2/13/2010 - MEN'S ICE HOCKEY Lehrke nets four points to lead BSU to 5-2 win at Robert Morris

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Moon Township, Pa. (RMU Island Sports Center) -- Tyler Lehrke (Sr., F. Park Rapids, Minn.) posted two goals and two assists Saturday to lead the No. 5 Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team to a 5-2 victory at Robert Morris University.  The win enabled the Beavers to salvage a College Hockey America road series split and come within a point of clinching their third consecutive regular-season championship.

“It was a gutty win,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore commented. “We let them back in a little bit, but I thought we showed a lot of resiliency when it was 2-2 and we pushed through to get that third goal.”  He added, “I thought we were pretty good after that.”

Serratore’s team dodged a bullet early as the Colonials caught the Beavers on their collective heels during the game’s opening moments. The hosts watched a pair of quality scoring chances ring off the post, but the near misses would wake up the Beavers who would rebound to take a 1-0 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of play.  

For the second straight night, Lehrke scored a goal.  His seventh lamplighter of the season came with 3:47 left in the first period and it would just be the tip of the iceberg for the senior on a career night.  He would go on to add a pair of assists and capped the evening with an empty net goal to secure the victory for BSU.

“Lehrks was a stud and he’s been a stud for us all year,” said Serratore.  “I am proud of that line and I am proud of him.  I can’t say enough about how he and Chris McKelvie have anchored that line this year. It is amazing how each year we have seniors step up for us.”

With 1:55 of penalty time carried over from the first period, Ben Kinne (So., F, St. Paul. Minn.) took advantage of the opportunity and accounted for the Beavers’ scoring in the second with a power-play goal at the 1:52 mark.  The sophomore skated the puck down the slot, hesitated and as soon as Ostergaard committed low, he shot the puck over his shoulder for his career-high eighth goal of the season.

The Colonials reeled the Beavers to within a goal, 2-1, before time expired on the second.  Scott Kobialko took a pass from Nathan Longpre and beat Mathieu Dugas (Fr., G, L’Assomtion, Quebec), to spoil the shutout after 39:53 and swing momentum in the direction of RMU as the teams skated off the ice for the second intermission.

Robert Morris knotted the game at 2-2 on a Zach Hervato goal at the 5:55 into the third, but the Beavers would kick the pedal to the floor to and pull away to salvage the series split.

Ryan Cramer (Jr., F, International Falls, Minn.) buried his team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the season on a backhand from the slot on an odd-man rush at the 8:54 mark.  From there, Jamie MacQueen (So., F, St. Thomas, Ontario) set up for a one-timer from the high slot and unleashed a feed off of the sticks of Lehrke and Kinne from behind the net for a power-play goal.  Lehrke then solidified the win with an empty-net goal.

BSU finished the game converting 2-for-4 on the man advantage, while its penalty-kill until held the Colonials scoreless on three opportunities.

In his first start since Dec. 12, Dugas was a rock for the Beavers.  After a shaky start, he posted a win in what Serratore called a “must-win”  for BSU turning away 26 shots, while allowing just two goals in 60 minutes between the pipes for BSU.

BSU now holds a commanding 18-10-2 lead in the all-time series, while in its last visit to the Island Sports Center as a CHA foe, it captured a 7-6-1 advantage in games played in Moon Township, Pa.

The Beavers (19-7-2; 11-3-0 CHA) are back in action next weekend as they return home to host Niagara University in the final two home games of the 2009-10 season and the final series in the John S. Glas Fieldhouse. The two-game will begin Friday at 7:35 p.m. and will wrap up with a 7:05 p.m. start Saturday.

--bsu--