GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team battled back from an early two-goal deficit and tied the game twice, but No. 4 University of North Dakota scored with 3:58 remaining to defeat the Beavers 4-3 Saturday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Senior goaltender
Raythan Robbins kept the Beavers within striking distance throughout the night, making a career-high 40 saves in his first collegiate start. North Dakota outshot Bemidji State 44-22, including an 18-9 advantage during the second period.
The Fighting Hawks opened the scoring with a pair of power-play goals just 67 seconds apart during the first period. Will Zellers scored both, striking at 13:18 during a five-on-three advantage before adding his second at 14:25 to give North Dakota a 2-0 lead.
The Beavers answered before the first intermission. With 34 seconds remaining in the period, sophomore
Rylan Gould buried his first goal as a Beaver off an assist from freshman
Brayden Dube, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Bemidji State completed their first comeback 7:13 into the second period when
Ethan Miedema scored his second goal in as many nights.
Oliver Peer and
Maxon Vig collected the assists as the Beavers pulled even at 2-2.
Robbins withstood a heavy push from the Fighting Hawks throughout the middle frame, turning aside 17 of 18 shots. North Dakota eventually regained the lead when Mac Swanson scored at 17:44, sending the Fighting Hawks into the second intermission with a 3-2 advantage.
The Beavers began the third period by successfully killing the remainder of a five-minute major penalty. Robbins stopped four shots during the extended North Dakota power play to keep BSU within one.
With 4:51 remaining,
Jaksen Panzer brought the Beavers even for a second time. The junior and Grand Forks, N.D., native scored his first goal of the season off an assist from
Luke Roelofs, tying the game 3-3.
The score remained tied for just 53 seconds. Jack Kernan restored North Dakota's lead at 16:02, finishing a setup from Sam Laurila and Hudson Malinoski for the eventual game-winning goal.
Bemidji State pulled Robbins for an extra attacker with 1:24 remaining and generated two late opportunities. Jan Špunar stopped
Hudson Thornton's shot with 52 seconds left, and the Fighting Hawks protected the one-goal advantage through the final horn.
Gould, Miedema and Panzer supplied the Beavers' goals, while Dube, Peer, Vig and Roelofs recorded assists. Miedema scored for the second consecutive game and finished the series against North Dakota with two goals.
The Beavers blocked 14 shots and finished 2-for-5 on the penalty kill after North Dakota converted its first two power plays. BSU went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
The loss moved Bemidji State to 1-2-0, while North Dakota improved to 2-0-0.
The Beavers will have its first bye week of the season next weekend before continuing play against National Collegiate Hockey Conference opponents with a home-and-home series against University of Minnesota Duluth beginning Friday, Oct. 23 at AMSPOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn.
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).
--bsu—
