After an overwhelming series at No. 3/4 Ohio State University, the Bemidji State University women’s hockey team hopes to bounce back when it hosts Minnesota State University, Mankato for the second of three series this season. The Beavers (1-4-1, 1-4-1 WCHA) have lost three consecutive games and are winless in their past four (0-3-1) including a series against the Mavericks in Mankato. BSU plays host to Minnesota State this time for a two-game series beginning Friday, January 8 and ending Saturday. Puck drop for game one is slated for 3:07 p.m., followed by game two at 2:07 p.m., Saturday.
Bemidji State and Minnesota State will meet for the 90th and 91st meetings in the all-time series history. The Beavers lead the all-time series record at 44-31-14 (.573) and are 21-13-9 (.593) when playing at home. BSU and MSU met earlier this season on Dec. 17-18 where the Beavers and Mavericks skated to a 2-2 tie in game one with the Beavers earning the extra point in the shootout. The Beavers then lost game two to the Mavericks by a score of 5-3.
Bemidji State was led by senior Paige Beebe who posted three points (2g-1a) in the series while junior Ellie Moser also added two goals.
Head Coach Jim Scanlan is 15-6-3 (.688) coaching against the Mavericks while sixth-year head coach John Harrington is 6-11-4.
Bemidji State is led by seniors Clair DeGeorge (4g-10a) and Paige Beebe (7g-7a) who each have posted 15 points in 15 career games against the Mavericks.
Senior Kerigan Dowhy has appeared in three games in net against the Mavericks with two starts. She has posted a 0-1-1 record against MSU to go along with a .905 save percentage and 2.52 goals against average.
Minnesota State has played the most games of any team in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association this season but have just two wins and hold fifth in the WCHA standings with seven points and a 2-7-1 record. However, the Mavericks are coming off a well-played weekend where they fell in two one-goal games to No. 1 University of Wisconsin. Minnesota State was led by senior Brittyn Fleming and freshman Sydney Langseth who each potted goals in the series.
Minnesota State ranks sixth in the WCHA with a 1.80 goals per game average while its defense also ranks sixth in the league by allowing opponents 3.10 goals per game. On special teams, the Mavericks lead the WCHA with a power-play percentage of .143 (5-of-35) while their penalty kill is fifth with a percentage of .897 (35-of-39).
The Mavericks are led by freshman Jamie Nelson who has recorded seven points (4g-3a) in eight games of the team’s 10 games this season and is tied for third in the league in scoring. Her four goals this season are tied for fourth most in the league as well. Following Nelson are Brittyn Fleming (3g-2a), Sydney Langseth (3g-2a) and Claire Butorac (1g-4a) who each have posted five points in 10 games. In net, sophomore Calla Frank has started seven games and has posted a 1-5-1 record to go along with a 2.98 goals against average and .896 save percentage while freshman Lauren Barbro has started three games, including one against the Beavers, and has posted a 1-2-0 record with a 3.78 goals against average and .868 save percentage.
Listen to both games this weekend on 94.3 The Legends and online at beaverradionetwork.com