Beavers prepare for sixth-straight road trip and face No. 11 Huskies

BSU Women’s Hockey travels to No. 11 St. Cloud State

The Bemidji State University Women’s Hockey team continues Western Collegiate Hockey Association play on the road and travels to No. 11 St. Cloud State University this weekend.

The Beavers (4-18-1, 2-14-0 WCHA) face the Huskies (10-8-4, 5-8-3 WCHA) for their second series of the 2024-25 season. Game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., Friday with game two to follow Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

A Beaver Radio Network broadcast is available for each game courtesy of the Beaver Radio Network. Fans can tune in online at www.beaverradionetwork.com or on the radio at 94.3 FM The Legends.

The Beavers gear up for their fifth consecutive road trip this weekend.

Bemidji State has played the last nine games on the road and conclude their 13-game road streak next weekend at University of Minnesota.

BSU plays its seventh series of the season versus a nationally ranked opponent this weekend in No. 11 St. Cloud State University.

The two teams met earlier this season at Sanford Center on Oct. 11-12.

In two low-scoring games, the Huskies narrowly edged the Beavers winning 1-0 in game one and 2-0 in game two with an empty-net goal.

Freshman goaltender Kaitlin Groess shined in the series stopping 47-of-49 shots for .959 save percentage and 1.02 goals against average.

Bemidji State is looking to rebound after being swept on the road at No. 2 Ohio State University this past weekend.

Just six WCHA series remain in the 2024-25 regular season and the Beavers will try to gain as many league points as possible in order to climb out of eighth in the league standings.

SCSU enters the weekend’s action fifth in league standings holding 18 points in conference competition.

Bemidji State is 51-54-10 all-time against the Huskies but have lost the last 10 meetings dating back to Nov. 4, 2022.

The Beavers are 24-27-6 when facing the Huskies away from their home rink but their last win in St. Cloud was Dec. 4, 2021 (four games), a 2-1 overtime victory.

Bemidji State head coach Amber Fryklund makes her return to the BSU bench after traveling with Team USA at the IIHF U-18 Women’s World Championships where she helped Team USA earn a silver medal.

St. Cloud State enters the weekend ranked 11th in both the USA Hockey/The Rink Live and USCHO.com national polls and is coming off being swept at No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth.

The Beavers are led by freshman Morgan Smith who had her hot streak halted at No. 2 Ohio State.

Prior to the OSU series, Smith posted eight points (5g-3a) over the last four games and was back-to-back WCHA Rookie of the Week but Smith and the Beavers were held scoreless in Columbus.

Smith leads the team with 13 points (7g-6a) and is the highest scoring Beavers since Reece Hunt posted 20 points during the 2021-22 season.

She is followed by sophomore Hailey Armstrong and redshirt freshman Isa Goettl who have each totaled 12 points.

Armstrong leads the team with eight goals while Goettl is tied for the team lead with sophomore Kate Johnson who have each recorded seven assists.

All four of the Beavers four leading scorers are underclassmen while eight of their top 10 are underclassmen.

Bemidji State’s power play has been hot as well and over the last six games and is 7-for-20 (.350) while on the advantage.

Smith has driven the Beavers’ power play and leads the team and is tied for second in the WCHA with five power play goals.

Smith’s five power-play goals this season is tied for the 10th most in a single season in program history and trails program record holder Sadie Lundquist who scored eight in 2011-12.

Smith leads the Beavers with seven points while on the power play (5g-2a) while Goettl follows with five (2g-3a).

The Beavers’ power play ranks fifth in the WCHA converting on .185 percent (10-of-54) of their chances.

Bemidji State continues to be the top team in the WCHA at blocking shots leading the league and is third in the nation with 390 blocks.

Five of the league’s top seven shot blockers are Bemidji State Beavers including sophomore Riley Reeves who leads the league and is third in the nation with 61 blocked shots.

Freshman Kaitlin Groess is the Beavers’ leading netminder posting a 3-11-0 record with a 3.39 goals against average and .900 save percentage in 14 games this season.

She has split time during the second half of the season with sophomore Eva Filippova who is 0-5-0 with a .884 save percentage and 4.02 goals against average.