Bemidji State posted its highest-scoring effort in nearly four years, blasting the Connecticut Huskies 9-0 in nonconference action Friday at John Glas Fieldhouse.
Bemidji dominated in all phases of the game, outshooting Connecticut 49-13 including advantages of 16-3 in the first period and 14-3 in the second. BSU scored three goals in the first, four in the second and added two in the third.
Andrew Murray led the BSU attack with two goals and an assist, his second two-goal game of the year and fourth of his career. He led all players at plus-4 for the game. Jeff McGill scored two goals and an assist; Marty Goulet tied his career high with three assists, and Clay Simmons had a goal and an assist.
In total, seven different Beaver players scored goals and 14 different players scored at least one of BSU¹s 24 points on the night.
Bemidji State goaltender Grady Hunt stopped all 21 Connecticut shots on net to earn his first career shutout. It was the first shutout pitched by the Beavers since a 3-0 win over Army on Oct. 16, 1999 — a span of 72 games.
“This was a great effort, 60 minutes of great hockey,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. “The team executed in all areas. After the Minnesota losses this last weekend, the team bounced back well and came back with a win.”
Connecticut starting goalie Jason Carey allowed seven goals before being pulled at the 13:31 mark of the second period. Carey stopped 24 shots while seeing his season record fall to 0-1-1. Paul Morrissey played 26:29 in relief, allowing two goals and saving 21 shots.
“We played as a team,” Murray said. “We didn’t know too much about Connecticut, but we stuck to our game plan and picked up a win. Grady Hunt played well and helped keep the momentum going for the team. Hopefully we can keep it going tomorrow night.”
The nine goals scored by BSU were the most for the team since a 9-4 win over Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Jan. 9, 1998, and the most scored by the Beavers since joining the Division I ranks for the 1999-2000 season.
Bemidji State improved to 2-3-0 overall with the win, while Connecticut fell to 0-2-1. The teams wrap up their two-game series Saturday evening; opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
