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3/8/2010 - MEN'S ICE HOCKEY Bemidji State holds strong at No. 8 in national polls

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- The Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey team held on to the No. 8 spot in the NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey national polls for the second consecutive week after a 1-0-1 weekend at University of Alabama-Huntsville to wrap up College Hockey America (CHA) play and the 2009-10 regular-season.  The Beavers have been slotted eighth in the USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine poll as well as the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports publication.

The Beavers, who are 23-8-2 overall and recently claimed their third consecutive CHA regular-season championship with a 14-3-1 record in league play, battled back to claim a 3-2 victory versus the Chargers in the series opener before earning a 2-2 draw to cap the regular season.
The No. 8 billing marks the Beavers’ seventh consecutive week in top 10 but remains under the team’s high water mark of No. 4 set Dec. 7, 2009.  Bemidji State has now been ranked among the nation’s top 15 men’s ice hockey teams for a school record 21 weeks.

Miami University (Ohio) reclaimed the nation’s No. 1 position from University of Denver in both polls after a two-week hiatus.  Miami has occupied the No. 1 spot for 18 weeks this season.

The “State of Hockey” is again well represented as St. Cloud State University and University of Minnesota Duluth join BSU in the top 15 with the Huskies occupying No. 7 in both weekly polls, while the Bulldogs own the No. 14 spot.

The Beavers have made an appearance in every poll of the 2009-10 season and remain the CHA’s only program to appear in either publication.

The USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country. The poll, published weekly by the Associated Press, is a joint production of USCHO.com, which provides in-depth coverage of college sports, including hockey, lacrosse, soccer and others, and CBS College Sports Networks, Inc., the only digital media company dedicated solely to college sports. CBS College Sports operates a 24-hour college sports cable network, also available via DISH and DirecTV satellite.

The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll, now in its 15th year, is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey Magazine, the most widely distributed hockey magazine in the world.

Bemidji State finished its 2009-10 regular-season with a record of 23-8-3 capturing its fifth CHA regular-season crown in seven seasons with a mark of 14-3-1 in league play. The Beavers open the “second season” this weekend as they attempt to defend their title in the 2010 CHA Tournament Championship at Dwyer Arena in Lewiston, N.Y.  The top-seeded Beavers will play No. 4 Niagara University at 6 p.m. (CST), while Robert Morris University, the second seed, will battle No. 3 Ala.-Huntsville in the other semifinal at 2 p.m. (CST) Friday.  Semifinal winners will advance to the CHA Championship at 7 p.m. Saturday. 

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