Bemidji State might not be ranked, but Saturday the Beavers held their own against No. 10 Colorado College, though the Tigers nonetheless claimed a 2-1 victory on two Peter Sejna goals.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start offensively, in a period full of wide shots and broken-up passes. Colorado College had some good scoring opportunities, but Bemidji goaltender Grady Hunt always managed to get in the way.
Not until 18:38 of the first were the Tigers able to sneak past Hunt to get on the board. Freshman winger Sejna, taking the feed from defensemen Jason Jozsa and Andrew Canzanello, flipped a backhand high into the net for the CC lamplighter.
Halfway through the second period, the Beavers rallied to tie up the game. Freshman center Jared Hanowski fired the puck in from the point, and sophomore right wing Marty Goulet snapped it past Tiger goaltender Jeff Sanger to even the score, 1-1. Sophomore Brad Johnson, a native of Bemidji, Minn., also assisted on the goal.
With Bemidji sophomore Rico Fatticci off for interference, Colorado College took advantage of the resulting third-period power play to put some shots on net.
After a scrum in front and several saves by Hunt, Sejna was able to rebound shots by junior Alex Kim and senior Justin Morrison for his second goal of the game, giving Colorado College the lead at 10:18.
The Tigers hung on for the 2-1 win, but head coach Scott Owens was not satisfied.
“I was hoping that we would establish ourselves early, get a couple of goals, and de-spirit their young team,” he said. “They gained confidence with their goal, and in that moment they became a very good hockey team.”
“We were ready to play tonight, and we understand and respect the Colorado College team,” said Bemidji head coach Bob Peters. “We battle, and I’m very pleased with our progress.
“The boys didn’t leave any gas in the tank — not one of them.”
Bemidji State has battled through a tough nonconference schedule, facing Minnesota, St. Cloud State, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, MSU-Mankato and Miami, in addition to Saturday’s contest.
“I think we have the toughest nonconference schedule in the West,” said Peters with a laugh.
Sunday night, Bemidji remains in Colorado Springs to face league opponent Air Force. The Falcons fell, 4-1, to CC Friday night. Meanwhile, Colorado College faces its toughest league competition to date next weekend — No. 2 and defending national champion North Dakota.
“Its gonna be a tough week of practice,” said Owens. “We’ve got an awful good team coming to town, and even though we’re a little shorthanded [due to injuries], I expect our guys to perform.”
