3/4/2010 - MEN'S ICE HOCKEY Bemidji State wraps up regular season at Ala.-Huntsville

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The Match up
The Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team wraps up the 2009-10 regular season this weekend as it makes its way to Huntsville, Ala. for a two-game College Hockey America (CHA) series at University of Alabama-Huntsville.  The series is set for a 5:30 p.m. start Friday and will conclude with a 3 p.m. matinee Saturday.  Both games will take place at UHA’s Von Braun Center.
    The Beavers (22-8-2; 13-3-0 CHA) have spent 19 consecutive weeks ranked among the top 15 NCAA Division I teams in the country and remain a favorite to earn an at-large berth into the 2010 NCAA Tournament.  The team enters this weekend with 22 wins, leaving it one victory shy of equalling a BSU Division I-era mark for wins in a season (23) set by the 2004-05 squad.  BSU is coming off of a nonconference series with fellow future Wester Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) member University of Nebraska-Omaha.  The Beavers pulled out a 3-1 victory to open the series before falling to the Mavericks 3-2 in the finale.    
    Ala.-Huntsville welcomes the Beavers holding third place in the CHA standings with a 10-16-2 overall record and 6-9-1 mark in league play.  The Chargers have been playing well down the stretch and open the series having won five of their last eight games (5-3-0), all of which came versus conference competition.

The Rivalry
The Bemidji State/Ala.-Huntsville rivalry got its start March 11, 1994. The Beavers hold a 34-27-3 lead in the all-time series including a 4-0-0 mark versus UAH in 2009-10. Since Mar. 3, 2006, the Beavers are  dominant 22-2-2 versus UAH and enter this weekend’s series unbeaten by the Chargers in 16 of the last 17 meetings, including a current streak of 10 straight.
    Traditionally, the Von Braun Center has been a tough venue for the Beavers to figure out.  BSU is 11-18-2 in the building all-time, but is 7-1-2 in its last 10 games in Ala.
    In addition to being charter members of the CHA, these teams have a long-standing, bitter rivalry dating back to the NCAA Division II days. The Chargers and Beavers have met in the national tournament on four occasions with BSU defeating UAH for NCAA Division II titles in 1994 and in this very building in 1997.

The Unparalleled Tradition
The 2009-10 season represents the 11th at the NCAA Division I level, and the 54th year of intercollegiate competition, for a BSU program which has assembled one of the finest traditions in all of American collegiate sports.
* BSU owns 13 NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III national titles.
* The Beavers have captured 22 conference titles in 54 seasons of intercollegiate competition.
* BSU won the CHA regular-season championship in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, becoming the league’s first repeat regular-season titlest and has captured the last three championships consecutively (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10).  BSU has also won CHA Tournament titles in 2005, 2006, and 2009 en route to participating in the NCAA Tournament.
* In 2009, the Beavers became the first No. 16 seed ever to reach the Frozen Four. In just its 10th year of competition at the NCAA Division I level, only Denver reached hockey’s grandest stage faster.
* BSU has developed six NHL players, six Olympians and 81 All-America honorees.
* BSU has compiled an all-time record of 965-466-84 (.665) in 1,515 games and has the highest all-time winning percentage of the 58 programs which currently comprise NCAA Division I ice hockey.

The Coaches
Bemidji State’s Tom Serratore (Bemidji State ‘86) is in his ninth season in his current post at BSU and has an overall record of 162-126-31 (.555). He has directed the Beavers to seven consecutive seasons of at least .500 hockey.  Serratore’s teams have won CHA Regular-Season Championships five times in the last seven years and made trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2005, 2006 and 2009 after conference tournament titles, with a 2009 appearance in the Frozen Four.  He is a four-time CHA Coach of the Year recipient and was Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year Runner-up in 2009.

Danton Cole is in his third season at UAH after an extensive coaching career in minor league professional hockey. As a player, Cole won a NCAA Championship at Michigan State and a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils. Under his direction, the Chargers are 21-57-11 (.261).

BSU caps 2008-09 at 20-16-1
Bemidji State wrapped up its 2008-09 CHA campaign, its 10th as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, with a record of 12-5-1 to gain its fourth CHA regular-season title in the last six seasons. A pair of wins in the CHA Tournament and two more in the Midwest Regional guaranteed Tom Serratore and his gang it’s seventh consecutive season with a record of .500 or better as it finished at 20-16-1 overall--the team’s fourth 20-win season under Serratore.

CHA success
The Beavers are coming off another successful College Hockey America campaign pulling down their fourth regular-season title in six years with a 12-5-1 record in 2008-09.  In the last six seasons, no NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey team has a better winning percentage in league play than the Beaver’s .720 mark (91-32-11) versus the CHA, which includes a 4-0-0 mark in 2009-10.

Our share of OT
Extending their Jan. 23 game Minnesota Duluth to overtime, the Beavers have now played five overtime games in 2009-10, marking its most since playing in six in 2006-07.  
    In the 11 years since the Beavers moved to Division I, they have escaped  overtime with at least a tie in 76.1-percent (54) of the 71 games that have needed extra time to decide the outcome.
    Since March 11, 2006, BSU is 8-2-10 in  games extended to sudden death, including a 3-1-2 mark in extra-time games in 2009-10.

