BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State Men's Hockey team prepares for its second consecutive home-and-home series and will travel across Highway 2 to renew its rivalry with University of Minnesota Duluth this weekend.
 
The Beavers (2-2-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) look to bounce back from a tough weekend against St. Cloud State University. Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth (3-1-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) will battle for regional supremacy with a two-game, non-conference home-and-home series. Game one begins in Bemidji at Sanford Center with puck drop slated for 7:07 p.m. Game two will then follow in Duluth at AMSOIL Arena at 6:07 p.m.
 
Game one will be streamed online at MidCo Sports Plus with the Beaver Radio Network providing play-by-play. Game two will be streamed online at NCHC.tv with play-by-play provided UMD Athletics. Beaver Hockey fans can also tune-in to a Beaver Radio Network broadcast for both games on the radio dial at 92.1 FM or online at www.beaverradionetwork with Brian Schultz calling play-by-play.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• The Beavers aim to get back to their winning ways after falling in two games to (RV) St. Cloud State last weekend in another home-and-home series.
• The Huskies earned two victories in the non-conference series after a 2-3 win Friday night in Bemidji and 2-4 win Saturday in St. Cloud.
• Junior newcomer Oliver Peer made an impact in the series totaling three points (2g-1a) including scoring two goals Friday night at Sanford Center to lead the team.
• The Burlington, Ontario native and USports transfer is tied for team lead with six points and has a point in each of the first four games to start his NCAA career.
• He is joined by senior Adam Flammang for the team lead each with six points through four games.
• Flammang paces the Beavers with five assists while senior Reilly Funk leads the team with four goals and added an assist for five points.
• Bemidji State is fourth in the nation and leads the CCHA with 18 goals scores this season.
• Funk leads the CCHA and is tied for fourth in NCAA DI with four goals.
• Flammang is tied for the CCHA lead and tied for second in the NCAA with five assists.
• Flammang, Peer and Lake Superior State's Calem Mangone pace the CCHA with six points and are each tied for ninth in the nation.
• 22-of-23 skaters who have appeared in a game for the Beavers have recorded at least one point.
• Funk also paces the CCHA with 15 shots and is a +4 rating on the ice while junior Kasper Magnussen paces all CCHA skaters with a +6 rating.
• Junior Vincent Labelle is fifth in the CCHA with 66 face-offs taken and owns a .462 percentage on the draw.
• Peer leads all Beaver centers with a .510 win rate in the face-off circle going 26-of-51.
• Bemidji State's blueline is led by sophomore Hudson Thornton who has two assists this season.
• The Beavers have split time in between the pipes with junior Raythan Robbins and freshman Max Hildebrand.
• Each are 1-1-0 to start the season while Hildebrand paces the team with a 2.06 goals against average and .926 save percentage.
• Hildebrand is one of 11 netminders in the NCAA to record a shutout in the season's first four games after recording his first career shutout in his first career start on Oct. 4.
• Robbins has been just as good in net posting a 2.54 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
• The pair rank third and fifth in the CCHA, respectively, in save percentage and third and fourth in GAA.
• Bemidji State ranks second in the CCHA in team save percentage (.921) and goals against average (2.25).
• BSU has scored three power-play goals this season and are fifth in the CCHA with a power-play percentage of .200 (3-of-15).
• The Beavers have scored a power-play goal in three-of-four games this season.
• Bemidji State ranks fourth in the CCHA with a .824 penalty-kill percentage and have killed 14-of-17 opponent power plays.
• Bemidji State failed to garner points in the USA Hockey College Hockey Poll and USCHO.com top-20 national polls for the first time of the season this week.
• Bemidji State is 17-28-5 all-time against Minnesota Duluth with the teams facing off against one another 50 times dating back to 1948.
• Minnesota Duluth owns a 6-2-2 record against the Beavers in the last 10 meetings.
