Jan. 9—BEMIDJI — Ben Kinne heard an all too familiar phrase ringing through his head in the third period.
Trailing 2-1 against East Grand Forks, the defending Class A state champs, the Bemidji High School boys hockey could almost discern Tom Serratore’s cadence from over a decade ago.
“I heard it for five years in this building that it’s a race to three,” said Kinne, who watched the Lumberjacks pull off a third-period comeback and a 3-2 win at the Sanford Center. “That’s what it was today, and the good thing for us is we were able to get there.”
The St. Paul native played for Bemidji State from 2009 to 2013, helping the Beavers make their only Frozen Four in program history as a freshman before serving as captain in his final two seasons. While he used to play for Serratore, on Friday he found himself in his place behind the home bench in the first of two BHS games in the Sanford Center Showcase.
It had been almost 13 years since Kinne was part of a team paying in the home of Bemidji State hockey. But when 218 Sports put together the first of three Sanford Center Showcases, he got a chance to connect with his Bemidji hockey roots again.
“I got five Beaver guys on staff (Matt Menne, Vinny Huerd, Matt Carlson and Jim Scanlan). Coach Sanny didn’t play for Tom, but he knows him pretty well,” Kinne said. “When we were here yesterday for practice, we did some of the drills we used to do, and it just gives everyone a little extra juice and energy, especially the coaching staff. It’s good to be back.”
The Sanford Center Showcase brings area prep sports to the collegiate surfaces. The BHS boys hockey team will host Rock Ridge at 2 p.m. on Saturday, before the BSU men’s hockey team concludes its series against Michigan Tech at 6 p.m. Next weekend, BHS girls hockey will play at the Sanford Center leading into the BSU women’s hockey series against the University of Minnesota. BSU men’s and women’s basketball teams will play at the Sanford Center during the Showcase Feb. 12-14, with a host of area prep teams competing as well.
The college nostalgia is coupled with history for Kinne and co. BHS swept the season series against EGF for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
“I’m just happy for them and the effort that they put in,” Kinne said. “It hasn’t been easy over the last 10-12 days for us. For them to get a win here is special for them. … The game you saw today, those are the games we’re going to be in. If you’re a Lumberjack fan, you’re going to have to get used to games like that. And I thought we did a great job of sticking to what we do really well.”
Chase Fairchild scored the tying goal two minutes and 18 seconds into the third period. Eli Kringen found the eventual game-winning goal on a shot through traffic from the point six minutes later.
“We were on our toes a little bit more, just hunting that puck down and getting after their D corps a little bit,” Kinne said. “That’s how we scored that second one, right? Chase got after one of their D and he coughed it up right to him. The last one, we win a faceoff and a seeing-eye shot goes in. Those are the goals we haven’t gotten a lot of this year, so that was great to see.
“We were much more on the attack. Our D held the blue line a little tighter. We weren’t able to give them as many rushes as they had in the first and second periods, which was good.”
Bemidji took the first lead when Wesley Truax buried a rebound shot from Paul Greiner just under 11 minutes into the first period. Cy Hjelman sniped the tying goal 87 seconds later to send both teams into the intermission tied at 1-1.
Tucker Lovejoy put the Green Wave ahead 2-1 five minutes into the second period on a bar-down shot from the slot.
Christian Hill, who shut out EGF (6-8-1) 2-0 on Dec. 16, made 29 saves in the win for the Jacks (7-5-1). Noah Schindele also made 29 saves in the loss.
“They played well — they played really well,” Kinne said of the way the Jacks closed out the game. “I was very excited to see the effort they put in. For us, scoring three goals has been a challenge, but we got it done.”
Kinne said he doesn’t recall the last game he played at the Sanford Center for BSU, which ended unceremoniously — a 5-1 loss on March 9, 2013, against the University of Minnesota. Kinne picked up a secondary assist on the Beavers’ only goal in the second period, scored by Matt Prapavessis.
“My senior year was very forgettable,” Kinne quipped. “I really don’t remember the last game or whatever happened, but it’s always special to come here and give the kids an opportunity. That’s the best part. That’s what this is all about.
“When we were skating around and shooting the puck, I told some of the players, ‘Yeah, I scored a goal right here and did that right there. It’s funny, and the kids laugh at you a little bit, but it doesn’t matter. You always remember those special moments.”
Bemidji 3, East Grand Forks 2
EGF 1 1 0 — 2
BHS 1 0 2 — 3
First period — BHS GOAL: Truax (Greiner, Welle) 10:53; EGF GOAL: Hjelman (Panzer) 12:20.
Second period — EGF GOAL: Lovejoy (Bratrud) 5:04.
Third period — BHS GOAL: Fairchild (unassisted) 2:18; BHS GOAL: Kringen (Dewar) 8:09.
Saves — Hill (EGF) 29; Schindele (EGF) 29.
