Editor's note: This story was published before the Bemidji State men's hockey team beat Bowling Green on Saturday night. The win totals in this story are accurate up to the final scores on Friday, Feb. 21.
BEMIDJI – The Beavers needed a home win on Friday, in more ways than one.
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The Bemidji State men’s hockey team’s 3-2 triumph over Bowling Green didn’t just snap a seven-game winless streak at the Sanford Center, it didn’t just catapult BSU to sixth place in the CCHA standings. Friday night’s win marked the 400th for head coach Tom Serratore in his 24 seasons at the helm.
“It’s not about our team in that locker room tonight,” fifth-year captain Jackson Jutting said. “Tonight’s win is about him and everything he’s done for the university, the team, the program and the community. It’s a major achievement, and we’re super grateful for everything he does for us. To be a part of (his) 400th win is pretty special.”
Serratore became the 29th Division I coach to reach 400, with many of them still actively adding to their respective total.
Jeff Jackson (Notre Dame, 598 wins), Rand Pecknold (Quinnipiac, 587), Mike Schaefer (Cornell, 553), Frank Serratore (Air Force, 519), Bob Daniels (Ferris State, 508), Scott Sandelin (Minnesota Duluth, 467), Rico Blasi (St. Thomas, 440), Bob Motzko (Minnesota, 434), Rock Gotkin (Mercyhurst, 424) and Nate Leaman (Providence, 414) all hit 400 throughout their careers.
“It feels good, and I’d be a liar to say that it didn’t,” Serratore said. “It was a big win for the Beavs, we needed this win. But the 400th win is gratifying. You never think about things like that, you never think about wins and how many. You never talk about it – coaches don’t, at least. But it makes me proud because I did it all in one place at Bemidji State University. That’s the biggest thing.”
Bemidji State joins Denver and Boston College as the three schools in the country with two coaches to eclipse 400 wins for a program. Jerry York (656), John Kelley (501) and Len Ceglarsi (420) did it for BC, while Murray Armstrong (460) and George Gwozdecky (443) did it for DU. York finished his career with 1,123 at BC, Bowling Green and Clarkson.
Bob Peters completed his tenure at BSU with 702 career wins, most of them coming at the small-college levels.
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“We’ve had good continuity, we’ve had two coaches since 1966,” Serratore said. “We preach the same message. (Mike Gibson) took over the one year when (Peters) was on sabbatical in 1982-83, but the continuity is good and healthy, and it’s worked. I’m just proud to be here and proud of getting all 400 here.”
Serratore’s head coaching career began in 2001 when he replaced Peters prior to Bemidji State’s third Division I season.
“The way he preaches things, the way he makes us play Beaver hockey, it’s super special,” sophomore Noah Quinn said. “We were doing it for him tonight and we were doing it for the fans. It’s super huge, and I’m happy we got it done on home ice for him tonight.”
Skid snapped
The Beaver faithful ran out of leftovers from Thanksgiving weekend.
Prior to Friday night’s win over Bowling Green, Bemidji State hadn’t won a home game since Nov. 29, which was a 2-1 victory over North Dakota.
“That’s the story of our season – ups and downs,” Jutting said. “We know we hadn’t won in this building in a while, and that was the message going into today’s game. It’s a playoff scenario, these games are playoff games for us. We knew (we) wanted to get a win in this building for the fans because they hadn’t seen one in a while.”
Fans who turned into Bemidji State’s road series against Bowling Green Jan. 10-11 – one of the more thrilling weekend series in the CCHA this season – were left with more to be desired after one period at the Sanford Center on Friday night.
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While the first two games between the Beavers and Falcons featured three extra-attacker goals, two overtimes, a shootout, 135 combined shots and 15 goals, the series-opening 20 minutes were scoreless.
“In the first period, we were flat-footed and we weren’t involved in the play,” Serratore said. “I thought (BGSU) dictated terms the whole first period, and I was not a happy camper after the first. And if it would’ve continued that way, we wouldn’t have won the game. But we really responded in the second period.”
The action picked up in the middle frame when Quinn buried a back-door pass on the power play just under two minutes in. It was followed by a shower of stuffed animals thrown by patrons for BSU’s annual Teddy Bear Toss Night.
“He’s fun to play with,” Jutting said of Quinn. “He’s a smart player, and I feel like I can read off him really well. Ever since he joined our line with me and Kasper (Magnussen), he’s been really easy to play off of and he makes plays all over the ice. He’s really smart and he keeps his feet moving. He always seems to find us, and you can trust that when he’s going for a puck battle, he’s going to get it to you.”
Quinn played in his 14th game this season on Friday night. He has four goals and one assist, and has been getting a regular run of playing time on BSU’s third line with Jutting and Magnussen.
“I think just playing with the same guys and playing consistently, I’m definitely getting more confidence,” Quinn said. “I’m feeling more comfortable out there. Hopefully, we can keep it rolling and keep having success with our line here.”
Quinn’s tally was also followed by a tying goal for BGSU. Ben Doran tipped in Quinn Emerson’s point shot three minutes later. Kirlan Irey regained the one-goal lead for Bemidji State with a tip-in shot of his own six minutes into the second period.
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Before the media timeout, Jere Vaisanen took a penalty for cross checking. It put Bowling Green on the power play before it turned into a 5-on-3 advantage after the Beavers’ were called for too many men.
Less than 30 seconds into the two-man advantage, Doran ripped home the tying goal, his 11th this season.
Bemidji State went back on the power play early in the third period. As the Falcons regained full strength, they took a too-many-men infraction of their own to give the Beavers another chance.
Jutting burned BGSU with the game-winning goal, beating Cole Moore through the five-hole to give BSU its first home win in nearly three months.
“Jutts is a warrior,” Serratore said. “Jutts always comes through for us. I have to look at that goal again but it looked like a heck of a shot. It looked like he kind of handcuffed the goaltender. … I think the goalie might’ve thought Jutts was going back door, but who knows? It was a great read by Jutts.”
As for Serratore, he faintly remembers his first win as head coach on Oct. 12, 2001.
“It was a wild one,” Serratore recalled. “It was 7-6 and we played Mankato. We were just transitioning to Division I, and it was a crazy one. It was a barn burner at the John Glas (Fieldhouse). … I was a young guy back then, and I don’t remember that far back. But I do remember the game, and it was a wild one. Back then, sometimes it would take us four games to get seven goals.”
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Bemidji State 3, Bowling Green 2
BGSU 0 2 0 – 2
BSU 0 2 1 – 3
First period – No scoring.
Second period – BSU GOAL: Quinn (Funk, Martin) PPG; BGSU GOAL: Doran (Parker, O’Hara) 4:48; BSU GOAL: Irey (Funk, Martin) 6:12; BGSU GOAL: Doran (O’Hara, Norris) PPG, 9:07.
Third period – BSU GOAL: Jutting (Parekh, Magnussen) PPG, 6:13.
Saves – Sholl (BSU) 22; Moore (BGSU) 16.
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