{"id":130410,"date":"2021-11-18T06:00:17","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=130410"},"modified":"2021-11-18T12:54:47","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T18:54:47","slug":"this-week-in-ccha-hockey-bemidji-state-mixing-youth-experience-to-perfection-early-in-2021-22-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2021\/11\/18\/this-week-in-ccha-hockey-bemidji-state-mixing-youth-experience-to-perfection-early-in-2021-22-season\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in CCHA Hockey: Bemidji State mixing youth, experience to perfection early in 2021-22 season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Bemidji State fifth-year senior Ethan Somoza is now in his second season as captain for the Beavers (photo: BSU Photo Services).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A quick look up and down Bemidji State\u2019s roster would reveal a lot of familiar names: Ethan Somoza. Owen Sillinger. Alex Ierullo. Tyler Kirkup.<\/p>\n

All have been contributing to the BSU program consistently since their freshmen seasons, and their presence in the lineup this year — a few back for an extra year of eligibility — are a big reason why the Beavers (6-4-0) were picked to once again compete for a league title this season.<\/p>\n

So far, all four of those seniors have found themselves leading by example. Sillinger leads the team with 12 points while Ierullo is close behind with 11. Kirkup is the Beavers\u2019 leading goal scorer so far with six. And Somoza has two goals and three assists to remain in the top five of the Beavers\u2019 scoring list through 10 games.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just about those experienced players for Bemidji State. The Beavers are also getting contributions from players down the lineup — be they newcomers or just players who haven\u2019t had a whole lot of playing time for whatever reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take a look at the top end of our scoring, it is our experience that\u2019s scoring the majority of our goals,\u201d BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. \u201cBut on Saturday we got three goals from freshmen, and that\u2019s a huge bonus when that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Take, for example, Jere V\u00e4is\u00e4nen. The freshmen from Finland had played in all nine of Bemidji State\u2019s games until Saturday but hadn\u2019t found his way onto the scoresheet until their game against Lake Superior State. V\u00e4is\u00e4nen popped his first collegiate goal midway through the second period then scored what turned out to be the game-winner early in the third. The game ended up a 4-2 win as the Beavers completed the road sweep.<\/p>\n

Jakub Lewandowski, a forward from Poland, also netted a goal on Saturday to add to his point total (2 goals and 2 assists).<\/p>\n

Serratore said that although the top-end of the Beaver lineup is currently heavy on experienced players — seniors and juniors — he has room for younger players to impress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no exact science to this stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re playing guys, you’re playing four lines, and when they get their opportunity, make the most of it. That\u2019s what Jere V\u00e4is\u00e4nen did. He was opportunistic, they created chances for themselves with some hard work, and he finished. It\u2019s nice to see that. It builds confidence and hopefully that makes them better players and makes our team better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from V\u00e4is\u00e4nen and Lewandowski, another freshman who has played a lot is defender Tony Follmer, who hasn\u2019t scored but is playing alongside senior Tyler Jubenvill most nights on the blue line. And sophomore Austin Jouppi, who didn\u2019t play at all as a freshmen, has been in and out of the lineup and getting some playing time this year. He scored his first collegiate goal Oct. 23 against Northern Michigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time you can get young guys to contribute, it\u2019s huge,\u201d junior defenseman Kyle Looft said. \u201cOur leadership group and coaching staff has done a great job preparing them, and they\u2019ve come and worked. You saw it this weekend, it all comes together.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the sweep against Lake State, Bemidji State went above the .500 mark for the first time this season. They\u2019ve played a tough schedule already, but Serratore is encouraged by their play on the road so far. The Beavers are 5-1-0 away from the Sanford Center, with sweeps against both Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan and a big overtime victory at North Dakota to their name.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you can win on the road like that, it\u2019s so important,\u201d Serratore said. \u201cIf you can do that, it\u2019s like you\u2019re banking wins. We\u2019ve been very fortunate so far that things have gone our way so far on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Beavers must now turn their attention back home. They take on Michigan Tech in a crucial early-season CCHA series in Bemidji. The Huskies and the Beavers have been developing a budding rivalry in the past few seasons, in part due to how frequently they\u2019ve met — they played six times last season, including in the WCHA playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at their team, they\u2019re deep. They\u2019re deep in every position, up front, on the backline, they\u2019re getting great goaltending, special teams,\u201d Serratore said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got great offensive players and they might be the fastest team in our league. It\u2019s always challenging playing Michigan Tech so they\u2019re going to be great games.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A quick look up and down Bemidji State\u2019s roster would reveal a lot of familiar names: Ethan Somoza. Owen Sillinger. Alex Ierullo. Tyler Kirkup. All have been contributing to the BSU program consistently since their freshmen seasons, and their presence in the lineup this year — a few back for an extra year of eligibility […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":125341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5,4,1,7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[854],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in CCHA Hockey: Bemidji State mixing youth, experience to perfection early in 2021-22 season - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A quick look up and down Bemidji State\u2019s roster would reveal a lot of familiar names: Ethan Somoza. Owen Sillinger. Alex Ierullo. Tyler Kirkup. 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