The Falcon hockey team swept Bemidji State at home to improve their overall record to 10-3-1 and 7-1-0 in conference play. It’s the team’s best start since the 1995-1996 season.
“We took care of our home-ice, which we wanted to take care of and needed to take care of,” said BG coach Chris Bergeron.
On Friday night, BG defeated Bemidji State 3-1. The Beavers took the lead early in the game with a first period goal. However, the Falcons scored three unanswered goals in the win.
Tommy Burke recorded 21 saves on the night. Burke now has a 4-2-1 record on the season.
Midway through the second period, BG forward Adam Berkle scored his first goal of the season to tie the game 1-1. Mike Sullivan and Dan DeSalvo recorded assists on the goal.
Mike Sullivan scored 17 seconds into the third period to make it 2-1 in favor of the Falcons. Defenseman Sean Walker recorded an assist on the play.
With 13 seconds remaining in regulation, Jakob Reichart added an empty net goal, giving the Falcons a 3-1 victory.
On Saturday night, BG defeated the Beavers 3-2. Falcon goalie Chris Nell recorded 35 saves on the night in his first career collegiate start at home. Nell now has a 4-0-0 record on the season.
“We were able to find a way. Chris Nell was a big part of that,” Bergeron said.
In the first period, Mitch McClain scored on the power play to give the Falcons an early 1-0 lead. Brandon Hawkins and Mark Friedman recorded assists on the play.
Matt Pohlkamp scored a shorthanded goal to give BG a 2-0 advantage at the 17:52 mark in the opening period. Nolan Valleau and Dan DeSalvo tallied assists on the goal.
At the 4:39 mark in the second period, Bemidji State scored an unassisted goal to make the score 2-1. Sean Walker added an empty net goal late in the third period to give the Falcons a 3-1 lead with less than a minute left in regulation.
Seconds later, the Beavers scored when they pulled their goalie to have a 6-on-5 man advantage. But, BG was able to hold off Bemidji State and earn a weekend series sweep at the BG Ice Arena.
“By no means was it a masterpiece, we’re very impressed with Bemidji State,” Bergeron said.
Saturday’s game had 19 combined penalties between both teams. Bemidji State had seven power play opportunities and was held scoreless on the man advantage.
“We have a great system. There’s a lot of poise and focus,” said defenseman Sean Walker.
The Beavers were held scoreless on the power play the entire weekend, going 0-for-9.
“I’ve been happy with the penalty kill. I don’t think we’ve been hanging on, I think we’ve been dominating,” Bergeron said.
BG’s next game will be on the road at Northern Michigan on December 5th. The next home game at the BG Ice Arena will be on January 9th when they take on the Alaska Nanooks.
