Women’s Hockey resumes WCHA play by hosting St. Cloud State

It has been 34 days since the Bemidji State University women’s hockey team last hosted a series at the Sanford Center in Bemidji but after three consecutive road series, the Beavers return home to host St. Cloud State University, Dec. 6-7. The Beavers (7-8-1, 4-6-0-0 WCHA) resume Western Collegiate Hockey Association play after a weekend of non-conference action at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute to host the Huskies (4-10-1, 0-10-0-0 WCHA) for a weekend series, Dec. 6-7. Puck drop for game one is scheduled for 3:07 p.m., Friday followed by game two at 2:07 p.m. Saturday.

The Beavers and Huskies meet for the 91st and 92nd meetings in the two program’s histories in a series that began Jan. 22, 1999. Bemidji State holds the slight advantage over St. Cloud State in the all-time series with a record of 43-38-9 including a 22-16-4 record in Bemidji. Last season, Bemidji State and St. Cloud State met for four conference matchups and one non-conference matchup at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Game in Brainerd. BSU went 4-0 against SCSU in conference play but fell 3-0 in their non-conference action.

The Beavers are currently on a four-game winning streak against the Huskies, dating back to Nov. 30, 2018. Senior Haley Mack leads all active skaters with 12 points off of five goals and seven assists in 14 games against the Huskies while junior Clair DeGeorge follows with eight points (2g-6a) in nine games.

Redshirt junior Lauren Bench leads BSU’s goaltenders with a 4-1-0 record to go along with a 1.39 goals against average and .926 save percentage against the Huskies. Six-year head coach Jim Scanlan is 14-7-1 all-time coaching against St. Cloud State while first-year head coach Steve Macdonald faces the Beavers for the first time this weekend.