• The two teams split their non-conference series last year with BSU earning a 4-3 overtime victory in Duluth. The win was their first win in Duluth since Feb. 9, 2016.
• Bemidji State is 7-10-3 when hosting the Bulldogs and is just 8-18-2 when playing in Duluth.
• The Beavers last win against the Bulldogs in Bemidji was Oct. 13, 2017.
• Tom Serratore is 17-20-5 in his 25 seasons coaching against Minnesota Duluth.
• 2025-26 is the 70th season of Beaver Hockey and its 27th season in Division I.
• Head Coach Tom Serratore begins his 25th season leading the Beaver Hockey program and is tied with Rico Blasi of University of St. Thomas as the most tenured coach in the CCHA.
• Serratore is the sixth-most tenured coach among active coaches in Division I and is ninth among active coaches with 405 career wins.
• He is an eight-time conference Coach of the Year and the second winningest coach in Beaver Hockey history (R.H. "Bob" Peters).
• Serratore returns a veteran group from the 2024-25 season as 18 skaters make their return to the squad while 10 newcomers look to make their green and white debut.
• Bemidji State returns seven of its 10 leading scorers from last season including top point-getter and 2025-26 captain, Kirklan Irey.
• Irey captains the Beavers during the 2025-26 season after he led the Beavers in points with 24 (11g-13a).
• Senior Reilly Funk also returns after finishing second on the team with 23 points and led the Beavers with 16 assists.
• The Beavers' most experienced group is their blueline returning five of their top seven defensemen from last season.
• BSU has an average of 59 games played between its seven returning blueliners.
• It's top returning point-getter from the blueline is sophomore Isa Parekh who totaled 18 points (3g-15a) and was a CCHA All-Rookie Team selection last year.
• He is followed by senior Patrik Satosaari who had 10 points (3g-7a) from the blue line while seniors Mitch Wolfe (2g-6a) and A.J. Macaulay (0g-2a) followed.
• Bemidji State returns 54-percent of its goals from last season led by Kirklan Irey (11), Reilly Funk (7) and Kasper Magnussen (7).
• The Beavers will have new faces in net following the graduation of Mattias Sholl who made 117 appearances during his collegiate career.
• Bemidji State's most experienced goaltender is junior Raythan Robbins who as played 171 minutes in his career.
• Also returning is sophomore Trent Wiemken who has yet to make an appearance while freshman and Western Hockey League (WHL) Goaltender of the Year Max Hildebrand will guard the net for the Beavers this season.
• The Beavers return nine forwards including eight from the senior or junior class.
• 10 newcomers were brought in for a total roster size of 28 (15-F, 10-D, 3-G).
• Vincent Labelle, Connor McClennon, Hudson Thornton, Vann Yuhas, Oliver Peer, Max Hildebrand, Max Vig, Ben Vigneault, Oscar Karlsson and Max Namestnikov all look to make their debut for Bemidji State this season.
• Three newcomers come from the USports league of Canada (Labelle, McClennon, Peer), one from the ECHL (Thornton), one NCAA transfer (Yuhas) and five from junior hockey leagues (Hildebrand-WHL, Vig-USHL, Vigneault-QMJHL, Karlsson-J20 Nationell, Namestnikov-OHL).
• Freshman Max Vig highlights the Beavers' newcomers after he was drafted 209th overall (7th Round) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He is the seventh Beaver to be drafted into the NHL and first since Eric Pohlkamp (2023).
• Vig joins Pohlkamp (fifth round - San Jose - 132nd), Radoslav Illo (fifth round - Anaheim - 136th), 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) as Bemidji State NHL draft picks.
• Bemidji State's roster primarily consists of those hailing from Canada as 50-percent claim roots from our northern neighbors.
• 14 call Canada home while 11 are from the United States and three from Europe.
• Bemidji State has the most Canadians (14) on its team since the 2016-17 season.
• Irey is the 65th captain in Beaver Hockey history and is joined by Vince Corcoran, Adam Flammang and Mitch Wolfe who will serve as alternates.
• The Beavers were voted to finish sixth in the CCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll after garnering 54 points in the poll and Parekh was selected as a CCHA Preseason All-CCHA Team member.
• By average, Bemidji State is one of the smallest teams in Division I Men's Hockey tying with Lake Superior State, Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac with an average height of 5'11.6".

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).
 
--bsu—