BEMIDJI -- Tom Serratore loves regulation wins.
The Bemidji State men’s hockey team closed one out against St. Thomas on Friday at the Sanford Center, pleasing its bench boss with the ability to hold a late one-goal lead. On Saturday, BSU had a chance to do it again.
This time, the edge didn’t hold. The Tommies picked up a goal with 1:20 remaining, sending what would have been a three-point triumph for the Beavers into overtime. Neither team scored in the additional frame, and BSU won the shootout 2-1 to clinch two of a possible three points in the CCHA standings.
With the shootout victory, Bemidji State took five of six points from UST over the weekend. It wasn’t the perfect six that Serratore craved, but it was the next best thing.
“We've been knocking on the door a few times,” Serratore said of a weekend sweep. “We've had a hard time closing some Saturday nights, but you'll take five points out of six, there's no question about that. Way better than four. That extra point was big. You take a look at our league, our league is wide open. There's no easy teams, there's no easy points.”
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A scoreless first period set up an atmosphere where the first goal seemed critical. St. Thomas (4-13-1, 3-8-1 CCHA) got the initial score at 13:25 in the second frame, as Mack Byers took advantage of a Beavers turnover at the blue line and converted a cross-slot 2-on-1 pass from Ryan O’Neill.
Highlights from @BSUBeaversMHKY and @TommieMHockey on Saturday night. The Beavers picked up a shootout point after a 2-2 tie.
— CCHA (@CCHAHockey) December 4, 2022
🎥: https://t.co/yRw1IaFf0i#CCHAHockey pic.twitter.com/HJfyLWtr4E
BSU (6-4-4, 4-1-3 CCHA) dug in during the third period, though, energized by an early power-play chance. Will Zmolek threaded the puck through traffic and scored at 1:17, giving Bemidji State a jolt it sorely needed.
“I saw that there was a lane to the net, and honestly just put it on net,” Zmolek said. “I didn't know it went in at first, and then I saw (Elias Rosén) look at me and smile, then I knew it was in. So it was nice to get a nice power-play goal there.”
The Beavers rode that momentum throughout the frame, and Ross Armour eventually gave them a lead. The fifth-year center slid in a loose rebound that UST goaltender Aaron Trotter couldn’t quite catch and corral, putting BSU up 2-1.
“I was going to the net there, and I saw that (Zmolek) shot the puck and the goalie was going to reach for the puck,” Armour said. “(He) came down, and I just saw the puck and went to my forehand and got it in.”
The Tommies hung on, and their persistence was rewarded when Byers bounced the puck through a thicket of skaters and into the Bemidji State net for an equalizer at 18:40.
In overtime, neither team could convert, but Mitchell Martan and Rosén scored in the shootout to ensure the Beavers earned two points.
“You'll take it, but they're nerve-racking,” Serratore said of the shootout. “You flip a coin, and you don't know what you're going to get both ways. But those are big extra points, and hopefully that'll pay dividends down the road.”
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Mattias Sholl saved two of three shootout chances as well as 16 shots during regulation and overtime to set BSU up for the extra point, while Trotter trapped 29 shots.
Bemidji State will continue its run of conference foes against Lake Superior State on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9-10, back at the Sanford Center.
St. Thomas 2, Bemidji State 2 (BSU wins shootout)
UST 0 1 1 0 -- 2
BSU 0 0 2 0 -- 2
First period -- No scoring.
Second period -- 1, UST GOAL, Byers (O’Neill), 13:25.
Third period -- 2, BSU GOAL, Zmolek (Rosén, Roed), 1:17, PP; 3, BSU GOAL, Armour (unassisted), 13:39; 4, UST GOAL, Byers (Wahlin), 18:40.
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Overtime – No scoring.
Shootout – BSU wins 2-1.
Saves -- Sholl (BSU) 16; Trotter (UST) 29.
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