Preseason All-CHA
This season the Beavers had two players picked to the six-member squad.  Forward Matt Read and defenseman Brad Hunt, both First-Team All-CHA picks last winter,  were named 2009-10 Preseason All-CHA with Read pulling down Preseason Player of the Year laurels.

Oh captain, My Captain
Senior forward Chris McKelvie (New Brighton, Minn.) will captain the Beavers during 2009-08 campaign. Senior defenseman Kyle Hardwick (Warroad, Minn.) and junior forward Matt Read (Ilderton, Ontario)  will have the “A” on their jerseys designating them as assistant captains.

Beaver scoring by class
As could be expected from any team, the  Beavers’ scoring output was headlined in 2008-09 by its upper classmen...but not by much.  The seniors led the charge with 50-52=102 points, but it was the freshman that gave BSU a boost in scoring totalling 25-48=73 points to finish second.  The class may be a year older in 2009-10, but the trend remains the same.  Now sophomores, the class sits second on the team in scoring with 30-58=88 points, while the juniors lead with 47-48=95.

Keep ’em under two
In 2009-10 when BSU has allowed its opponents two-or-fewer goals, it is 18-1-1.  Through 32 games, BSU sits fifth the nation in scoring defense, allowing a meager 2.19 goals per game, while giving up 2.25 in 16 CHA contests.

Three is the magic Number
In 2009-10, three goals seems to be a threshold for Bemidji State.  BSU is 19-1-1 when posting at least three goals and 4-7-1 when allowing its rivals three or more.

BSU 18th in all-time wins
Bemidji State became the 18th program among the 58 current members of NCAA Division I to post its 900th all-time victory when it defeated Ala.-Huntsville, 3-2, on Dec. 15, 2006. BSU’s 964 victories currently rank 18th all-time among current members of Division I. Cornell is next ahead of BSU, in 17th all-time with 979 victories. Sixteen Division I programs have posted 1,000 wins, including 2009-10 BSU foe Minnesota which leads Division I with 1,570 all-time victories, and is the only program in the nation with 1,500 or more all-time wins, while Boston College is second with 1,393 victories.

Quite a run
Owner of the nation’s longest unbeaten streak to start 2009-10 (7-0-1), BSU has been on quite a run.  But it gets more impressive when you take into account the second half of the 2008-09 campaign.  Since Jan. 24, 2009, the team’s last 50 games, the Beavers have posted a 36-11-3 record--that’s a winning at an 75-percent clip!

The early goal gets the win
Of the Beavers’ 32 contests in 2009-10, the team to score first has won 24 times.  BSU opponents won 4-of-7 (4-2-1) of the games they were first to light the lamp while BSU is unbeaten 20-of-24 (20-4-0) occasions it was first on the scoreboard.  

D-Men On the Scoreboards
Bemidji State’s defensive corps recorded three assists in the series at Nebraska-Omaha, giving BSU defensive players at least one point in 78 of the last 93 games.  Averaging 2.04 points per game, the 2009-10 blueline corps is on pace for its most productive season since the 2003-04 defense pitched in a BSU Division I-era record 2.31 points per game.
    During the 2008-09 campaign, BSU defensemen combined for 17-62=79 points (2.19 ppg). BSU’s blue liners accounted for five goals and 22 assists in the team’s final 10 games.

Read makes it better
There is really no way to get around it, the Bemidji State men’s hockey team is better when junior forward Matt Read is on the ice.  Since stepping on campus in the fall of 2007 Read has a plus/minus rating of +59 and the Beavers are 31-7-1 when he scores a goal, which included a 12-2-0 mark during the 2008-09 campaign and a 14-2-0 mark this season.

We’re goin’ streakin’
BSU forward Matt Read has posted a point in each of the Beavers’ last four games, netting four goals and an assist.  His goal in last Saturday’s 3-2 loss to UNO matched a career-high streak of four consecutive games with a goal.  

Offensive Defenseman
Sophomore defenseman Brad Hunt was a big factor for the Beavers on both ends of the ice in 2008-09 and that trend has extended into 2009-10.  In addition to his duties in BSU’s defensive zone, he has become offensive threat--especially on the power play. A year ago, he led all BSU blue liners and was third on the team scoring 9-23=32 points with a team-leading 7-16=23 coming on the man advantage.  This winter he has seven goals and a team-leading 22 assist to pace all BSU defenders and is fifth among the nation’s top blueliners, with 29 points (0.91 ppg). His 16 points (5-11=16) on the power play paces the team.

Running up the score
Bemidji State has managed to score three or more goals in 10 of its last 13 outings, giving the Beavers a 3.59 goals per game average to enter the weekend--a figure that seats them sixth in the country.  BSU has netted five or more goals 11 times this season.  That’s just what the doctor ordered for a team with three goaltenders that opened the season without a single collegiate start under their belts.

