3/25/2010 - MEN'S ICE HOCKEY Bemidji State sets out to defend Midwest Regional title

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Bemidji State sets out to defend Midwest Regional title
No. 9 Beavers draw Michigan in NCAA Regional Semifinal

The Match up
The Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team has extended its schedule to include the NCAA Division I Tournament for the second consecutive season.  BSU’s road to the Frozen Four begins at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Beavers, who earned their first at-large bid and make their fourth trip to the tournament since 2005, open Midwest Regional play Saturday, Mar. 27. when they face University of Michigan at 6:30 p.m. (CST).   BSU and Michigan join Miami University and University of Alabama-Huntsville in a race for the Midwest Regional Championship and a trip to the Frozen Four at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
    The 2010 College Hockey America (CHA) regular-season champion Beavers (23-9-4), who set out to defend their 2009 Midwest Regional title, have spent a school-record 22 consecutive weeks ranked among the nation’s top 15 NCAA Division I teams and open tournament play with 6-0-1 record versus its Midwest Region counterparts.  The team enters the weekend with 23 wins, leaving it one victory shy of setting a new BSU Division I-era mark for wins, surpassing the 2004-05 squad’s 23-win season. 
    Michigan (25-17-1) punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament by way of  the 2010 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Tournament championship and the automatic bid that accompanies it.  Michigan’s berth into the 2010 tournament marks its 20th consecutive appearance. The Wolverines open tournament play as one of the hottest teams in the country winning their last six games and eight of their last nine. 

The Rivalries
Despite combining for nearly 4,000 collegiate games dating back to the mid-1940s, Saturday’s semifinal match up between Bemidji State and Michigan marks the first meeting between the pair of iconic collegiate hockey programs.  However, a win over the Wolverines would pit the Beavers versus either No. 1 seed Miami University (Ohio) or the fourth seed University of Alabama-Huntsville, which are both much more familiar to BSU. 
    UAH and BSU were bitter rivals at the NCAA Division II level before becoming charter members of College Hockey America in 1999-2000.  Bemidji State and Ala-.Huntsville have met  66 times with BSU owning a 35-27-4 advantage in the series, which includes a 5-0-1 record this season.
    Although the BSU-Miami series is not quite as extensive, recent meetings between the teams have been significant.  The RedHawks hold a 3-1-0 edge in a series that stretches back to 2000.  BSU and Miami met in last year’s Frozen Four semifinal where the RedHawks got the best of Bemidji State, 4-1, and advanced to the national title game.  The Beavers got their revenge in November knocking off then top-ranked MU, 3-2 in the Subway Holiday Classic in Grand Forks, N.D.

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). 
* 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 966-467-86 (.664) in 1,519 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 163-126-32 (.556). 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 five-time CHA Coach of the Year recipient and was Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year Runner-up in 2009.

* Gordon "Red" Berenson is in his 26th season as head coach of the University of Michigan ice hockey program.  Since 1984, he’s guided the Wolverines to a 698-327-69 overall record, an NCAA record 20 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, 10 Frozen Four runs and a pair of national championships (1996 and 1998).  In conference play under Berenson, Michigan has 10 regular-season CCHA crowns and nine conference tournament titles.

CHA success
The Beavers are coming off another successful College Hockey America campaign pulling down their fifth regular-season title in seven years with a 14-3-1 record in 2009-10.  In the last seven seasons, no NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey team has a better winning percentage in league play than the Beaver’s .721 mark (92-32-12) versus the CHA, which includes its 2009-10 league record of 14-3-1.

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 2008-09 All-CHA picks,  were named 2009-10 Preseason All-CHA with Read pulling down Preseason Player of the Year laurels.

Our share of OT
Extending their March 13 CHA Tournament game versus Robert Morris to overtime, the Beavers have now played eight overtime games in 2009-10, marking its most since playing in eight in 2004-05. 
    In the 11 years since the Beavers moved to Division I, they have escaped  overtime with at least a tie in 76.7-percent (56) of the 73 games that have needed extra time to decide the outcome.
    Since March 11, 2006, BSU is 8-2-12 in games extended to sudden death, including a 3-1-4 mark in extra-time games in 2009-10.

Oh captain, My Captain
Senior forward Chris McKelvie (New Brighton, Minn.) captains the Beavers during the 2009-10 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 33-65=98 points, while the juniors lead with 54-51=105.

