BEMIDJI 鈥� Trailing by one with less than 10 seconds on the clock, Warroad鈥檚 Gavin Andersen had a gaping net in front of him.
However, in came the sliding, outstretched leg of Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 boys hockey senior goaltender Tate Metcalf. It was enough to cut down Andersen鈥檚 shot and secure a 4-3 win.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淛ust get my body in front of it and hope it hits me,鈥� Metcalf said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all you can do. It feels nice to win against anyone. But against these guys, it feels really good to beat them.鈥�
For 11 consecutive head-to-head games, Warroad had gotten the better of the Lumberjacks. It鈥檚 a streak that dates back to Feb. 6, 2019, a day in which the Warriors shut out BHS 5-0. Warroad went on to win the next 10 meetings between the northern Minnesota rivals.
That streak ended on Tuesday night at the Bemidji Community Arena. The Jacks scored four consecutive goals and held on late in the third period to pick up their first win over Warroad since Nov. 27, 2018.
鈥淚t feels pretty special,鈥� senior Dom Arndt said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had this marked on our calendar for a long time. Unfortunately, we didn鈥檛 win when we were in Warroad, but we鈥檝e been working in practice, and it paid off tonight.鈥�
Bemidji outshot Warroad 12-3 in the opening period despite taking two penalties. But after a dominating opening frame, the Lumberjacks found themselves down 1-0 early in the second period.
Wyatt Hennum tipped Casey Hendrickson鈥檚 shot five minutes into the middle frame. The puck was redirected just enough to trickle out of Metcalf鈥檚 equipment and in.
Finn Hanson, Warroad鈥檚 goalie, entered Tuesday鈥檚 contest on a two-game shutout streak. However, it was snapped 55 seconds after Hennum鈥檚 tally. Taevon Welle beat Hanson on a bad-angle shot from the goal line to even the score.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淲e always talk about the shift after a goal and how important it is,鈥� BHS head coach Ben Kinne said. 鈥淚 learned that from a longtime enemy, coach (Scott) Oliver. 鈥� You have to have the best shift of your game the next shift out after giving one up. We got a lucky bounce, they got a lucky bounce. That鈥檚 part of hockey. I feel like we鈥檝e been on the short side of lucky bounces lately, but it鈥檚 part of the game.鈥�
Benji O鈥橪eary is on a heater.
The BHS senior forward scored thrice on Saturday in a 4-1 win over Elk River. He followed it up by giving the Jacks the lead with just under six minutes left in the second period. O鈥橪eary won a board battle behind the net before beating Hanson through the five-hole.
鈥淗e鈥檚 finally being consistent, especially with the puck,鈥� Kinne said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never had worries about his game away from the puck. If you watch him, he鈥檚 a man out there. He can hunt that puck down and he鈥檚 strong on it. He just has some inconsistencies sometimes, whether it鈥檚 missing the net or just not making the right plays. But he鈥檚 starting to execute, and that鈥檚 a massive thing for us.鈥�
With a minute left in the third period, Briggs Knott extended Bemidji鈥檚 lead to 3-1. He was fed a breakaway pass from Joey Fankhanel before beating Hanson with a high-glove shot.
It took just 88 seconds for the Lumberjacks to go ahead 4-1 in the third after O鈥橪eary fed a drop pass to Arndt, who sniped the top-left corner.
After Arndt鈥檚 goal, Warroad found some life.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mooney Shaugabay cut into the BHS lead with his 16th goal this season. Taven James picked up an assist to extend his point streak to 17 games.
It was a goal that sparked the Warriors into more offensive consistency. Warroad cycled through its top two lines for almost the entirety of the third period, as it did for much of Tuesday鈥檚 contest, and pressured Bemidji鈥檚 young defensive corps.
The pressure paid off with just under five minutes left in regulation. Taylor Humenik made it a one-goal game with a snipe from the half-wall.
鈥淲e eased up a little too much, we were a little too comfortable,鈥� Arndt said. 鈥淚 think we did kind of know that we had a good chance of winning, but we had to battle through it.鈥�
In Warroad鈥檚 final push, it looked like it was deserving of its newly acquainted No. 1 Class A ranking in the Let鈥檚 Play Hockey poll released Tuesday afternoon.
鈥淲hen teams are down by a goal, you can see how much desperation they play with,鈥� Kinne said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 playoff hockey, right? Our team needed to match that desperation. You need key things to happen at key times. We got big saves, we got guys battling and competing. I was happy we came out on top because this is a game that will pay dividends down the road.鈥�
When Kinne took over the BHS boys program (17-5-2) in the summer of 2023, he made it a point to not only be in these games against teams like Warroad (17-6-1), but also to win them. In his second year at the helm, his vision is coming to fruition.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淚t all starts with belief,鈥� Kinne said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a massive thing for us. Our room in there believes in each other and what they can do. It wasn鈥檛 perfect by any means, but they had that belief that they could get it done.
鈥淚t鈥檚 cliche, but this isn鈥檛 a one-season thing. This has been our goal to get to our destination all year, starting back last summer. We put ourselves in these situations, and this is all you can ask for.鈥�
Bemidji 4, Warroad 3
WAR 0 1 2 鈥� 3
BHS 0 3 1 鈥� 4
First period 鈥� No scoring.
Second period 鈥� WAR GOAL: Hennum (Hendrickson, Hontvet) 5:11; BHS GOAL: Welle (unassisted) 6:06; BHS GOAL: O鈥橪eary (Kringen, Arndt) 11:03; BHS GOAL: Knott (Fankhanel, Kringen) 15:58.
ADVERTISEMENT
Third period 鈥� BHS GOAL: Arndt (O鈥橪eary) 1:28; WAR GOAL: Shaugabay (James, Andersen) 4:09; WAR GOAL: Humeniuk (unassisted) 12:19;
Saves 鈥� Metcalf (BHS) 11; Hanson (WAR) 31.
The Trust Project
