BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Holiday break is over for the (RV) Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team looks to knock some rust off with an exhibition matchup with University of Minnesota Friday at Sanford Center.
 
The Beavers (9-8-3) battle the Golden Gophers (8-10-1) in a single-game, exhibition setting Friday, Jan. 2 at Sanford Center in Bemidji. Puck drop is slated for 7:07 p.m.
 
The game will be streamed online at MidCo Sports Plus with the Beaver Radio Network providing play-by-play. The game will also be televised regionally on FOX9+ with Brian Schultz and Brian Bissonette providing commentary. 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.com.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• The Beavers make their return to action and 2026 debut hosting the Golden Gophers for an exhibition.
• Bemidji State went 9-8-3 during the first half of the 2025-26 season and hold second place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings with a 7-2-3 league record.
• The Beavers last played Dec. 5-7 at Augustana a duration of 26 days since their last game action.
• BSU makes its Sanford Center return for the first time since Nov. 28 and where they are 6-3-0 this season.
• The Beavers went 16-17-5 during the 2025 calendar year and were led by Adam Flammang who registered 39 points (10g-29a) in 36 games in 2025.
• Bemidji State is 14-10-2 including two exhibitions in its DI era on the first game of the calendar year.
• The Beavers are on a two-game win streak in their first game of the calendar year.
• Bemidji State leads the CCHA and is 10th in the nation with 65 goals through 20 game.
• Bemidji State has dominated CCHA play in the first half of the season ranking second in the league with 25 points (7-2-2), three points back of shy of league leader Minnesota State who has played two more league games.
• The Beavers begin January where they are 89-75-18 in BSU's DI era.
• The Beavers second half of the season features eight home games and six road games.
• Senior Adam Flammang paces the Beavers with 24 points off six goals and 18 assists despite missing two games due to injury. He ranks 11th across the nation in points and 13th in points per game (1.33).
• Flammang has achieved a career high in points and assists in just 18 games into his senior season and is three goals shy of tying a career best.
• He has totaled 67 points (25g-42a) in 126 career games for the Beavers which is tied for the 32nd most among players in BSU's DI era and recently surpassed Associate Head Coach Travis Winter (28-37=65).
• Flammang is followed closely by junior Oliver Peer who has 21 points (12g-9a) through his first 20 games of collegiate hockey.
• Peer has scored in nine-of-18 games to lead the team in goals and is tied for seventh nationally.
• Flammang and Peer are joined on a line with junior Kasper Magnussen who is third on the team with a career-high 18 points (8g-10a).
• The line of Flammang, Peer and Magnussen has combined for 63 points and 26 goals scoring 40-percent of the team's goals (26-65).
• Bemidji State has 18 skaters who have scored a goal this season including six with five or more boasting the team's goal scoring depth.
• Seven skaters have 10 or more points for the Beavers.
• Flammang leads the team with a three-game point streak recording four assists during that span.
• Freshman Max Namestnikov is seventh among CCHA freshmen and 28th nationally with 13 points (4g-9a).
• Flammang ranks 2nd in the CCHA in points while Peer follows in fourth and Magnussen is tied for sixth.
• Peer is tied for first in the CCHA in goals while Magnussen and Connor McClennon are tied for eighth.
• Flammang's 18 assists are second most in the league.
• Senior Reilly Funk leads the CCHA with 438 faceoffs taken and is .495 on the draw.
• Peer leads the team with a .521 faceoff winning percentage the 12th best percentage in the CCHA.
• Freshman Maxon Vig paces all CCHA skaters with a on-ice rating of +13 which is tied for 24th in DI.
• Sophomore Hudson Thornton leads the Beavers blueline with 12 points (2g-10a) and is tied for fourth among CCHA defensemen.
• Bemidji State has split time in net evenly between junior Raythan Robbins and freshman Max Hildebrand who have each made 10 starts.
• Robbins paces the team with a 5-3-2 record, 2.27 GAA and .908 save percentage while Hildebrand is close behind with a 4-5-1 record, 3.00 GAA and .888 save percentage.
• The Beavers' power play is fourth in the CCHA with a power-play percentage of .208 (15-of-72).
• BSU's penalty kill is sixth in the league at .767 (56-of-73).
• Bemidji State is 3-21-1 all-time against Minnesota and 1-6-1 when hosting the Gophers.
• The Beavers earned their first home win over the Gophers last year in game two of their home-and-home series on Nov. 16.
• BSU is 2-3-0 against Minnesota over their last five matchups.
• Senior captain Kirklan Irey leads the Beavers with three points off three goals against Minnesota.
• He scored all three goals in last season's series and scored three of the team's six goals in the series.
• BSU head coach Tom Serratore is 3-19-1 when coaching against Minnesota.
• Bemidji State is receiving votes in the USCHO.com Top-20 national poll for the 10th time this season but is not receiving votes in the USA Hockey College Hockey Poll.
• 2025-26 is the 70th season of Beaver Hockey and its 27th season in Division I.
• Head Coach Tom Serratore is in 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 412 career wins.
• Serratore is 37th all-time in NCAA DI Men's Hockey with 412 career wins.
• He recently coached in his 900th career game on Nov. 21.
• 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).
• 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 Maxon 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 the most up to date information on the Bemidji State men's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com or follow the Beavers on X, 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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