Keep ’em under two
In 2009-10 when BSU has allowed its opponents two-or-fewer goals, it is 19-1-2.  Through 36 games, BSU sits fifth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing a meager 2.28 goals per game, while giving up 2.22 in 18 CHA contests.

Three is the magic Number
In 2009-10, three goals seems to be a threshold for Bemidji State.  BSU is 20-2-2 when posting at least three goals and 4-8-2 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 966 victories currently rank 18th all-time among current members of Division I. Cornell is next ahead of BSU, in 17th all-time with 980 victories. Sixteen Division I programs have posted 1,000 wins, including 2009-10 BSU foe Minnesota which leads Division I with 1,573 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 1,395 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 54 games, the Beavers have posted a 37-12-5 record--that’s winning at an 73-percent clip!

The early goal gets the win
Of the Beavers’ 36 contests in 2009-10, the team to score first has won 26 times.  BSU’s opponents won 5-of-8 (5-2-1) of the games they were first to light the lamp while BSU is unbeaten in 23-of-27 (21-4-2) occasions it was first on the scoreboard. 

D-Men on the scoreboards
Bemidji State’s defensive corps recorded a goal and three assists in its two CHA Tournament games, giving BSU defensive players at least one point in 80 of the last 95 games.  Averaging 2.00 points per game, the 2009-10 blueline corps is on pace for one of 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 +55 and the Beavers are 31-7-2 when he scores a goal, which included a 12-2-0 mark during the 2008-09 campaign and a 14-2-1 mark this season.

We’re goin’ streakin’
BSU blueliner Brad Hunt has posted an assist in each of the Beavers’ last four games to enter the NCAA Tournament with BSU’s longest active scoring streak. Teammate Ryan Cramer is one of three players riding streaks of two games, netting three goals in the Beavers’ two CHA Tournament games Mar. 12-13.  Tyler Lehrke and Chris Peluso have also scored in BSU’s last two, posting a pair of assists and a goal and a helper, respectively.

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 an offensive threat--especially on the power play. A year ago, he led all BSU blueliners 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 26 assist to pace all BSU defenders and is fifth among the nation’s top blueliners, with 33 points (0.92 ppg). His 17 points (5-12=17) on the power play paces the team.

Running up the score
Bemidji State has managed to score three or more goals in 13 of its last 17 outings, giving the Beavers a 3.53 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 27 power-play goals on 178 opponent opportunities (.848), but was downright stingy in CHA play.  BSU allowed just 10 power-play goals in 90 opponent opportunities spread over 18 league games (.889).  The Beavers have allowed just three power-play goals in their last nine games.  During that stretch, the penalty-kill unit is 36-for-39 (.923).  It’s not a coincidence that the Beavers are 5-2-2 during that span.

Put it in the books after two
In 2009-10, BSU is 19-0-1 when it has taken a lead into the third period.  Since making the jump to NCAA Division I in 1999-2000, the Beavers are 138-9-13 when leading after two periods of play.

Read all about BSU’s scoring leaders
In 109 games and just over two seasons in a green and white uniform, junior Matt Read has piled up 107 points (43-64=107).  Sitting alone in fourth on the BSU Division I-era scoring list, he is third in assists (63) and seventh in goals scored (43).  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-five games into his career at BSU, freshman Jordan George has been a pleasant surprise.  He’s settled into the top line and currently sits second on the team with 34 points (13g-21a).  His 34 points rank him fifth 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 40-percent of BSU goals (51) and 33 percent of its total scoring (104 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 36 games of the 2009-10 season, the Beavers have posted 17 unassisted goals to set a new BSU Division I-era record, surpassing its 2001-02 mark of 11. Matt Read currently leads the team with four unassisted markers.

Climbing BSU’s Division I Assists list
Brad Hunt has accumulated 49 assists in a season and a half.  He currently sits 10th on BSU Division I-era assists list.  He needs two helpers to join Jeff McGill in ninth.

Bak-stopping the Beavers
Dan Bakala enters the tournament tied for fifth in the nation with 19 wins, ranked 11th among all goaltenders with a .919 save percentage, a goals against average  of 2.27 to rank 11th, while backstopping a team that ranks fifth in scoring defense allowing 2.28 goals per game.

