HOUGHTON, Mich. — Coming into Friday night’s contest with No. 5 Michigan Tech, Bemidji State was hot as any team in the country, having gone 3-0-1 over the last four games.
The Beavers battled the Huskies, but in the end, it was the hosts who used a little Winter Carnival magic to come away with a 3-1 victory at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
The Huskies got the game-winning goal and an assist from Dylan Steman to earn two key WCHA points.
“It was a hard-fought battle,” said Steman. “We kind of had to adapt our game a little bit. We really had to make sure we played the game the right way.”
Steman gave the Huskies the lead for good 11:24 into the third period. He took a pass from David Johnstone, who was back in the lineup after missing seven games, and skated it to near the left faceoff dot. Firing a wrist shot, Steman beat BSU goalie Michael Bitzer cleanly.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said MTU coach Mel Pearson. “Bemidji played like we thought they would. At times in the game, they took the play to us. They’re quick. They keep things simple.”
The Huskies earned a power play just 16 seconds into the game. Their best scoring chances during the advantage came on the same sequence. Alex Petan fired the initial shot. The rebound kicked out to co-captain Tanner Kero, but his shot was gloved by Bitzer.
The Beavers had a great chance to break the early tie when the Huskies took a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Instead, it was the Huskies who took advantage.
Steman, looking to clear the puck out of the zone, put the puck off the boards near the penalty box. Riley Sweeeney skated into the puck. He took it into the offensive zone and beat Bitzer cleanly with a wrist shot from just about the top of the right circle at 9:21.
The Huskies (21-7-1 overall, 16-4-1 WCHA) nearly found the net again as Petan, skating down the left side of the rink, fired a shot that was partially blocked by a Beavers’ defender. The puck bounced twice on its way to Bitzer and kind of handcuffed the young goaltender, but he recovered to make the stop.
On another power play chance, Brent Baltus fed the puck into the slot where Kero was crashing the net. Kero one-timed the pass, but Bitzer was right there to make the save.
The Beavers came out hard to start the middle frame and were rewarded for their efforts early as Charlie O’Connor found Cory Ward in the high slot. Ward wired a wrist shot over Phillips’ left shoulder at 3:29.
“I just thought it was a great hockey game,” said Beavers’ coach Tom Serratore. “Two good teams played hard. It was one of those games were the team that got the last break won the game.”
The next two minutes continued to belong to the Beavers (10-13-4 overall, 6-9-4 WCHA), who rattled off nine shots during the stretch. Huskies’ goaltender Jamie Phillips’ best save came off a deke by Phillip Marinaccio.
The Huskies settled down after the Beavers got another good scoring chance from Jordan Hiller. Joel L’Esperance then nearly snuck a one-timer through Bitzer a little over six minutes in when he took a pass from Pietila and tipped the puck towards the net. The puck slipped between Bitzer’s legs, but he managed to keep it off the goal line.
Less than a minute later, Malcolm Gould got loose and fired a shot that Bitzer struggled to hold. Gould got his own rebound, but the puck skittered wide of the left post.
Nate Arentz had a great chance for the Beavers at the other end after the Gould miss, but his shot also slid wide of the net.
The Beavers again tested Phillips to start the third period. The best stop came off the stick of Brendan Harms, whose one-timer off a cross-ice pass was tough for the Michigan Tech goaltender to get to.
The Huskies started to play better about midway through the frame, and thought they found a goal 11 minutes in. After Sweeney fired a long shot from the right point, the puck rebounded out front where Mike Neville jumped on it. He beat Bitzer, but hit the far post after doing so.
With the teams skating four-on-four, Serratore pulled Bitzer with 1:09 left, hoping for an advantage. The move backfired as a miscue near the Beavers’ net ended up on the stick of Kero, who shoved the puck in the yawning goal with 1:00 remaining.
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