Nov. 10—BEMIDJI — When the Bemidji State men’s hockey team constructed its 2025-26 roster, there were several newsworthy additions.
The Beavers dipped their toes in the Canadian Hockey League player pool, adding freshmen Max Namestnikov, Max Hildebrand and Ben Vigneault. They also brought in Maxon Vig, a seventh-round pick by the Montreal Canadians in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Then came the U Sports transfers, some of them more polarizing than others. Along with Oliver Peer and Vincent Labelle, former professional hockey players Connor McClennon and Hudson Thornton also had their eligibility reinstated through the NCAA Eligibility Center to play Division I hockey in the United States.
In a transformative offseason, one addition feels like it was lost in the cracks, despite playing a major role in the Beavers’ unbeaten start in CCHA play.
Sophomore forward Vann Yuhas was the only traditional transfer portal addition. He played in 16 games with Merrimack as a freshman, scoring two goals and struggling to find consistent ice time.
After his rookie season, he
rekindled his old recruiting flame
and chose Bemidji State. Now, he’s taken hold of a top-six forward role for the Beavers.
Yuhas had the primary assist on two of BSU’s four goals in Friday’s 4-1 win over Lake Superior State. He’s up to five assists in 10 games this season for the first-place Beavers.
“It was a little bit different, coming into a new school,” Yuhas said on Friday. “Once I got the hang of it, I was comfortable in my own skin and playing like I know I can. It’s going good so far. I love it here and have no complaints.”
Yuhas has drawn praise from the BSU brass after games multiple times this season.
While he started the year as a rotational forward, trying to find his footing on a new team, he was given an extended runway on the road against St. Cloud State.
“There were guys we went with who were (feeling it) tonight, and then we had guys we sat,” head coach Tom Serratore said on Oct. 11 after a 4-2 road loss against SCSU. “We had some guys who weren’t playing good, so we shrank our bench.
“Yuhas played a ton in the second and third periods because he had a heck of a game. We went three lines almost the whole third period.”
Since then, he hasn’t come out of the lineup. But after a six-game point drought, Serratore challenged the Medicine Hat, Alberta, forward to add more to his game.
“Vann Yuhas has a good stick and he’s got a good brain on him,” Serratore said on Friday. “I gave him a hard time because I wanted more physicality out of him. I told him that (on Thursday), actually, and I think he had three hits in the first 10 minutes. I like how Vann responded. He hadn’t been initiating like he could, but he did (tonight). That tells me he’s coachable and has depth to his game.”
“I used it as fuel,” Yuhas said. “I listened to my coach and took what he said and tried to use it in my game. It ended up working out, but I use it as fuel instead of getting down about it.”
While Yuhas’ move to Bemidji came with adjustments, Serratore was confident he’d find his role with the Beavers.
“Hockey is hockey, to a certain degree,” Serratore said. “There’s nuances, but you know what hockey is? Play your tail off, take care of the puck, work hard, get above pucks on the reloads, pressure the puck on the forecheck, make sure you’re in good spots. To me, it’s all about habits. If you have good habits, you’ll be a good hockey player. It doesn’t matter what team you’re on or what system you play in. It’s all about details, and Vann has good habits and details.”
* Mitch Wolfe was named CCHA Defenseman of the Week. He scored a goal, blocked six shots and had a plus-2 on-ice rating in two games against Lake Superior State.
* Bemidji State is now 3-0-1 in games that go to overtime this season. No other team in the country has played four overtime games.
* Adam Flammang has a seven-game point streak, with four goals and nine assists. He has a point in nine of 10 games he’s played in this season.
* Flammang has 14 points in 10 games to lead all BSU players. Oliver Peer has 13 points in 12 games, with a team-high six goals.
* Max Namestnikov has eight points in 12 games to lead all BSU freshmen.
* Hudson Thornton blocked four shots, had a plus-3 on-ice rating and took six shots on goal to lead all BSU defensemen against Lake State.
* 18 of the 24 BSU skaters who have played a game this season have scored a goal.
* Bemidji State was credited with 14 shots on goal in its final two power plays on Friday night.
* Bemidji State’s six-game unbeaten streak to open league play is he longest since 2016-17 (13 games).
Northern Michigan 1, Michigan Tech 4
Bowling Green 4, Minnesota State 4 (MSU wins SO)
Augustana 4, Ferris State 2
Michigan Tech 4, Northern Michigan 2
Bowling Green 1, Minnesota State 1 (BGSU wins SO)
Augustana 0, Ferris State 2
* Michigan Tech’s Stiven Sardarian was named CCHA Forward of the Week. He had three goals and an assist in two games against Northern Michigan.
* Sardarian is the CCHA’s points leader with 15 in 10 games.
* Michigan Tech’s Teydon Trembecky is tied with Oliver Peer for the CCHA’s lead in goals with six.
* Michigan Tech is the only other unbeaten CCHA team in league play.
* Michigan Tech goalie Owen Bartoszkiewicz made 49 of 52 saves against Northern Michigan to win CCHA Goaltender of the Week.
* Northern Michigan sophomore Jakub Altrichter scored his first two goals this season against Michigan Tech.
* Northern Michigan freshman goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton stopped 45 of 48 shots he faced against Michigan Tech.
* Ferris State’s Gavin Best and Josh Zary each scored this weekend and are tied with Xavier Jean-Louis for a team-high in points with six. Ferris State sophomore goaltender Martin Lundberg made 45 of 47 saves this weekend in a split with Augustana.
* Augustana goaltender Josh Kotai has started all 10 games for the Vikings and has the CCHA’s second-best save percentage (.940) and goals-against average (1.81).
* Augustana’s Leo Bulgakov, Hunter Bischoff and Colton Friesen each scored in the split with Ferris State. All three are tied for Augustana’s lead in goals with four.
* Bulgakov, a freshman, leads Augustana in points with eight in nine games.
* Minnesota State has now played in two series in which both games ended in ties.
* Bowling Green freshman Noah Morneau won CCHA Rookie of the Week with two goals.
* Morneau scored an extra-attacker goal with 63 seconds left in regulation to force overtime on Friday night against Minnesota State.
* Minnesota State’s Liam Watkins, Tristan Lemyre and Luigi Benincasa each scored at least one goal against Bowling Green and are tied for the team lead in points with 10.
* Bowling Green goaltender Jacob Steinman came in relief for Cole Moore on Friday and started on Saturday. Steinman stopped 46 of 48 shots.
1-Michigan State
2-Michigan
3-Wisconsin
4-Minnesota Duluth
5-Denver
6-Maine
7-Penn State
8-North Dakota
9-Boston
10-Western Michigan
11-Massachusetts
12-Northeastern
13-Quinnipiac
14-Providence
15-Boston College
16-UConn
17-Colorado College
18-Michigan Tech
19-Ohio State
20-Minnesota State