Then there were six
Matt Climie, a 2008 graduate of Bemidji State and the Beavers’ goaltender in the 2005 and 2006 National Tournament runs, was called up to join the Dallas Stars Friday April 4,2009 and got his first NHL start Saturday.  His 24 saves led the Stars to a 5-4 overtime victory over St. Louis.
    Climie’s trip to the NHL makes six products of the Beaver Hockey program to skate in the NHL ranks.  He joins former BSU teammate Andrew Murray (2001-05) as the only other former Beavers currently in the NHL.

Penalty-kill power
The current school mark for power-play efficiency is .868 and was posted by the 2004-05 squad when it squashed 192-of-221 opponent opportunities.  In 2009-10, the team has allowed just 25 power-play goals on 157 opponent opportunities (.841), but has been downright stingy in CHA play.  BSU has allowed just nine power-play goals in 80 opponent opportunities spread over 16 league games (.888).  The Beavers have allowed just one power-play goal in their last five games.  During that stretch, the penalty-kill unit is 17-for-18 (.944).

Put it in the books after two
In 2009-10, BSU is 18-0-0 when it has taken a lead into the third period.  Since making the jump to NCAA Division I in 1999-2000, the Beavers are 137-9-12 when leading after two periods of play.

Read all about BSU’s scoring leaders
In 105 games and just over two seasons in a green and white uniform, junior Matt Read has piled up 104 points (42-62=104).  Sitting alone in fourth on the BSU Division I-era scoring list, he is tied for fourth in assists (62) and seventh in goals scored (42).  Jan. 19, 2010, Read became the second-fastest player in BSU’s Division I history to reach the 100-point plateau (102 games).

George finds rookie scoring chart
Thirty-one games into his freshman season, Jordan George has been a pleasant surprise for the Beavers.  He’s settled into the top line and currently sits second on the team with 32 points (13g-19a).  His 32 points rank him fourth among the NCAA’s top rookies.
 
Top of the line
The Beavers top line of Jordan George, Matt Read and Ian Lowe has accounted for 43-percent of BSU goals (47) and 35 percent of its total scoring (97 pts).

The Hunt for the hat
Nov. 21, Brad Hunt led the Beavers to a 6-3 victory over Ala.-Huntsville posting four points (3-1=4) and his first collegiate hat trick.  He became the first BSU blueliner to achieve the scoring feat since Mar. 13, 2004 (John Haider), the 10th hat trick for BSU at the NCAA Division I level and just the sixth D-man in the history of the program.

Help from the crease
Dan Bakala recorded his first collegiate assist in a 5-1 loss to Minnesota State Dec. 11.  He became the first BSU goaltender to record a helper since Matt Dalton made a pass that led to a goal Mar. 13.  

I’ll do it on my own, thank you
Through 32 games of the 2009-10 season, the Beavers have posted 15 unassisted goals to set a new BSU Division I-era record, surpassing its 2001-02 mark of 11.

Climbing BSU’s Division I assists list
Brad Hunt has accumulated 45 assists in a season and a half.  He currently sits tied for 11th on BSU Division I-era assists list.  He needs one assists to move past Peter Johnson for 10th.

Bak-stopping the Beavers
Dan Bakala enters this weekend’s series third in the nation with 18 wins, ranked fourth among all goaltenders with a .924 save percentage, a goals against average  of 2.15 to rank sixth, while backstopping a team that ranks fifth in scoring defense at 2.20 goals per game.

Buzzer Beater
Sophomore Ben Kinne is quickly becoming the Beavers clutch performer when the game is on the line.  Saturday’s game-tying goal with 1.8 seconds left in regulation was Kinne’s second “buzzer beater” of the season.  The St. Paul, Minn. native also scored an extra attacker goal with 10 seconds left in the third to tie the Oct. 23 game at Western Michigan at 3-3 and send it to overtime.

What’s your 20?
The Beavers enter the final weekend of the 2009-10 campaign with 22 wins marking the fifth time under head coach Tom Serratore and the 29th time in program history that BSU has accumulated 20 wins in a season.  A sweep over UAH would give the Beavers 24 wins and surpass the program’s Division I-era record for wins in a season set in 2004-05 (23-13-1).

March on
The Beavers are glad to be done with the month of February.  Since making the jump to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1999-2000, BSU is 36-36-10 despite a 4-2-0 record this in February this season.  March, on the other hand, has been good to BSU.  Since the 1999-00 season, the Beavers are 23-16-0, which includes a 5-1-0 mark in 2008-09.

Perfect 10
Bemidji State opens the series at Ala.-Huntsville having defeated the Chargers the last 10 times the teams have met.  Furthermore, BSU is 22-2-2 when facing UAH since Mar. 6, 2006.  The last time the Chargers handed the Beavers a loss was Nov. 7, 2008 at the Von Braun Center.

40-40 vision
Junior Matt Read has 18-19=37 points this season leaving him just three points from becoming the first BSU player to post back-to-back 40-point seasons during a Division I career and the first since Bernie Adlys did it in 1994-95 and 1995-96.