Buzzer Beater
Sophomore Ben Kinne is quickly becoming the Beavers clutch performer when the game is on the line.  Jan. 23rd’s game-tying goal with 1.8 seconds left in regulation versus Minnesota Duluth 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.  In addition, he scored the Nov. 1 game-winner in overtime.

What’s your 20?
The Beavers enter the 2009-10 postseason with 23 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 win in the tournament would give the Beavers 24 surpassing 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 in February this season.  March, on the other hand, has been good to BSU.  Since the 1999-00 season, the Beavers are 24-17-2, which includes a 5-1-0 mark in 2008-09.

40-40 vision
Junior Matt Read has 19-21=40 points this season making him 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.

Netting 20 wins
Sitting at 19-7-3 on the season, goaltender Dan Bakala is just one victory from establishing a BSU Division I-era record for wins in a season.  If it happens, it will mark the 14th time in BSU’s 54-year history that a goalie has posted 20 wins in a single season.

Fall into rank boys
Bemidji State found itself ranked ninth in the most recent edition of the USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine poll. The Beavers garnered 206 points marking the 21st consecutive week the Beavers have found a spot among the top 15, while its just the 26th time in the 14-year history of the poll the Beavers have grabbed a top-15 slot.  BSU reach a pinnacle of No. 4 for a two-week span Nov. 30-Dec. 7 this season--the program’s highest rank ever.

Dugas Debut
Turning away 13 shots in the Oct. 24 series finale at Northern Michigan, Mathieu Dugas earned a shutout in his first collegiate start. The feat made him just the third BSU goaltender to post a shutout in their first appearance joining Matt Clime and Jim Scanlan.

Read tops plus/minus charts
BSU’s Matt Read’s +29 leads all forwards in plus/minus this season.  He is third overall trailing only, RIT’s Chris Tanev (+31) and Brian Dumoulin (+30) of Boston College.

BSU sets mark for nonconf. wins
Bemidji State wrapped up its 2009-10 nonconferecne schedule with a 9-5-2 record in 16 games, establishing a new Division I-era record nonconferecne wins in a season.  The previous program mark was eight set in 2005-06 (8-7-2) and 2008-09 (8-11-0), which were also both NCAA Tournament seasons for the Beavers.

BSU versus the nationally-ranked
BSU has had three meetings with nationally-ranked opponents in 2009-10.  Nov. 27, the Beavers knocked off then-No. 1 Miami (Ohio) 3-2.  BSU then swept a home-and-home series with No. 4 Minnesota Duluth Jan. 22-23.  Since the Beavers made the jump to the NCAA Division I ranks for the 1999-2000 campaign, BSU is 7-36-2 versus teams in the top-15 according to USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine.

And the Award goes to...
An embarrassment of riches was the best way to describe Bemidji State’s trip to the 2010 CHA Awards banquet.  The Beavers swept the four major awards categories as Matt Read was picked Player of the Year, Jordan George won the league’s Rookie of the Year award, Kyle Hardwick was named as the CHA Student Athlete of the Year and head coach Tom Serratore garnered his fifth CHA Coach of the Year laurel. In addition to cleaning up the four major awards, BSU placed three players on the All-CHA squads, had three players on the all-rookie team and had 17 players recognized for academic achievement.  A complete listing of awards received during the 2009-10 season is listed on page 11.

Nice job Rook
Jake Areshenko, Mathieu Dugas and Jordan George were each selected to the CHA All-Rookie Team this week.  The selections marked the third straight year the Beavers have placed at least one player on the rookie team, but their three picks stood as the most for BSU in a single season since 2002 when Andrew Murray, Anders Olsson and Riley Ridell found spots on the team.

Academic Accolades
For the eighth consecutive season, the Bemidji State men’s ice hockey team led the CHA in volume of student-athletes selected to the CHA All-Academic squad.  In 2010, 17 players including all four seniors, garnered accolades. 

Coach of the Year
Tom Serratore was named CHA 2010 Coach of the Year Mar. 11.  The accolade marked the third consecutive season he’s received laurel and the fifth time his colleagues have selected him for the award.  Serratore guided the Beavers to a 14-3-1 CHA record to corral the program’s third straight CHA regular-season title.

