BEMIDJI 鈥� The Lumberjacks had a hard time getting past Abram Hinson for about two and a half periods.
In Saturday night鈥檚 Section 8AA semifinal at the BCA, the second-seeded Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 boys hockey team had tilted the ice towards the offensive zone and sent plenty of high-danger shots toward Roseau鈥檚 senior goaltender through most of the night, but had just one first-period goal to show for it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hinson seemed intent on keeping the game deadlocked at 1-1, clinging on to teammate Isaac Baumgartner鈥檚 quick first-period goal.
It took a highlight-reel move from senior Joey Fankhanel for the Jacks to finally get another past Hinson.
Over seven minutes into the final frame, Fankhanel stole a loose puck in the neutral zone and crashed towards the net on a breakaway. With nothing but ice standing between him and the net, Fankhanel faked left, got Hinson to bite, cut back the other way and slipped in the go-ahead goal.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big-time move that he made on a goalie,鈥� BHS head coach Ben Kinne said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 explain how much growth he鈥檚 had this year and the amount of execution that he鈥檚 been able to put out there. 鈥� I was happy to see him get that chance, and that鈥檚 part of hockey; breakdowns happen, and we get a breakaway and he was able to put it home.鈥�
Fankhanel鈥檚 strike seemed to solve the goaltending puzzle for BHS. The Lumberjacks ripped off three straight goals to close the third period, completing a 5-1 victory over sixth-seeded Roseau to punch their ticket to the Section 8AA final on Wednesday night against top-seeded Moorhead.
鈥淲e broke the ice a little bit and solved the goalie,鈥� Kinne said. 鈥淲e were just putting ourselves, still, in really good opportunities. 鈥� We stuck with it. The ice was tilted in our favor pretty much the whole game. We were hitting their goalie, right? And he made a couple of huge saves and stuck with it and gave his team a chance, but this is a carbon copy of the games we鈥檝e played that have been 1-1, 2-1 going into the third. I鈥檓 just proud of our guys to stick with it, and we made it happen.鈥�
Bemidji is heading to the section championship for the first time since 2016 when it qualified for the Class AA state tournament. Saturday night鈥檚 playoff game was also just the second home playoff game in nine years for the Jacks, the first being a 10-1 win over seventh-seeded Buffalo on Tuesday night.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淚t feels amazing,鈥� O鈥橪eary said. 鈥淚 had no doubt that we鈥檇 win it, we鈥檝e been working towards this for years. Ever since we were growing up, honestly, back in elementary school playing together. So to get this win here at home, last home game, feels amazing.鈥�
In a game much closer than the final score indicated, two of the Lumberjacks鈥� biggest goals came courtesy of O鈥橪eary.
The Rams鈥� lone goal came just 1:07 into the game, as Baumgartner snapped a wrister on a loose puck in the slot for a quick 1-0 lead. BHS responded by immediately applying pressure in the offensive zone in search of the tying goal. It came less than four minutes later.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not new to us to be down by one,鈥� O鈥橪eary said. 鈥淲e know what we need to do. We just kept playing our game.鈥�
Junior Griffin Dewar let loose a shot from the point and O鈥橪eary tipped it in at the net front to knot it up at 1-1.
鈥淭hat was important,鈥� Kinne said. 鈥� I don't know if it was the 40-degree weather or whatever, the puck was bouncing a little bit, but our guys just have so much belief in themselves and they stick with it and execute our game plan as best they can.鈥�
After Fankhanel鈥檚 go-head strike in the third period, it was O鈥橪eary who kept the scoring party going, notching his second goal with under seven minutes to go. Junior Cal Mattfield added another goal less than four minutes later, and Bemidji put the finishing touches on its victory with an empty-netter from senior Conor Stodgell.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淏enji鈥檚 goal was fantastic, driving wide and getting into a really good spot and finishing,鈥� Kinne said. 鈥淗e had maybe one or two opportunities that looked exactly like that in the first two periods. And same with Cal Mattfield, Cal's been a clutch player for us, and finding himself in the right spot and just hitting that spot was great.鈥�
With a semifinal victory out of the way, the only thing standing between the Lumberjacks and their first section title since 2016 is the top-seeded team in Section 8AA. Moorhead claimed a 4-1 victory over Elk River in Saturday night's other semifinal bout, setting up a championship match against BHS at a neutral site on Feb. 26.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in tight games a lot of times this year,鈥� Kinne said. 鈥淓verybody remembers scoring 10 goals or whatever, but we鈥檝e won a lot of games that have been tight. You look at the final score tonight, but that鈥檚 not indicative of how the game was played. For us, we鈥檝e got to continue that. Whoever鈥檚 next, we鈥檙e excited for, so that鈥檚 our opportunity next.鈥�
No. 2 Bemidji 5, No. 6 Roseau 1
RHS 1 0 0 鈥� 1
BHS 1 0 4 鈥� 5
First period 鈥� RHS GOAL: Baumgartner (Kvien) 1:07; BHS GOAL: O鈥橪eary (Dewar, Arndt) 5:00.
ADVERTISEMENT
Second period 鈥� No scoring.
Third period 鈥� BHS GOAL: Fankhanel (unassisted) 7:28; BHS GOAL: O鈥橪eary (Arndt, Graber) 12:28; BHS GOAL: Mattfield (Knott) 13:58; BHS GOAL: Stodgell (Graber) ENG, 14:24.
Saves 鈥� Metcalf (BHS) 17; Hinson (RHS) 34.
The Trust Project
