Sponsored By
An organization or individual has paid for the creation of this work but did not approve or review it.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Bemidji State video team continues to make an on-ice difference

In back-to-back games, Dylan Giacin and Joe Wegwerth were confident in their assesments of uncalled contact-to-the-head infractions. They pushed to challenge both of them, and they were successful each time. A look at how the video team for BSU hockey has made a difference in the four-game winning streak.

Men's Hockey - Bemidji State Beavers vs Minnesota State Mavericks_11-1-24_042.jpg
Bemidji State assistant coach Joe Wegwerth, middle, watches from the bench on Nov. 1, 2024, against Minnesota State at the Sanford Center.
Courtesy / Brent Cizek Photography

With just under four minutes left in the third period on Friday night, Bowling Green’s Ben Doran took a cross checking penalty.

Before play resumed with the Bemidji State men’s hockey team, one official made a pit stop to the bench to have a quick chat with head coach Tom Serratore, who challenged the play for contact to the head.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Beavers led the Falcons 3-2, and boosting the minor infraction to a major penalty would allow them to close out the entirety of regulation on a power play.

It worked.

Bemidji State finished off a 3-2 win on the man advantage and picked up its first win at the Sanford Center since Nov. 29.

Two weeks earlier, Bemidji State challenged a similar call.

With just under 13 minutes left in a 3-3 game against Michigan Tech on the road, BSU challenged a Stiven Sardarian hit for a major penalty. Once again, the review broke in Bemidji State’s favor.

The Beavers scored three minutes into the power play to take the lead in an eventual 6-5 win in overtime.

While both challenges were low stakes, Serratore commended video coordinator Dylan Giacin and assistant coach Joe Wegwerth for their game-changing vantages.

ADVERTISEMENT

“To be honest, when you’re in the third period and you haven’t burned your timeout, it’s not a bad time to do a challenge anyway,” Serratore said. “They were confident that it was contact to the head on those, and it’s not that high of a risk at that point in the game. But if we burned our timeout, we aren’t doing it. You can’t risk it.”

Giacin is in his first season on any high-level coaching staff. He played two seasons with the St. Louis Jr. Blues in the NA3HL from 2018-2020. He was hired prior to the 2024-25 season at Bemidji State.

Coach Dylan Giacin.jpg
Dylan Giacin

Giacin is at every game, but he watches differently from everybody else in attendance. Through a wired connection to a computer, Giacin streams the game with the capability of slowing down and zooming into the broadcast angles in real time. He also wears a headset that connects to a coach on the bench.

Wegwerth is often on the other end of the headset. He’s in his second season with the Beavers and his first as an assistant coach. Wegwerth served in Giacin’s role last season.

“Those guys had good eyeballs up there to find the contact to the head,” Serratore said. “It’s part of the job description. You have to be on top of it to the best of your ability. There’s one we missed last year that was offside against North Dakota in overtime that cost us a game. The rules are the rules, and you have to be on top of them to get ahead.”

Wegwerth played four seasons at Notre Dame from 2015-19. He also played two seasons with the Utah Grizzlies in the ECHL.

Wegweth, a Brewster, New York, native and a former USA Hockey National Team Development Program member, is working his way up the coaching totem pole, as is Giacin.

ADVERTISEMENT

Serratore knows a thing or two about that rise.

“It’s a labor of love for them right now,” Serratore said. “They love the game and want to be a part of the game, and they’ll do anything to be a part of the game. We were all there, I was there, too. My first job, I could write a book about it.

“If you want to do anything in life, especially in sports, I don’t know of anybody who starts in a penthouse apartment. That’s the way it is, and it’s survival. … You just have to see how far it takes you and see how badly you want to stay in it.”

In the meantime, the Beavers feel fortunate to have Giacin and Wegwerth’s difference-making spots go their way.

“They’re awesome to be around,” senior Donte Lawson said. “They know a lot about the game, and they’re really friendly to be around, too. They’re great guys, and Bemidji State is lucky to have them.”

Jared Rubado took over as sports editor at the Bemidji Pioneer in February 2023 after working as a sports reporter at the Alexandria Echo Press and sports editor of the Detroit Lakes Tribune, Perham Focus and Wadena Pioneer Journal newspaper group.

He graduated from Augustana University in 2018 with journalism and sports management degrees.

You can reach Jared at jrubado@bemidjipioneer.com or (218) 316-2613. Follow him on Twitter at
What To Read Next
Get Local

ADVERTISEMENT