BEMIDJI, Minn. – The 2025-26 NCAA Division I Men's Hockey season finally gets underway this weekend and the (RV) Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team makes a nearly 3,000-mile trek north to the "City of Lights and Flowers", Anchorage, Alaska.
 
The Beavers (0-0-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) take the ice for their season opener and travel to University of Alaska Anchorage for two-game, non-conference series against the Seawolves beginning Friday, Oct. 3. The Beavers drop the puck on the new season Friday at 10 p.m. CDT with game two Saturday at 8 p.m. CDT.
 
The series will be streamed online at Youtube.com/@UAASeawolves with UAA Athletics providing play-by-play. Beaver Hockey fans can also tune-in to a Beaver Radio Network broadcast on the radio dial at 92.1 FM or online at www.beaverradionetwork with Brian Schultz on the call.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• The Beavers are eager to drop the puck on the fresh season looking to build upon a 2024-25 season where they reached the semifinal round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Playoffs for the second consecutive season and fourth time in five seasons.
• The Beavers finished seventh in the CCHA standings during the regular season but got hot at the right time upsetting second-ranked Augustana University in the quarterfinals.
• Bemidji State finished the 2024-25 season with a 15-18-5 record overall and went 10-12-4 in conference play.
• 2025-26 will be 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 403 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 will captain 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.
• Bemidji State enters the 2025-26 season receiving votes in both the USA Hockey College Hockey Poll and the USCHO Division I Men's Poll.
• 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".
• Bemidji State will face Alaska Anchorage for the first time since the two teams competed in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, February of 2020.
• The Beavers and Seawolves last played Feb. 21-22, 2020 making BSU's return to the "Last Frontier State" for the first time in 2,049 days.
• Bemidji State dominates the all-time series against the Seawolves holding an 18-3-5 record in the all-time series and are 7-1-1 over the last nine meetings.
• In Anchorage, the Beavers are 8-1-3 with their only loss against the Seawolves on Alaskan soil occurring Dec. 30, 2016.
• Seniors A.J. Macaulay and Reilly Funk are the only active Beavers to have faced the Seawolves during their times at Alaska Fairbanks and Northern Michigan.
• Macaulay has faced the Seawolves 12 times in his collegiate career totaling six points off three goals and three assists.

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—