Beavers open second half of the season with a road trip to No. 7/9 Minnesota Duluth
The Bemidji State University women’s hockey team will open the second half of the 2021-22 season this weekend by traveling to Duluth, Minn., at Amsoil Arena, Jan. 14-15 to take on the No. 7/9 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The Beavers (7-10-3, 4-10-2 WCHA) meet the Bulldogs (11-7-0, 8-6-0 WCHA) to close this season’s series against each other. Game one is slated for 3:01 p.m., Friday, Jan. 14 from Amsoil Arena followed by game two Saturday at 3:01 p.m.
Bemidji State opens up 2022 with an away series at No. 7/9 Minnesota Duluth. The Beavers are 5-4-1 in travel play this season and are coming off of a month-long break following their Dec. 17-18 home win and tie versus Minnesota State. Bemidji State outscored Minnesota State, 3-2, in the first game of the series but fell in the shootout on night two, adding a tally to the tie column.
Following this weekend’s series, the Beavers will host St. Cloud State University, Jan. 21/22, at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn.
Bemidji State averages 1.8 goals per game and allow opponents 3.2 goals per game. The Beavers are led by senior Graysen Myers who has posted 14 points off of five goals and nine assists in 20 games this season. She tallied one assist in the last series of 2021 and has six points (2g-4a) in the last eight games.
Fifth-year senior Paige Beebe and junior Reece Hunt follow Myers with 13 points and 12 points, respectively, with Beebe posting six goals and seven assists and Hunt following up with five goals and seven assists.
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reshman Claire Vekich sits in the fourth spot on the Beaver’s leader board, tallying four goals and four assists for eight points. Vekich also leads her class in shots, marking 43 in the first half of the season. She was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week for the second time in her freshman career on Dec. 20.
Sophomore Hannah Hogenson leads the Beavers in net and has posted a 6-7-3 record after filling in for fifth-year senior Kerigan Dowhy who went down with injury early in the season. Hogenson broke the 500 saves mark on Dec. 17, 2021 during the Beaver’s 3-2 win over Minnesota State, now sitting at 553 saves. Hogenson took home the WCHA Goaltender of the Week accolade for her performance against MSU.
The Beavers are sixth in the WCHA standings with 13 points (4-10-2) and trail fifth-place Minnesota State by five points.
Bemidji State is 22-82-4 all-time against Minnesota Duluth. The Beavers last met the Bulldogs on Nov. 19-20 at the Sandford Center where they were shutout 9-0, in the first game of the series and kept the score closer, 4-1, during the second game. When playing at Sanford Center, the Beavers are 10-35-1 (.250) against the Bulldogs.
Paige Beebe leads all active skaters with 11 points (5g-6a) in 26 career games against the Bulldogs while Reece Hunt (4g-3a) and Lydia Passolt (2g-2a) follow with seven points and four points, respectively. Lindsey Featherstone, Claire Vekich and Graysen Myers have also found the points column for the Beavers, with one assist each.
Featherstone and Beebe each pace the team with 26 career games against Minnesota Duluth while Passolt has seen time in 20 games and Myers has appeared in 18 games.
Hannah Hogenson is the only Beaver goaltender to see time versus the Bulldogs this season. The sophomore appeared the last series against UMD earlier this season. She allowed 12 goals and marked 76 saves between the pipes.
Bemidji State is 8-for-61 (.131) on the power play this season to rank sixth in the WCHA and are led by Hunt and Vekich who have scored two power-play goals a piece.
Two fifth-year seniors are nearing program records for the Beavers. Lindsey Featherstone and Paige Beebe have each skated in 149 career games and are two shy of tying a program record. Featherstone and Beebe have also skated in 147 consecutive games which is one shy of tying a program record.