Beavers to compete against No. 11/12 Penn State and Brown and East/West Showcase

BSU Women’s Hockey to face Penn State and Brown at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis

The Bemidji State University Women’s Hockey team continues to ring in the new year and makes a trip to Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., to compete in the East/West Showcase hosted by University of Minnesota.

The Beavers (3-15-1, 2-12-0 WCHA) battle Penn State University and Brown University Friday, Jan. 3-4, respectively. Both games are will begin at 1:00 p.m.

The Beavers will play their second and third games in four days after competing in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Face-Off Classic Wednesday in Lakeville, Minn.

Despite scoring within the first two minutes for an early lead, the Beavers fell to No. 3 Minnesota 4-1 in the Face-Off Classic.

Sophomore Kate Johnson netted the Beavers’ lone goal 1:08 into the game.

Sophomore Eva Filippova made her third start in four games and stopped 28-of-31 shots.

This weekend’s action marks the sixth and seventh games the Beavers have played away from their home rink (Sanford Center).

Bemidji State will see Penn State and Brown for the first time in its program history.

The Beavers are looking to snap a five-game losing streak.

Bemidji State head coach Amber Frkylund will be away from the team until January 12 as she is with Team USA at the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships in Vantaa, Finland.

Bemidji State freshman Morgan Smith is coming off earning the WCHA Rookie of the Month accolade for December after leading league rookies with three goals during the month.

Bemidji State is led by redshirt freshman and Minnesota transfer Isa Goettl who has nine points (3g-6a) in 18 games.

She is followed by sophomore Hailey Armstrong (6g-2a) and freshman Morgan Smith (5g-3a) who have totaled eight points each.

The Beavers’ top six scorers are all underclassmen with four sophomores and two freshmen leading the way.

Freshman Kaitlin Groess leads the Beavers in the net starting 13 of the team’s 19 games.

She is 3-10-0 on the season with a .904 save percentage and 3.18 goals against average.

Filippova is 0-2-0 in four games and has posted a .890 save percentage and 3.68 goals against average.

Freshman Morgan Smith is coming off her first collegiate hat trick on Dec. 14 at Minnesota State. She became the first Beaver freshman since Reece Hunt (2020) to record a hat trick.

Sophomore Riley Reeves paces the Beavers’ blue line with five points (2g-3a). She also leads the WCHA and fourth in the nation with 51 blocked shots.

Bemidji State is sixth in DI Women’s Hockey with 290 blocked shots and Reeves, Kendra Fortin and Olivia Dronen rank first, fourth and fifth in the WCHA, respectively.