1. Cloud nine for Beavers
That’s “Cloud Nine” as in “Bemidji State has a nine game unbeaten streak” after sweeping Lake Superior State over the weekend. The Beavers, who struggled a bit to find consistency earlier in the season, are now playing out of their minds and haven’t lost in regulation since Dec. 1 at Bowling Green. The streak is their best since 2006 and it’s coincided with a climb up the standings — the defending champs are now in fourth place with 30 points and are right back in the mix. Also of note for the Beavers aside from the streak: They beat the Lakers 3-0 on Friday, giving Michael Bitzer his 20th career shutout. He’s now tied for second on the NCAA men’s all-time shutout list with former Vermont netminder Joe Falls (who, coincidentally, is a Bemidji, Minn., native). Bitzer needs to nab six more shutouts to tie Ryan Miller’s record of 26.
2. Bowling Green keeps rolling
After winning the Great Lakes Invitational earlier in the week, the Falcons could have been excused for a more lackluster series against Ferris State — after all, they would have been playing four games in less than a week. Instead, the Falcons went for the jugular on the road, beating the Bulldogs 6-3 and 3-0 for the sweep and moving back into second place behind Minnesota State. Connor Ford had four points in the series, while Cameron Wright scored twice — including Friday’s game-winning goal. The Falcons head to the U.P. this weekend for a big series with Northern Michigan — the team currently trailing them in the standings.
3. MSU still on top
Meanwhile, Minnesota State continued to stay the course on the top of the league. It doesn’t seem to matter where they play or who they’re playing: The Mavs still find ways to bulldoze opponents. In Anchorage on Friday and Saturday, that happened again. In Friday’s game the Seawolves actually had a 2-1 lead in the third period before MSU reeled off four consecutive goals — two scored by CJ Suess — for a 5-2 win. On Saturday the Mavericks outshot the Seawolves 42-11 to win 4-1. They’ve scored 86 goals in 22 games (3.91 goals per game) and have a chance to score even more this weekend in Fairbanks, where they continue their excursion to the Last Frontier.
