Bemidji State scored goals on five of eight power-play opportunities as the Beavers avenged Friday night’s 7-0 shutout and posted their first-ever win over the Ferris State Bulldogs, 7-5, at Ewigleben Ice Arena. The teams combined to commit 19 penalties for 57 minutes in the game; in total, seven power-play goals were scored on 14 opportunities.
The five power-play goals by BSU are a season high, and the most by a Beaver team since Nov. 25, 2000, when BSU converted on five of 10 chances in an 8-1 win over Wayne State.
Ten different Beaver players scored at least one point in the win, including three with three points each. Freshman Andrew Murray tied his career high with three points, scoring two power-play goals and an assist. Marty Goulet also had two goals and an assist for BSU; he scored a power-play goal in the first period and an empty-net goal at 19:25 of the third period. Bryce Methven scored a career-high three points, recording a power-play goal and two assists.
Murray got BSU on the board first, scoring his 12th goal, unassisted, on a power-play opportunity just 1:44 in. Ferris State responded to tie the score just 45 seconds later, sparking a run of three unanswered goals to put the Bulldogs ahead 3-1 at the 11:55 mark of the first period. From that point on, however, BSU dominated.
Goulet scored on a power-play opportunity at 12:57 of the first period, just 1:02 after Ferris State had scored its third goal, and Murray tied the score at 3-3 with his second power-play goal of the period, assisted by Clay Simmons and Riley Riddell at 19:45.
The Beavers grabbed their first lead of the game at 4-3 when Simmons chipped in his sixth goal of the season just 1:07 into the second. Trevor Large knotted the score at 4-4 with a power-play goal at 4:43 of the second, but the Beavers scored the game’s next two goals — including the eventual game-winner off the stick of Says Phrakonkham at the 18:26 mark of the second — to take a 6-4 lead into the second intermission.
The teams traded goals in the third, including Goulet’s empty-netter with 35 seconds to play, as BSU escaped with the 7-5 win.
Grady Hunt went the distance in goal for BSU, recording 32 saves and improving his record to 8-7-2 overall this year. He saved 18 of 20 shots he faced after the wild first period.
For Ferris State, John DeCaro started in net but played only the first period. He allowed three goals and faced just nine shots. Mike Brown came on in relief after the first intermission and allowed four goals in 39:23 to take the loss.
With the win, BSU finished the nonconference portion of its 2001-02 campaign with a 4-10-1 record. The four regular-season nonconference wins are tied for the most in a single season since BSU joined the Division I ranks in 1999-2000. The Beavers won four nonconference regular-season games during the 1999-2000 season, sweeping Princeton and Wayne State.
Bemidji State improved to 9-12-3 overall, while Ferris State saw its mark fall to 11-12-1.
