two-goal advantage.
 
Bemidji State responded in the second period at 13:23 with Vigneault's first goal, assisted by Adam Flammang and Peer, bring the score to 2-1. However, the Huskies quickly responded when Noah Urness scored at 14:44, assisted by Barrett Hall and Roed, to make it 3-1. The home team further solidified their lead with just nine seconds left in the period, as Austin Burnevik netted an even-strength goal, assisted by Zinger and Finn Loftus, ending the period 4-1 in favor of SCSU.
 
Bemidji State cut into SCSU's lead early in the third period with a power-play goal by Funk at 19:19, assisted by Vann Yuhas and Hudson Thornton. Following the goal, Bemidji State maintained offensive pressure, generating several scoring chances but was unable to convert due to key saves by SCSU's netminder, Patriks Berzins. The period saw significant penalty activity, including a major penalty on Henricks of SCSU, which gave Bemidji State an extended power-play opportunity. Despite pulling their keeper for an extra attacker in the closing minutes, Bemidji State could not find the back of the net again, and the game concluded with a 4-2 victory for SCSU.
 
The Beavers totaled five power plays in the game finding the back of the net on one with Funk's power-play goal in the third period. The Huskies also went 1-for-5 on the power play with a power-play goal in the first period.
 
Bemidji State now falls to 2-2-0 on the season while the Huskies improved to 2-1-0.
 
The Beavers will have another non-conference home-and-home series and is set to battle University of Minnesota Duluth next weekend with game one at Sanford Center.
 
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.
 
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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