Beavers hit the road to face No. 1 Mavericks for final road trip of regular season

The Bemidji State University men’s hockey team hits the road for the final time this regular season and will travel to face No. 1 Minnesota State University, Mankato at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minn. The Beavers (14-16-0, 12-10-0 CCHA) and Mavericks (27-5-0, 19-3-0 CCHA) begin their Central Collegiate Hockey Association series Friday, Feb. 18 at 7:07 p.m., followed by game two Saturday at 6:07 p.m.

Bemidji State returns to action a week removed from its final bye week of the season last weekend. The Beavers are 14-16-0 this season and sit third in the CCHA standings with 37 league points (12-10-0). BSU failed to receive votes in the latest USAToday/USAHockey Magazine national poll but received votes in the latest DCU/USCHO.com national poll.

Bemidji State last played on Feb. 4-5, a series split with Northern Michigan University. The Beavers fell 2-1 in game one but ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory in game two.

Minnesota State enters the weekend’s action as the No. 1 team in both national polls and has the opportunity to clinch the CCHA MacNaughton Cup as the league’s regular season champion this weekend. Minnesota State leads the all-time series record at 62-58-16 (.514) including a series sweep in the season’s first meeting back on Dec. 10-11.

The Mavericks earned a sweep over the Beavers in the season’s first series at Sanford Center and earned two victories by scores of 5-1 and 3-1. Bemidji State is 19-34-11 (.383) when playing in Mankato and earned its last win in Mankato on Feb. 27, 2021 with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Mavericks.