歪歪漫画

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. 鈥� There鈥檚 only one chance for CCHA players to play three games in three days.

The Mason Cup Playoffs feature a common postseason structure. The quarterfinals are a best-of-three series before the semifinal and championship rounds are winner-take-all single games.

The Bemidji State men鈥檚 hockey team and Augustana are the CCHA鈥檚 only two teams who will need a third game to round out the quarterfinal results. After the Vikings came back to beat the Beavers 3-1 on Friday night, BSU scored two third-period goals in a 4-3 win on Saturday.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been in the CCHA enough to know a split weekend is very common,鈥� AU head coach Garrett Raboin said. 鈥淪o for me to sit here right now, I think we planned all week in terms of the sports science of it, the load management and different things, that we were going to play three games.鈥�

The series will be decided at 5:07 p.m. on Sunday at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Only a handful of BSU players have competed in a Game 3 in their collegiate careers. Tony Follmer, Will Magnuson, Eric Martin, Jere Vaisanen, Austin Jouppi and Mattias Sholl beat Bowling Green on March 6, 2022, at the Sanford Center.

鈥淧layoffs is everything,鈥� junior Reilly Funk said after Saturday's win. 鈥淭his is the most fun time of the year. We said it this morning. Yeah, our backs are against the wall, but this is what you play the game for. This is what hockey is about, showing up and trying to beat that guy next to you when it really matters.鈥�

No Bemidji State player has played in a Game 3 on the road.

鈥淲ould I like to be out of here tonight with two wins? Absolutely,鈥� BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. 鈥淲ould Garrett like to be out of here with two wins? Absolutely. It鈥檚 two teams who are pretty close, pretty tight. It鈥檚 a fun one, and when you lose Game 1, you want to make sure you鈥檙e in that elimination game.鈥�

Bemidji State took a 1-0 lead into the third period on Friday night, then it gave up three goals in seven and a half minutes. The Beavers didn鈥檛 record a shot in the third period to open the series.

鈥淭hat third period, like we said, was the worst period we could鈥檝e played,鈥� Funk said. 鈥淲e talked about it, we put it behind us and said we have to go put 60 minutes together tonight. We did the best we could and came out with a win.鈥�

Raboin noted that Augustana has been struggling on key faceoffs against BSU鈥檚 Jackson Jutting. He鈥檚 taken 845 draws this season, 102 more than St. Thomas鈥� Lucas Wahlin, who is second in the CCHA. Jutting has won 431 faceoffs this season.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been trying to find an answer for Jutting, as have many teams,鈥� Raboin said. 鈥淢aybe (Michigan) Tech鈥檚 the only one, with the young guy they have, (Logan) Morrell, who鈥檚 had the better of him. (Luke Mobley) has done a solid job, but Mobes can鈥檛 take every draw. You can鈥檛 lose it clean. You have to create a 50/50 there, and then you have to front it with your winger.鈥�

Raboin will coach in his first-ever Game 3 as a collegiate head coach.

鈥淚 think all that stuff is awesome,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 just so fun to see for the guys. Everything they鈥檙e feeling, they don鈥檛 know what it is, but they鈥檙e living. They鈥檙e alive. Like, how awesome is that? This is sports, baby. We鈥檝e got a chance to come out on Sunday and play. I鈥檓 excited to watch them do it. I think it鈥檚 awesome. It鈥檚 high stakes, but it鈥檚 this time of year.鈥�

If Bemidji State wins, it will advance to the semifinals on Saturday, March 15, against No. 1 Minnesota State in Mankato. If Augustana wins, it gets one more home playoff game against No. 3 St. Thomas.

Bemidji State has been on the road for two straight weekends already, and will not play at the Sanford Center again this season. Augustana finished the regular season on a bye.

Despite the heavy workload this weekend, neither team has concerns about fatigue for Sunday鈥檚 tilt.

鈥淚f you lose you鈥檙e out,鈥� Follmer said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the legs come from. It鈥檚 desperation, it鈥檚 playing desperate and playing with fear. It鈥檚 playing the right way and playing simple. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to be hard to find legs.鈥