BEMIDJI, Minn. – The 2026 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Mason Cup Playoffs are set to begin this weekend and the sixth-seeded Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team travels to battle third-seeded No. 14 Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
The Beavers (13-17-4, 11-11-4 CCHA) begin their 2026 postseason run playing some of their best hockey of the season and return to MidCo Arena to face the Vikings (20-10-4, 14-8-4 CCHA) in the first round of the Mason Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season. The teams will play a best-of-three series to see who advances to the semifinal round beginning Friday, March 6 at 7:07 p.m. Game two will then be Saturday at 6:07 p.m., and if a game three is needed, it will be played Sunday at 5:07 p.m.
 
Each game will be exclusively streamed online at MidCo Sports Plus with Vikings Athletics providing play-by-play. Fans can also tune-in to a Beaver Radio Network broadcast on the radio dial at 92.1 FM or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• For the second consecutive season Bemidji State travels to Augustana for the CCHA Mason Cup Quarterfinals.
• Bemidji State earned the sixth seed in the CCHA Playoffs and travels to face third-seeded Augustana.
• The Beavers upset the Vikings in last year's quarterfinal series at MidCo Arena in a two versus seven matchup.
• After falling in the series opener 3-1, the Beavers responded with two one-goal victories in games two and three including a 3-2 overtime win to advance to their second consecutive semifinal appearance.
• Bemidji State took the regular season series against Augustana with a 2-1-1 record but this weekend will be their first meeting of the 2026 calendar year.
• However, the Beavers have not won at MidCo Arena this season going 0-1-1 at the Vikings' home rink.
• The Beavers aim to improve play on the road this season where they are 5-9-2.
• The Beavers and Vikings are fresh into their conference rivalry dating back to their first meeting in 2023-24.
• Since the Vikings entered the league, they have seen only one team in the CCHA Playoffs, Bemidji State.
• Bemidji State holds a 6-4-1 advantage in the all-time series but are 3-3-1 on the road against the Vikings.
• Senior Adam Flammang paces the team with 10 points (3-7--10) in 11 career games against the Vikings including netting the game-winning, overtime goal to advance the Beavers into the next round of last year's playoffs.
• He is followed by senior defenseman Vince Corcoran who has seven points (2-5--7) in nine career games and has also scored an overtime game-winning goal in the series.
• Freshman goaltender Max Hildebrand is 1-0-1 with a 2.89 goals against average and .878 save percentage against the Vikings while junior Raythan Robbins is 1-1-0 with a 1.00 GAA, .960 save percentage and one shutout.
• Head coach Tom Serratore is 6-4-1 coaching against the Vikings and 2-1 when in postseason play.
• Junior Oliver Peer leads the Beavers with 33 points off 19 goals and 14 assists.
• Peer has caught fire as of late and has 11 points (6-5--11) over the last seven games and was named the CCHA Forward of the Month for February.
• He is tied for the conference lead in goals (19) and fifth in points (33). He also ranks in the top 10 in the nation in goals and is tied for ninth.
• Peer reached the 30-point mark becoming the first Beaver since Lleyton Roed (2023-24) to reach the milestone and his 33 points are tied for 19th most in a single season at BSU in its DI era.
• His 19 goals are tied for the sixth most in a single season at BSU (DI era), and he is four shy from tying Brendan Cook (2003-04) for the most goals in a single season (23).
• He has netted five game-winning goals this season, most in the conference, tied for sixth most in Division I and tied for the second most in BSU's DI era.
• Three of his winners have come in overtime which is the most across NCAA DI.
• Peer has scored in 15-of-32 games and the Beavers are 9-4-2 when he scores.
• Senior Adam Flammang (8-20--28) and junior Kasper Magnussen (10-18--28) each follow Peer with 28 points but Flammang has missed the last five games due to injury.
• Magnussen has achieved career-highs in goals, assists and points, and has six points (1-5--6) over the last seven games.
• Bemidji State has four double-digit scores this season (Peer, Funk, Magnussen, McClennon) and has not had four double-digit goal scorers in a single season since 2021-22.
• Bemidji State has 19 skaters who have scored a goal this season including eight with five or more boasting the team's goal scoring depth.
• Senior Reilly Funk is second in the CCHA with 648 faceoffs taken and is .505 on the draw.
• Peer leads the team with a .546 faceoff winning percentage, fifth best in the CCHA and is .606 (60-of-99) over the last five games.
• Senior Mitch Wolfe is fourth in the CCHA with 63 blocks.
• Kasper Magnussen is third in the CCHA with six power-play goals.
• Freshman Maxon Vig is fourth in the CCHA with a plus-minus rating of plus-14.
• Sophomore Hudson Thornton leads the Beavers blue line with 18 points (2-16--18), ranks fifth on the team and is eighth among CCHA defensemen.
• Freshman Max Namestnikov is t-10th among CCHA freshmen with 15 points (5-10--15).
• Freshman Max Hildebrand has taken the reins as BSU's primary netminder and has started every game since Jan. 17 (11 games).
• He is 8-12-2 in 22 starts and sports a 2.72 goals against average and .896 save percentage.
• He has been tracking the puck well as of late and is 3-1-1 with one shutout, a 1.38 goals against average and .945 save percentage over his last five starts.
• Bemidji State is fifth in the CCHA averaging 2.79 goals per game and also fifth allowing 2.82 goals per game.
• The Beavers' power play is seventh in the CCHA with a power-play percentage of .190 (24-of-126) and have scored the third most power-play goals in the league.
• Bemidji State is 3-for-13 (.231) on the power play over its last five games.
• 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 416 career wins.
• Serratore is ninth among active coaches in DI with 416 career wins and 37th all-time.
• 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 (11-13--24).
• 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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