Beavers resume WCHA play with road trip to No. 7 Minnesota Duluth
BSU Women’s Hockey plays first league series of 2024
The Bemidji State University Women’s Hockey team returns for its first series of 2024 and will travel East for a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series with cross-state rival, No. 7 University of Minnesota Duluth.
The Beavers (3-16-1, 2-12-0 WCHA) return from a 13-day break and take on the seventh-ranked Bulldogs (11-7-2, 8-6-0 WCHA) for their first league series of 2024. Game one of the series will be Friday, Jan. 12 with game two to follow Saturday. Both games will begin at 3:01 p.m., at AMSOIL Arena.
Each game of the series will be streamed online at FloHockey.tv with play-by-play commentary provided by UMD Athletics. Fans can listen to a Beaver Radio Network broadcast with Rob Aitken on the call on the radio dial at FM 94.3 or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com.
Bemidji State plays its first games of the New Year and first since the Battle at the Burgh tournament in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Dec. 29-30.
The Beavers begin the second half of their season where they will play four home series and three road series.
Bemidji State went 3-16-1 through the first half of the season and sits seventh in the WCHA standings with six league points.
BSU finished second at the Battle at the Burgh tournament after defeating Robert Morris University 3-1 in the tournament opening game but fell to No. 4 Colgate University in the championship bout.
Bemidji State has won two of its last three games.
Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth met earlier this season in Bemidji on Oct. 27-28.
The Bulldogs swept the Beavers earning a 2-1 victory in game one followed by a 6-0 victory in game two.
The Beavers are 22-90-4 all-time against the Bulldogs in 116 prior meetings.
BSU has lost its last 11 games versus UMD with its last win dating back to Jan. 22, 2021.
In Duluth, the Beavers are 11-48-3 and have not won at AMSOIL Arena since Feb. 29, 2020.
Junior defenseman Makenna Deering leads the Beavers with two career points against the Bulldogs totaling two assists.
Just four other active skaters have recorded a point against UMD.
Junior Abbie Thompson leads BSU netminders with three starts against the Bulldogs and is 0-3-0 with a 5.16 goals against average and .862 save percentage.
In one relief appearance, freshman Eva Filippova denied all 14 Bulldog shots she faced in 28
Bemidji State is led by its top line of Taylor Nelson, Gabbie Smith and Hailey Armstrong.
The three are the top three leading scorers on the team and have combined for 16 of the team’s 27 goals (.593).
Nelson paces the team with 11 points after recording six goals and five assists through the first 10 games.
The senior captain has scored in three of the last four games and has four points (3g-1a) over the last four games.
She is followed by freshman Hailey Armstrong who leads the team with nine goals and has totaled 10 points.
She is tied for 10th in the WCHA in goals and her five goals in conference play is tied for the 13th most.
Senior Gabbie Smith rounds out the top three scorers totaling nine points and leads the team with eight assists.
She has recorded an assist in seven games this season including a two assist night against Robert Morris on Dec. 29.
Bemidji State leads Division I with 358 blocked shots led by national leader freshman Riley Reeves with 56.
Reeves (4a), Deering (4a) and senior Khloe Lund (1g-3a) lead BSU’s blueline with four points each.
In net the Beavers utilize the tandem of junior Abbie Thompson and freshman Eva Filippova.
Thompson leads BSU with 13 appearances and 12 starts but Filippova has started four of the last five games.
Filippova paces the team with a .905 save percentage and has recorded all three wins for the team.
Thompson leads the WCHA with 405 saves and has posted a .882 save percentage along with a 4.54 goals against average.
Hailing from Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, Filippova is the first Russian born student-athlete for the BSU Women’s Hockey team.
Head coach Jim Scanlan is 18-31-2 in 10 seasons coaching against the Bulldogs.