BEMIDJI – On Nov. 16, the Bemidji State women’s hockey team notched its first WCHA sweep since 2022 with a 4-3 win over St. Thomas at the Sanford Center. It snapped a streak of 1,022 days without a pair of league wins in the same weekend series.
Saturday afternoon’s tilt was a chance to end a similar drought.
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The aforementioned 2022 series marked the most recent time the Beavers swept two WCHA opponents in the season series. Minnesota State, however, opted out of the minor milestone.
The Mavericks scored thrice in the third period to pull away to a 5-1 win over BSU, effectively splitting the weekend series after Bemidji State’s 3-2 overtime victory on Friday night.
“Obviously, this one hurts a lot coming off of our big game yesterday,” forward Isa Goettl said. “I don’t think the score resembled the actual game. But there’s a lot for us to work on, and we’re going to have to come back on Monday and put in some work. I thought we did a lot of good things this weekend. We just have to continue to work and learn from this weekend, especially today.”
Just when it looked as if both teams were bound to head into the first intermission in a scoreless tie, Morgan Smith took a roughing penalty. It opened the door for Julianna Gazdik to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal.
The lead lasted just 29 seconds. Geno Hendrickson cashed in on a loose puck in the slot on a shot through a screen that beat goaltender Jessie McPherson with 1:03 left in the first period.
MSU controlled the better part of the first 10 minutes in the middle frame.
Minnesota State pummeled BSU with 11 shots on goal, with one of them retaking the one-goal lead off the stick of Kathryn Van Batavia. After a failed Bemidji State breakout, Van Batavia picked off a pass and chipped the puck over Kaitlin Groess’ shoulder just under five minutes into the period.
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“We knew Mankato was going to come out hard today, based on the game yesterday,” BSU head coach Amber Fryklund said. “We were OK (in the first period), we survived that. In the second period, we got outworked in the first 11 minutes. But I thought our response from there on out was good. We were out there competing, but Mankato came to play. Their goaltender played really well today. We had some really good chances, and she played really well.”
After the media timeout, the Beavers rediscovered their rhythm.
Lauren Zawoyski took a cross checking penalty, paving the way for a special teams clinic. BSU hammered the Mavericks for 10 shots on goal in the two-minute stretch. Freshman Morgan Smith went 6-0 on faceoffs during the player advantage.
“Morgan’s faceoff wins were big,” Goettl said. “It gives us possession right away and allows us to set up. … We moved the puck really well and had great screens in front of the net. It sucks that we couldn’t bury one, but there’s a lot to learn from that, too. Our power play was good, we just have to put pucks in the back of the net.”
Midway through the power play, Bemidji State thought it had tied the game. Goettl buried a loose puck on the back door off a rebound. McPherson stopped Smith’s initial shot and thought she had it covered, as did the linesman. The puck, however, found Goettl’s stick, but the play was whistled dead before she had a chance to get a shot off.
“Certainly frustrating, but that’s hockey,” Fryklund said. “Our group is resilient, so they went out and focused on what they could do in their next shift. Certainly frustrating, but in the same sense we put our heads down and went to work.”
In the third period, Minnesota State (11-16-1, 5-16-1 WCHA) pulled away. Alexis Paddington scored twice, while Bella Shipley added another. McPherson pitched in 10 saves to raise her game total to 34.
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“She was a great goalie today,” Goettl said. “We got a lot of shots on her, and she gave up some rebounds, and we couldn’t find the back of the net. Obviously, Geno did, but it would’ve been nice to get a couple more on her. She played great.”
Despite a series split, the Beavers (5-23-1, 3-19-0 WCHA) left the Sanford Center on Saturday unsatisfied.
“We’re expecting to win, we know we can win,” Goettl said. “We’re in tight games. So yeah, it’s tough losing these tight games, and I know the score didn’t resemble the game, but we’re close in games. It’s a little harder in the close games.”
Fryklund acknowledged her players’ frustrations but also noted it’s a sign that the culture is changing.
“We’ve been in a lot of tight games this season,” Fryklund said. “Last night’s win was a big win for us. Today, the expectation was to come out and play our best. We talk all the time about how, of course, we want to win hockey games, but we also have to stick to our process. We focus on things we can control. That outcome, whatever it is, is something we can live with.
“That locker room wants to win hockey games, so there is some frustration. They know they can do it, they believe in each other. We’re going to take the win from yesterday and the loss from today and reflect on this weekend when we come back on Monday.”
Fryklund also hopes her players can keep their emotions in perspective.
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“You can do all of the right things and not have the win outcome,” she continued. “Sometimes you get the win outcome without doing the right things. There’s both sides to that, but the girls in that locker room are competitive and want to win. I really love their heart, their compete and their excitement about what they do every day.”
Minnesota State 5, Bemidji State 1
MSU 1 1 3 – 5
BSU 1 0 0 – 1
First period – MSU GOAL: Ju. Gazdik (Paddington, Tuttle) PPG, 18:24; BSU GOAL: G. Hendrickson (unassisted) 18:53.
Second period – MSU GOAL: Van Batavia (unassisted) 4:44.
Third period – MSU GOAL: Paddington (Je. Gazdik, Roeske) 11:53; MSU GOAL: Shipley (Tuttle) 13:03; MSU GOAL: Paddington (Nelson) 13:03.
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Saves – Groess (BSU) 33; McPherson (MSU) 34.
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