When the 2024-25 women’s hockey schedule was released, Bemidji State knew it had its hands full with its season-opening series.
The Beavers welcomed the defending national champions to the Sanford Center in late September for a WCHA tilt. Ohio State, one of the nation's top programs year after year, exemplified its routine dominance.
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The fifth-ranked Buckeyes swept BSU by scores of 8-2 and 3-0. They outshot the Beavers 89-25 combined between the two games, serving as an abrupt wake-up call for a talented Bemidji State freshman class.
One rookie in particular felt defeated after her first taste of collegiate hockey.
“That weekend was pretty tough,” Morgan Smith said. “It was a reality check. This is the WCHA, and you have to learn that. But I also have to remember why I play.”
Since then, Smith has emphasized reminding herself why she’s in Bemidji. She started writing “FUN” on the back of her stick.
Slowly but surely, the East St. Paul, Manitoba native began to hit her stride offensively. She scored her first goal in a 6-3 win over Lindenwood on Oct. 18. She scored the shootout winner one night later, promptly hitting the griddy – a celebration popularized by Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson – on her way back to the bench.
Morgan Smith ends her shootout goal with a GRIDDY!
— Bemidji State Women’s Hockey (@BSUBeaversWHKY)
“I play my best when I’m having fun,” Smith said. “For me, celebrating like that after I score is just fun. My teammates had a (good) reaction to it. Instead of being like, ‘Oh, she did that?’ they were like, ‘Yeah, she did that.’ We practice our best when we’re focused, but also when we’re light and having fun because that’s why we’re here.”
Smith has had no short of fun in her last four games. She’s scored five times and assisted on three more. Through 21 games, she leads the Beavers in points with 13, scoring seven goals and tallying six assists.
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No BSU player had more than 12 points last season.
On Dec. 14 against Minnesota State, Smith scored BSU’s It was the first time a Bemidji State freshman recorded a hat trick since Jenn Sadler did it in 2003.
Smith has received a trio of WCHA awards, including Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 16 and Jan. 6 along with a Rookie of the Month selection for December.
“My confidence has grown,” Smith said. “Obviously, getting a hat trick right before the break was cool. That kind of sparked it, I can be one of those players for us. I’ve been getting the chances, I just haven’t been capitalizing before that. I’m starting to do that more, every single one of us is doing that more.”
With league honors rolling in, BSU assistant coach Emma Sobieck has seen Smith stay grounded as she begins to turn heads around the country.
“It’s never about her,” Sobieck said. “She’s one of the most humble players. She’ll do something crazy in practice that has everybody going on and on, and she’ll just have a little smirk. It’s cool, and that confidence and humbleness help bring out that success for her. Her offensive ability is unbelievable.”
Catching up to speed
For any player, making the jump to collegiate athletics takes time. The amount of time is dependent on the player.
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After recording 15 goals and 11 assists in 21 games for Balmoral Hall in the Junior Women’s Hockey League, Smith arrived at Bemidji State for her freshman season. Her recruiting process started early while playing for the Blazers in Winnipeg.
“Bemidji was one of the schools that was around from the start,” Smith said. “I wasn’t sure about them, they weren’t sure about me. It wasn’t until October of my junior season when I started to get more offers and I started playing my winter season. I think people started realizing how much I grew.”
Smith said she felt “wanted” by BSU, which ultimately led her to become a Beaver. She opted to join a program in the middle of rebuilding its identity with a talented young core of players and a first-year head coach.
It also meant Smith had to sacrifice winning to be a part of that core. Head coach Amber Fryklund regularly refers to Bemidji State’s “process” in building themselves out of the basement of the WCHA.
“It’s definitely tough to stay on track with that because losing sucks,” Smith said. “No one wants to lose. But it’s also very exciting because we’re starting to see some of those results. We thought in that we could’ve won that game, and they’re ranked 12th. Looking at the little things instead of the overall picture, for me, has been a big help with (the process).”
Bemidji State notched its fourth win this season on Jan. 4 against Brown, staging the largest comeback win in program history at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. It was a victory that also matched last season’s win total.
Sobieck echoed Smith’s mantra of having fun despite the struggles that come with competing in the WCHA.
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“You’re playing the game of hockey,” Sobieck said. “Especially for those players, Morgan is a key piece in what we’re building, and she knows that. For us, we’re going to continue to build every single week. We don’t want them to ever get used to losing, especially this group. We have a very special group in that locker room.
“We want them to build, we want them to be frustrated (with losing), but we also want them to understand the process of what to be frustrated about. If we play a dang good hockey game, there’s no reason to be frustrated. Obviously, you want to win, but we’re focused on how we want to build and how we want to play so the product on the ice is the same every night.”
Round Two
Luckily for the Beavers, they get a second shot at knocking off Ohio State this weekend. Smith is eager to showcase BSU’s collective growth after getting swept by the Buckeyes three and a half months ago.
“The first time we played them, we were a very different team,” Smith said. “We’re young, and we’ve grown so much this season. We’ve grown in our defensive end a lot – closing quick, having quick seconds and getting the puck out of the zone. It’s led to more offense, we’ve been scoring more. We know we can put the puck in the net. I think we can stun them.”
Smith is also excited for a chance to show how much she’s developed as an individual.
“I remember playing Ohio in that first game, and I just felt like I had zero time to do anything,” Smith said. “Now it feels like I can make a play, I can get the puck out of the zone, I can make good passes, take some shots. … I keep talking about confidence, and I think individually and as a team, we’re much more confident than we were. We’re going to go in thinking that these are games we could be in. These are games we can get some points out of, so let’s go.”
Despite having just 21 games under her belt, Smith is playing like a seasoned veteran. She attributes her first-year success to the guidance from her upperclassmen, specifically senior Geno Hendrickson.
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“Being a center, she’s helped me with draws,” Smith said. “She’s always there to answer my questions or come up to me with stuff. I feel like she treats me like I’m not a kid on the team. She values my opinion, and I really respect that from her and really appreciate everything she’s done for me.”
Regardless of this weekend’s results, the BSU brass believes it has a program-changing group of freshmen and sophomores, and Smith is at the head of it.
“She’s unbelievable in how hard she works,” Sobieck said. “She cares, she watches film, she’s going to be dialed in every video session. She just continues to learn, and she’s eager to learn from the coaching staff and her teammates, too. She’s one that’s going to give you everything she’s got because she cares so much about hockey and the program.”
The Trust Project
