Beaver Fever Friday – Mattias Sholl – @BSUBeaversMHKY

Beavers put unbeaten streak to the test at Lake Superior State

BSU Men’s Hockey travels to Lake Superior State for key CCHA series

The Bemidji State University Men’s Hockey team returns to Central Collegiate Hockey Association action with a road trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., this weekend to face Lake Superior State University at Taffy Abel Arena.

The Beavers (7-6-2, 4-3-1 CCHA) and Lakers (7-6-1, 5-1-0 CCHA) face-off for a two-game, CCHA series beginning Friday, December 6 and ending Saturday. Puck drop for game one is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. CT Friday and 5:07 p.m. Saturday.

The Beavers finished one of their most grueling months of the season last week and begin play in December with a road trip to the conference leading Lake Superior State Lakers.

Bemidji State faced three nationally ranked opponents during November including home-and-home series with national powerhouses University of Minnesota and University of North Dakota.

The Beavers went 5-3-2 during the month with key victories against Minnesota State, Augustana, Minnesota, St. Thomas and North Dakota.

Bemidji State ended the month on a hot streak and are unbeaten in its last five games (3-0-2) and last lost Nov. 14 at No. 3 Minnesota.

During their unbeaten streak the Beavers have held opponents to just 1.60 goals per game thanks to senior goaltender Mattias Sholl who has posted a .944 save percentage over the last five games.

Bemidji State is coming off a 1-0-1 weekend against No. 15/14 North Dakota and upset the Fighting Hawks on home ice for the first time in program history.

After a successful weekend the Beavers are back to receiving votes in the USAHockey/The Rink Live national poll as well continue to receive votes in the USCHO.com poll.

The Beavers are ranked 24th in the latest USCHO.com PairWise rankings.

Senior Mattias Sholl has been dominant in the crease leading the Beavers to five victories during the month.

In November, Sholl posted a 5-3-2 record, 2.08 goals against average, .926 save percentage and one shutout.

Fifth-year senior and alternate captain Eric Martin led the Beavers recording eight points off two goals and six assists during the month.

Junior Reilly Funk paced the Beavers with five goals and added two assists for seven points. His 26 shots on goal were the most by any Beaver in November.

The Beavers face the Lakers for the first time since ending their 2023-24 season in the CCHA Semifinal at Sanford Center.

The all-time series is dead-locked at 41-41-6 and dates back to their time in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

The last three games between the two teams have been hosted by the Beavers at Sanford Center with their last meeting in Sault Ste. Marie on Nov. 3-4, 2023.

In last season’s series, the Lakers got the better of the Beavers earning three victories in five meetings including two in Sault Ste. Marie. The Beavers haven’t won in Sault Ste. Marie since Jan. 27, 2023 (three games). The series has been split down the middle as of late as well with each team earning five victories over the last 10 meetings.

Mattias Sholl has posted a 4-1-0 record, .931 save percentage and 1.69 goals against average in six career starts versus the Lakers.

Martin and senior Jere Vaisanen pace the Beavers with seven career points against LSSU while Vaisanen’s five goals leads all active skaters for BSU.

Head coach Tom Serratore is 26-22-5 coaching against Lake Superior State.

Funk enters the weekend series riding a three-game point streak and has three points (2g-1a) over the last three games. He has points in six of the last eight games for the Beavers totaling five goals and two assists during that span.

Martin has four points (1g-3a) over the last four games while freshman defenseman Isa Parekh has three points (2g-1a) over the same span.

Martin leads the Beavers with 10 points (3g-7a) in 15 games this season while Funk (5g-4a) and junior Kirklan Irey (5g-4a) each follow with nine points.

Parekh leads the Beavers’ blueline totaling six points (3g-3a) from the back end and is tied for the Beavers’ lead with two power-play goals. Parekh has scored three goals on eight shots and is second in the CCHA with a 0.380 shooting percentage.

Fifth-year senior and captain Jackson Jutting leads the CCHA with 174 face-off wins. He has posted a .510 face-off winning percentage including winning 56-percent of his draws during November.

Senior Will Magnuson continues to lead the conference in blocked shots and has 37 in 14 games. After missing the last game due to injury, Magnuson is now tied for second in the nation after previously leading the nation the past four weeks.

Sholl has played 97-percent of the team’s minutes in goal this season posting a 6-6-2 record, 2.29 goals against average and .918 save percentage. He is sixth all-time at BSU with 5,540:15 minutes played in goal and his 2,263 saves are seventh most in program history.

Sholl’s 43 career wins are tied for the sixth most among active goaltenders in Division I.

Head coach Tom Serratore is approaching 400 career victories after collecting his 395th career victory last Friday. He seeks to become the 31st head coach in Division I Men’s Hockey to reach the 400-win milestone and the 12th active head coach. Serratore is 395-366-101 in his 24 seasons as head coach of the Beavers and boasts a .516 career winning percentage.

Fifth-year senior Eric Martin leads the team with 143 games played at the Division I level with fifth-year senior Jackson Jutting follows with 129. Six skaters on BSU’s roster have appeared in more than 100 games in Division I hockey.

Senior Mattias Sholl is one of the most experienced goaltenders in all of college hockey and ranks eighth nationally with 95 career games played between the pipes.