Cory Ward (F, So., Las Vegas, Nev.) scored his fourth goal of the season midway through the first period and Andrew Walsh (G, Jr., Dawson Creek, British Columbia) turned aside 14 shots to lead the Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team to a 1-0 victory over University of Alabama-Huntsville Saturday at Von Braun Center.
The triumph not only allowed the Beavers to post their first regular-season Western Collegiate Hokey Association series sweep since March 2-3, 2012, it also gave BSU its first 1-0 win since Nov. 20, 2011.
The Beavers broke the scoreless deadlock at the 9:38 mark of the first period. The Chargers turned the puck over in BSU’s offensive zone. Danny Mattson (F, Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) and Brendan Harms (F, Fr., Steinbach, Manitoba) combined to set Ward up for a redirect in front of the net.
Bemidji State opened the second period owning a 1-0 lead and an 8-5 edge in the shots category. Despite out shooting the Chargers 7-2 in the frame, BSU was unable unable to add to its lead.
Clinging to a 1-0 lead, BSU found itself down two men for the first 36 seconds of the third period due to a penalty to Ruslan Pedan (D, Fr., Moscow, Russia) and another served by Phil Marinaccio (F, Fr., Nobleton, Ontario) for too many men on the ice. BSU would not only kill the opportunity, it didn’t allow a single shot on goal.
With five minutes left in the third, UAH got as close as it could have without lighting the scoreboard when a puck fluttered off the pads of Walsh, through the crease and just beyond the pipe. Needing a line change, BSU head coach Tom Serratore called a time out to get a much-needed rest.
The Chargers continued to pressure during the final four minutes of play and pulled their goaltender with 90 seconds left. The Beavers were unable to clear the puck form the zone, setting up a flurry of shots down the stretch but, Walsh and the BSU defense stood tall to preserve the victory for BSU.
Walsh improves to 2-3-1 on the season with his first shutout of 2013-14 and the fourth of his career.
The Beavers, now 2-3-1 on the season and 2-0-0 in WCHA play, returns to Bemidji, Minn. and Sanford Center to host Minnesota State University Mankato Nov. 1-2. The Beavers and Mavericks will open the league series at 7:37 p.m. Friday with a 7:07 p.m. opening faceoff set for the series finale Saturday.