Nov. 3—BEMIDJI — There have been 48 games played between the Bemidji State men’s hockey team and Bowling Green. The all-time head-to-head comparisons are staggeringly similar.
On Dec. 30, 2011, the Beavers hosted the Falcons at the Sanford Center to send both teams into the new year. BSU swept with wins of 4-1 and 2-1.
Two and a half years later, Bowling Green hosted Bemidji State for the first time. BGSU came away with a sweep by scores of 5-3 and 5-2.
For the better part of 14 years, that’s been the precedent.
The Beavers hold a 22-21-5 all-time record against the Falcons. In the 36 conference games, BSU is 15-16-2 against BGSU. Five of the last six games have gone to overtime, including both of them in Bowling Green, Ohio, over the weekend.
To say the all-time series has been close would be an understatement, save for one outlier.
Despite the near-identical head-to-head records, both teams struggle to beat the other on the road.
In games between Bemidji State and Bowling Green at the Sanford Center, the Beavers are 16-7-2. However, they are 6-14-3 at Slater Family Ice Arena, which is revered as one of the hardest places to play in CCHA.
With that in mind, Bemidji State’s four-point weekend in Ohio is head-turning.
The Beavers and Falcons played four times last year, with three of the contests going to overtime. BSU went 2-1-1 in those games. Eleven of the 48 games between the two schools have gone to overtime, with five of them coming in the last two seasons.
BGSU makes a return trip to Bemidji Jan. 23-24.
* In Bemidji State’s 3-2 overtime win, sophomore defenseman Hudson Thornton recorded a point on each goal. He assisted on two third-period goals to help tie the game before scoring the winner in overtime.
* Thornton also led BSU with four blocked shots in the series.
* Thornton played a combined 57:01 in the two overtime games, leading all BSU skaters. Thornton has logged over 24 minutes of TOI in all but four games this season.
* Thornton was named CCHA Defenseman of the Week.
* Junior Oliver Peer and senior Adam Flammang are both scoring over a point per game. Peer leads the Beavers in goals (seven) and points (12) in 10 games. Flammang has a team-high eight assists. Flammang has 11 points in 10 games.
* Peer is tied for second in the CCHA in goals with Michigan Tech’s Teydon Trembecky.
* Bowling Green’s Jaden Grant went 38-21 on faceoffs to lead all centers in the series. BSU senior Reilly Funk went 18-36 as the Beavers’ top faceoff taker.
* Bowling Green went 90-53 as a team on faceoffs in the series.
* BSU freshman defenseman Max Vig scored his first college goal to tie Friday’s game at 1-1 in the first period.
* Peer’s power-play goal in the third period on Saturday snapped a 0 for 18 skid on the man advantage. Flammang also scored a power-play goal to tie the game midway through the third period. BSU’s power play is 6 for 38 on the season, good for 15.8% and fifth in the CCHA.
* Bemidji State has not allowed a goal on the penalty kill since Oct. 18 at Minnesota Duluth. BSU’s penalty kill has a 77.5% success rate, good for seventh in the CCHA.
* Augustana freshman forward Leo Bulgakov scored in each win over Northern Michigan. The Vikings beat the Wildcats 2-1 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday.
* Northern Michigan has allowed fewer than 40 shots in two of its 10 games this season.
* Augustana’s Josh Kotai made 65 of 67 saves in the two games. He holds the CCHA’s second-best save percentage (.944) and goals-against average (1.75).
* Minnesota State and St. Thomas split their home-and-home series, with the road team winning each night. The Mavericks beat the Tommies 3-1 on Friday night. UST beat MSU 4-3 in overtime on Saturday.
* Kotai was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week.
* Six of Minnesota State’s seven top point-getters have transferred into the program. Luigi Benincasa, who transferred into MSU from Ferris State ahead of the 2024-25 season, leads the Mavericks with nine points in eight games.
* St. Thomas’ Alex Gaffney leads the CCHA with six goals and 13 points.
* Ferris State was swept at home by Lindenwood in a nonconference series — 1-0 on Friday night and 3-2 on Saturday night.
* Ferris State sophomore goalie Martin Lundberg stopped 46 of 50 shots combined over the weekend. Lundberg leads the CCHA in goals-against average (1.41) and save percentage (.947).
* Michigan Tech went 1-1 in a road nonconference weekend — lost 6-4 to Clarkson on Friday and beat St. Lawrence 3-0 on Saturday.
* MTU freshman Teydon Trembecky, one of the only CHL kids in the CCHA who didn’t age out, scored twice and leads the Huskies in scoring with five goals.
* Trembecky was named CCHA Rookie of the Week.
* Michigan Tech’s Owen Bartoszkiewicz recorded a 29-save shutout against St. Lawrence.
* Lake Superior State scored two extra-attacker goals to earn a 3-3 tie with St. Lawrence on Friday night. The Lakers beat Clarkson 6-2 on Saturday. Both games were on the road.
* LSSU freshman William Ahlrik scored his first collegiate goal to tie the game with 33 seconds left in the third period against St. Lawrence. Ahlrik had two goals and three assists on the weekend.
* Ahlrik was named CCHA Forward of the Week.
* Roarke Applebee and Andrew Oke combined to stop 60 of 65 shots over the weekend for the Lakers.
1-Michigan State
2-Michigan
3-Penn State
4-Western Michigan
5-Wisconsin
6-Maine
7-Minnesota Duluth
8-Quinnipiac
9-Boston
10-North Dakota
11-Denver
12-UConn
13-Massachusetts
14-Providence
15-Northeastern
16-Boston College
17-Ohio State
18-Minnesota State
19-Colorado College
20-St. Cloud State
