Women’s Hockey returns to Sanford Center for first time in 77 days for series with Mavericks
BSU Women’s Hockey hosts Minnesota State at Sanford Center
For the first time in 77 days, the Bemidji State University Women’s Hockey team returns home for a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series against Minnesota State University, Mankato.
The Beavers (4-22-1, 2-18-0 WCHA) face the Mavericks (10-15-1; 4-15-1 WCHA) in their home rink for the first time since Nov. 16 and battle for a two-game, league series beginning Friday, Jan. 31 at 3:02 p.m. Game two is slated for Saturday with puck drop at 2:02 p.m.
The Beavers face the Mavericks for the second of their regular season series and last met in Mankato Dec. 13-14.
Bemidji State plays its first home games since Nov. 15-16, a 77-day and 13-game road streak.
Three-of-four remaining series for the Beavers will be played at Sanford Center.
This weekend’s series begins a four-game homestand for the Beavers.
Three of the four Beavers’ wins this season have come at home.
Bemidji State is returning home after a fun-filled weekend at No. 3 University of Minnesota where they played in front of a Ridder Arena record crowd Friday afternoon and then went outdoors for Hockey Day in Minnesota at Valleyfair Amusement Park in Shakopee, Minn.
Despite falling in both games against the third-ranked Beavers, BSU enjoyed a memorable weekend in the cities.
Freshmen Autumn Cooper and Morgan Smith scored both of the Beavers’ goals in the series with Cooper netting her first collegiate goal and Smith scoring her sixth power-play goal of the season.
Smith’s six power-play goals this season are tied for the third most in a single season in Bemidji State’s history and is the most power-play goals in a season since the 2011-12 season.
The Beavers are 47-45-15 all-time against the Mavericks but have lost five consecutive games versus MSU dating back to Nov. 18, 2023.
In their first meeting of the 2024-25 season, Minnesota State earned a pair of 5-0 and 5-3 victories back on Dec. 13-14.
Smith paced the Beavers in the series netting her first collegiate hat trick in game two.
When hosting the Mavericks, BSU is 24-18-10 and split its last home series with MSU.
Senior Makenna Deering leads the Beavers with five career points (5a) versus the Mavericks while Genevieve Hendrickson (3a), Morgan Smith (3g) and Hailey Armstrong (2g-1a) each follow with three.
Sophomore Eva Filippova leads BSU netminders with four appearances versus the Mavericks and is 1-3-0 with a 4.00 goals against average and .852 save percentage.
In one start, freshman Kaitlin Groess is 0-1-0 with a 4.02 goals against average and .857 save percentage.
The Beavers are eighth in the WCHA standings looking to gain ground this weekend against sixth-place Minnesota State.
The Beavers are led by its underclassmen with eight of their top-10 scorers either freshmen or sophomores.
Sophomore Hailey Armstrong and freshman Morgan Smith lead the team totaling 14 points each off eight goals and six assists.
Redshirt freshman Isa Goettl follows with 13 points off six goals and her seven assists are tied with sophomore Kate Johnson for the team lead.
Smith’s six power-play goals this season are tied for the most in the WCHA and are tied for the third most in Division I.
Armstrong and Smith’s 14 points are the most points in a season for BSU since the 2021-22 season.
Smith leads the Beavers with eight power-play points (6g-2a) while Goettl (2g-3a) and senior Makenna Deering (5a) follow with five.
The Beavers are seventh in the WCHA with a power-play percentage of .167 (11-of-66).
Bemidji State continues to be one of the top teams in the nation at blocking shots leading the WCHA and third in Division I with 448 blocked shots.
Four of the league’s top 10 shot blockers are Bemidji State Beavers including sophomore Riley Reeves who leads the league and is third in the nation with 69 blocked shots.
Freshman Kaitlin Groess is the Beavers’ leading netminder posting a 3-13-0 record with a 3.34 goals against average and .902 save percentage in 16 games this season.
She has split time during the second half of the season with sophomore Eva Filippova who is 0-7-0 with a .887 save percentage and 3.76 goals against average.