All-CHA
Dan Bakala, Brad Hunt, Ian Lowe and Matt Read were announced as members of the 2010 College Hockey America All-League Teams Mar. 10. League coaches voted Bakala, Hunt and Read to the first team while Lowe was selected Second-Team All-CHA. The quartet of BSU All-CHA selections matched Robert Morris University’s four student-athletes for tops in the league and marked the ninth consecutive season that BSU has placed multiple student-athletes on the all-conference teams. In addition, three first-team picks in 2010 marked the first time since 2006 that BSU has had three players grab first-team honors.

BSU versus the CCHA
Bemidji State will face Michigan for the first time in the program’s history Saturday, but has a significant history with teams hailing from the CCHA, logging eight games versus CCHA teams in 2009-10 alone.  The Beavers are 4-2-2 against the league this season, including wins versus NCAA Tournament teams Miami and Northern Michigan as well as Western Michigan and Nebraska-Omaha. BSU is 29-35-4 all-time versus CCHA member teams.

The CHA in the ‘Big Dance’
Bemidji State and Ala.-Huntsville are making the 10th and 11th NCAA Tournament appearance by a member of College Hockey America.
    The CHA has posted a 3-8 record in the tournament with University of Niagara posting the league’s first victory, a 4-1 upset of New Hampshire in 2000. CHA teams have three times lost to the eventual national champion - North Dakota in 2000, Denver in 2005 and Wisconsin in 2006.
    The Beavers’ march to the 2009 Frozen Four was a first for College Hockey America and stood as the first time for any team hailing from a conference other than the “big four.”

There’s a first time for everything
The Bemidji State men’s hockey team boasts one of the most storied and successful hockey traditions in all of hockey and now finds itself just four victories away from making history yet again. With national championships at the NAIA, NCAA Division II and III levels, the Beavers could become the first program to ever win national titles at each level of college hockey. Since the NCAA no longer sponsors a national tournament a the Division II level, BSU would be the only program to achieve the feat.

CHA in the Midwest Region
Bemidji State and Ala.-Huntsville’s placement in the NCAA’s Midwest Regional marked the fourth and fifth times a CHA team has been seeded within the region. Wayne State (Mich.) earned a Midwest Regional berth in 2003 and faced Colorado College, while Ala.-Huntsville played Notre Dame in the 2007 regional semifinal and the Beavers won the region with victories over Cornell and Notre Dame a year ago. In all, the CHA is 2-2 in the Midwest Region.

BSU versus the 2010 Field
Bemidji State has played Division I games (since 1999) against eight of the 16 programs in the 2010 NCAA Tournament field. BSU has gone head-to-head with Midwest Regional semifinalist and College Hockey America foe Ala.-Huntsville 58 times (32-33-4), while it has faced North Regional qualifier North Dakota (0-12-1) on thirteen occasions and West Regional participant St. Cloud State (1-11-0) 12 times. In all, Bemidji State is 36-53-6 in 95 Division I meetings versus the field during the past 11 seasons.
    Of the experience the Beavers have with teams in this year’s tournament, Michigan, Vermont, Yale, Boston College and New Hampshire are the only teams BSU has not faced at any level over its 54-year history.

BSU in the Postseason
Bemidji State makes its fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament since elevating the program to the major college hockey level in 1999-2000. The Beavers, now 2-3 in the Division I Tournament, boast a 27-28 all-time mark at all levels of the “Big Dance.”
    The Beavers received one of 10 at-large bids doled out for this year’s tournament field--a first for the program.  The 2010 postseason marks BSU’s 17th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The program earned 13 NCAA Division II and Division III tournament berths in a 16-year span from 1983-98, posting a 25-15 record in those 13 tournaments, while capturing six national championships.
    BSU also won seven national championships in 13 national playoff appearances as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Serratore in the playoffs
Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore has led the Beavers to three College Hockey America tournament titles in his nine years at the helm of the program, while he’s guided his teams to the championship game on six occasions.  Serratore’s teams have posted a 10-6-1 mark over the years in CHA Tournament play to go along with a 2-3 mark in NCAA Tournament play for a 12-9-1 mark in post-season action (.568).

Michigan....check
After its first ever meetings with Michigan Saturday, Bemidji State can mark another Division I opponent off its list of teams to play.  In 11 seasons at the NCAA Division level, BSU has now faced 29 of the current 58 NCAA Division I teams.

--bsu--