The Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team wraps up its four-game homestand this weekend with a non-conference series versus Princeton University at Sanford Center. The No. 10 Beavers enter the series unbeaten in their last eight games (7-0-1) of the season and look to go 8-0-0 at home this season with a pair of games versus the Tigers.
Bemidji State comes into the weekend after earning its fifth series sweep of the season, using 2-1 and 5-2 wins to defeat Western Collegiate Hockey Association rival Northern Michigan University last weekend. The wins marked the Beavers’ 10th and 11th of the season and established a program record for the earliest date BSU has collected its 11th victory.
Senior Phillip Marinaccio registered four points (2g-2a) in the series to assume the Beavers’ scoring lead with a career-best 13 points (6g-7a) this season. Marinaccio shares the team’s goal scoring lead with Gerry Fitzgerald, who has six goals, while the Nobleton, Ontario native and Brendan Harms sit atop BSU’s assist list with seven apiece. Junior goaltender Michael Bitzer has been in net for 845:03 of 848:42 minutes this season. He opens the series as the nation’s leader in shutouts (3) and wins (11), while he is second in goals against average (1.35), fifth in save percentage (.944) and 10th with 270 saves. Through 12 WCHA contests, he owns a 11-0-1 record to go with a 0.91 goals against average and a .958 save percentage. He has also backstopped a BSU penalty-kill unit that is 44-for-47 (.936) in league play and ranks fifth in the country overall stopping 50-of-55 (.909) opponent power-plays.
Princeton travels from New Jersey to Bemidji in search of its first win of the season. The Tigers are 0-6-1 overall and are 0-5-1 in ECAC Hockey play. Eric Robinson and Alex Riche lead Princeton with six points apiece. Robinson has five goals, which include a pair of power-play markers, to lead the team in both categories. David Hallisey and Max Veronneau sit atop the team’s assist list with four. Colton Phinney is the only goaltender to find the ice in 2016-17. He is 0-6-1 with a 3.72 goals against average and .885 save percentage. Phinney has also backstopped the nation’s top penalty-kill unit, snuffing out 27-of-29 (.931) of its opponents’ man advantage opportunities.
This weekend marks just the third and fourth times the Beavers and Tigers have clashed on the ice in a series that began during the 1999-2000 season. The Beavers open the non-conference series owning a 2-0-0 edge in games versus Princeton with both taking place in Bemidji, Minn., however Friday marks the Tigers’ first appearance at Sanford Center.