Beavers ring in new year with home-and-home series versus No. 7 Huskies

The Bemidji State University men’s hockey team returns from holiday break to ring in the new year with a home-and-home series against No. 7 St. Cloud State University. The Beavers (10-8-0, 8-4-0 CCHA) and Huskies (10-6-0, 4-4-0 NCHC) open their two-game series Friday, Dec. 31 at Sanford Center and then travel to St. Cloud, Minn., for game two at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center Saturday. Puck drop for each game is scheduled for 6:07 p.m.

Bemidji State returns to play after 19 days off from action for the holiday break and last played Dec. 10-11 where the Beavers were swept by No. 1 Minnesota State University, Mankato at Sanford Center.

The Beavers will have the weekend off from Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) play this weekend but stand second in the league with 24 points and an 8-4-0 league record (10-8-0 overall).

BSU received 25 votes in the last DCU/USCHO.com national poll back on Dec. 13 but failed to receive votes in the USAToday/USAHockeyMagazine national poll. St. Cloud State enters the weekend’s action seventh in both national polls and are fifth in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) with 12 points and a 4-4-0 league record (10-6-0 overall).

The Huskies last played Dec. 3-4 after hosting then No. 7 University of North Dakota where SCSU and UND split their league series. St. Cloud State has had 26 days off since its last competition.

Bemidji State and St. Cloud State have met 100 times in the two program’s histories with the Huskies holding a 47-46-7 (.505) edge in the all-time series. Bemidji State and St. Cloud State first met in 1948.