Nov. 21—BEMIDJI — Payton Remick made a habit out of burning the Bemidji High School girls hockey team during her prep career at Roseau. Now a freshman at St. Cloud State, she’s doing it against the Beavers.
The rookie forward had two goals and an assist to send the Huskies past the Bemidji State women’s hockey team 4-0 in the series opener at the Sanford Center.
It started late in the first period. Remick blocked a BSU point-to-point pass, which landed on teammate Svenja Voigt’s stick. Remick skated towards open ice and took a Voigt pass for a breakaway.
One-on-one with Bemidji State goaltender Kaitlin Groess, Remick’s shot ricocheted off her left pad and into the net to give SCSU a 1-0 lead.
She wasn’t done there.
Remick found herself with another golden scoring opportunity eight minutes into the third period. With the Beavers down 2-0, BSU attempted to break out of its defensive zone. SCSU’s Avery Farrell stole it away and quickly passed it cross ice for Remick, who had an open net for her second goal of the game.
Adding an assist at the end of the game, Remick had the best game of her young collegiate career, leading St. Cloud State to their second WCHA win this season.
“We just couldn’t put the puck in the net,” Beavers head coach Amber Frkylund said. “I liked our first and second (period), I don’t think our third was our best. But there’s some things that we can take away from this game and reset and come back tomorrow and be ready to go.”
BSU had chances to score, especially on the power play. But the Beavers couldn’t capitalize on goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö, who stopped all 21 BSU shots Friday.
“I think their goaltender played really well,” Frkylund said. “For us, it’s a mentality of trying to get into that place in the net front there and getting pucks in. … But we just couldn’t find (the net).”
Kyrkkö wasn’t the only one blocking shots, either. St. Cloud State had 15 in total, adding to the offensive woes for Bemidji State.
“We hit a lot of shin pads tonight,” Frkylund said. “I think we had a tough time finding pucks, getting pucks to the net. So, (it’s) just talking about opportunities that we have in the offensive zone to pull their coverage away from the net and open up lanes.
“But it’s kind of a mindset, too, at this point. Just making sure we know they have a good goaltender and making sure we get pucks to the net.”
After killing off their second penalty, SCSU’s Laura Zimmermann tipped a Grace Wolfe shot from the point to make it 2-0 early in the second period.
The Huskies tacked on two more in the third period: Remick’s goal and the first collegiate tally for freshman Reese Strauts at 18:04 in the third period.
Groess came up with big stops late to keep the game within reach for the Beavers, but the offense failed to support her. She stopped 22 of 27 SCSU shots.
“She made some incredible saves for us,” Frkylund said. “There were some pucks there that I don’t know where she came from. … She came up with some big saves in some key moments.”
Friday was the fifth time Bemidji State (3-9-1) was shut out through 13 games this season. The Huskies (5-9-1), meanwhile, broke their seven-game winless streak. Despite a bad stretch on paper, they seemed to find their game against No. 1 Wisconsin in a 4-4 tie last weekend.
“They obviously are a good team,” Frkylund said. “I think we prepared well for them; we knew what to expect. … (But) they capitalized on their opportunities today. And obviously that was the difference in the game.”
St. Cloud State 4, Bemidji State 0
BSU 0 0 0 — 0
SCSU 1 1 2 — 4
First period — SCSU GOAL: Remick (Voigt) 9:54.
Second period — SCSU GOAL: Zimmermann (Wolfe, Pion) 5:20.
Third period — SCSU GOAL: Remick (Farrell) 6:58; SCSU GOAL: Strauts (Farrell, Remick) 18:04.
Saves — Groess (BSU) 22; Kyrkkö (SCSU) 21.
