MENDOTA HEIGHTS – For the first time in 10 games, the Bemidji State men’s hockey team has a win.
In a Sunday matinee in Mendota Heights, the Beavers got back in the winner’s circle for the first time since Dec. 6, ending a 51-day, nine-game winless streak in a 2-1 triumph over St. Thomas.
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“It feels so good, to be honest with you,” fifth-year forward Eric Martin said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a regulation win. We needed that so badly, just to get our mojo back and our offense back. Hopefully, we can take that with us for the last few games of the year.”
For the first time since Dec. 16, the Beavers took a 1-0 lead.
BSU scored the game’s first goal on the power play. Kasper Magnussen banked a shot from the point off of a UST defender five seconds into the man advantage after Chase Foley took a penalty for holding the stick.
Bemidji State had not scored first in six consecutive games before Sunday.
The Beavers held that 1-0 lead through the end of the first period, and the Tommies made them work for it.
UST held its offensive zone for back-to-back shifts in the final minute, forcing BSU goaltender Mattias Sholl and a collection of shot blockers to keep St. Thomas off the scoreboard. Bemidji State had 10 blocked shots in the opening 20 minutes.
After a scoreless second period, the Tommies made their biggest push in the first half of the third. Chase Cheslock paid off an ample amount of offensive pressure with his first goal this season. The New Jersey Devils’ draftee found a lane through traffic to tie the game with 9:49 left in regulation.
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“We defended too much,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. “We didn’t keep our foot on the gas pedal. We had to be aware that they were rimming a lot of pucks and flying guys. We had to change things a little bit. We were more worried about them not scoring, but you still have to try and score. … After they scored, we started playing again.”
The tying goal didn’t sit well with Martin.
Just 44 seconds after Cheslock leveled the contest, Martin converted a one-time pass from Patrik Satosaari to regain the one-goal edge.
“Marty’s been our best player the last three weeks, so it’s nice to see him get rewarded for that,” Serratore said. “It’s nice to see him get that goal because he earned it.”
Trailing by a goal once again, the Tommies (10-11-5, 7-7-4 CCHA) pushed for another leveler. Goaltender Aaron Trotter was pulled with 1:44 left. Shortly after, Lucas Wahlin hit the post on a back-door shot. Matthew Gleason, who scored the game-winning goal on Saturday night, was inches away from tying the game on a trickling puck before the net was dislodged from its barrings.
Bemidji State fifth-year forward Jackson Jutting won a crucial faceoff with under 10 seconds left, giving the Beavers a needed sigh of relief.
“It was a good win,” Serratore said. “I like the way we won the game. I thought we played well for 60 minutes. Obviously, you don’t want to give up that lead, but I like the way we answered back. In games like this, you have to have character, and that was a character win.”
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St. Thomas moved to 0-7 on Sundays since moving up to Division I in 2021. Bemidji State's win was also the 1,200th in program history.
For the BSU players, the nine-game winless streak – which included a pair of losses to Northern Michigan and a 9-6 loss against Michigan Tech in which the Beavers’ had a lead in the third period – is viewed as a growing experience.
“Coach says it a lot, every team in this league can beat anyone,” Martin said. “It’s such a tight league. You can play a perfect game and a couple of bounces don’t go your way. … I don’t think we ever lost confidence in us. All of the boys believe in us. We have such a tight-knit group, such a good group of guys. It’s just good to finally get one.”
Bemidji State’s confidence stems from history.
When the calendar flipped to February a year ago, the Beavers had a record of 9-14-1. Then they roped off 11 games without taking a loss en route to a MacNaughton Cup crowning.
Currently, BSU (9-13-4, 6-9-3 CCHA) sits in seventh place in the CCHA standings with a points percentage of .444. While its hopes of repeating as regular-season champions are minuscule, Bemidji State and its 18 returning players from the 2023-24 roster aren’t short on belief in having what it takes to regain some consistency.
“We have about 80% of our team that was on that team last year,” Martin said. “At this point last year, our record was pretty similar, then we didn’t lose for 11 in a row. There’s never going to be a lack of confidence in this locker room. We all know it comes down to the little things, to the details. We just have to keep pushing.”
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“Just to get that feeling again is so nice. Hopefully, we can ride that into Sanford next weekend, and keep on riding after that, too.”
Bemidji State 2, St. Thomas 1
BSU 1 0 1 – 2
UST 0 0 1 – 1
First period – BSU GOAL: Magnussen (Parekh, Flammang) PPG, 10:29.
Second period – No scoring.
Third period – UST GOAL: Cheslock (Wahlin, Foley) 10:11; BSU GOAL: Martin (Satosaari, Funk) 10:55.
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Saves – Sholl (BSU) 20; Trotter (UST) 22.
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