The Bemidji State University men’s hockey team erased a three–goal, third-period Miami University lead and gained a 4-4 draw Friday to open a nonconference series with the RedHawks at Sanford Center.
Trailing 4-1 to open a wild third period, the Beavers outshot MU 16-6 and scored three unanswered goals, which included an extra-attacker goal with just 43 seconds to play, to force overtime.
Brendan Harms (F, Fr., Steinbach, Manitoba) led BSU with a goal and an assist, while goaltender Andrew Walsh (Jr., Dawson Creek, British Columbia) turned aside 34 MU shots, including 17 in the first period alone, to move to 5-7-3 on the season.
The RedHawks opened the scoring at 11:00 of the first period when Alex Gacek buried a rebound to the front of the crease for his second goal of the season. Ben Paulides and Sean Kuraly were credited with assists on the play that gave MU a 1-0 lead.
Miami built a 2-0 advantage with just 1:41 remaining the first. Blake Coleman picked off the puck deep in BSU’s offensive zone, found Max Cook with an outlet pass and Cook returned the pass to Coleman, who tapped it inside the right post.
MU skated to the locker room at the intermission holding a 2-0 lead and a 17-5 edge in shots on goal.
Gacek gave the RedHawks a three-goal lead just 1:50 into the second period. The Beavers turned the puck over in the corner and Gacek collected it, spun toward the net and fired the no-look shot at the BSU goaltender Andrew Walsh. The shot trickled through the junior’s pads and across the goal line.
Bemidji State got on the scoreboard just over a minute later (4:13) and the tide started to turn. Danny Mattson (F, Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) collected the puck on the far half wall and connected with Harms who was streaking through the neutral zone. Harms found BSU’s leading goal scorer, Cory Ward (F, So., Las Vegas, Nev.), entering the offensive zone and th sophomore unleashed a slap shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that found the back of the net.
At the 12:53 mark of the period, the RedHawks regained their three-goal lead, 4-1, on Coleman’s second goal of the game. Coleman fired a shot from the right post that caromed off the left post and was originally waived off as play continued. At the next stoppage, the officials reviewed the goal and determined it crossed the goal line and bounced back into play. Cook was credited with an assist.
It took BSU just 2:45 in the third period to reel the RedHawks to within two goals. Radoslav Illo (F, Sr., Bystrica, Slovakia) ripped a shot from the top of the slot that beat the RedHawks’ goaltender Ryan McKay.
After stealing the puck and digging it out of the corner, Harms scored his second goal of the season on a tremendous individual-effort play that made the score 4-3 at the 8:13 mark.
Down a goal with 1:07 to play, BSU head coach Tom Serratore elected to pull Walsh for an extra attacker and 20 seconds later, a Sam Rendle (D, Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.) unleashed seeing-eye shot from the point bounced off the shoulder of a MU defender and into the back of the net.
Despite opening the extra session a man short due to a Markus Gerbrandt (F, So., Edmonton, Alberta) cross-checking penalty as time expired in the third, BSU successfully killed off the RedHawks fourth power-play opportunity of the evening and escaped with a 4-4 tie.
Bemidji State (5-7-3; 5-4-1 WCHA) wraps up its six-game homestand this tomorrow when it hosts the same Miami University (7-7-1; 2-4-0 NCHC) squad. The opening faceoff is set for 7:07 p.m. at Sanford Center.