Bemidji State Claws Back to Earn 3-3 Tie at Minnesota Duluth

Despite facing an early onslaught from the home team, Bemidji State clawed back from a 3-1 deficit to earn a hard-fought 3-3 tie against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday evening. The Bulldogs took the extra point with a shootout victory to claim five out of six WCHA league points on the weekend.

Minnesota Duluth jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals by Katherine McGovern and Katerina Mrazova.

Despite limited offensive chances, defenseman Alexis Joyce was able to get Bemidji State on the board with a nice shot from the slot. But when UMD extended their lead to 3-1 on a goal by Brooklyn Schugel, the Bulldogs looked to be comfortably in control on their way to a sweep.

But Bemidji State answered back with a 5-on-3 power play goal late in the second period, and Emma Terres’ second goal of the game evened the score in the third period.

The Bulldogs appeared to net the game-winning goal with just under nine minutes remaining, but a lengthy video review determined Minnesota Duluth had interfered with the Bemidji State goalie.

Despite some up-and-down hockey with multiple quality chances in overtime, neither team could net the winning goal. Minnesota Duluth’s Lara Stadler tallied the only goal in the shootout to earn the Bulldogs the extra point.

Britni Mowat made 38 saves for Bemidji State, while Maddie Rooney stopped 26 shots in goal for Minnesota Duluth.

Notes and Thoughts

-I was very impressed with Minnesota Duluth, especially in the first half of the game. Their veteran first line is very legit and controlled play whenever they were on the ice. If you can fault them for anything tonight, it’s that they weren’t able to put Bemidji State away decisively in the early part of the game, and couldn’t maintain their intensity for the entire 60 minutes.

-It was a very gritty effort from Bemidji State. They’re not a particularly skilled offensive team, but they make the opposition earn everything against them. I thought there was no way they’d generate enough offense to score twice more when they went down 3-1 late in the second period, but they took advantage of the few chances that came their way.

-I didn’t catch the exact time, but Bemidji State didn’t attempt a shot from below the face-off dots in the UMD until well into the second period.

-The waved off would-have-been-game-winning goal by UMD was a very tough call. By the letter of the law, I think Lindh did technically have a foot in the crease and screened Mowat on the initial shot, but it definitely felt like a technicality.

-Minnesota Duluth has a really veteran group of forwards, but outside of the top line, the best player for the Bulldogs was freshman Sydney Brodt, who made a terrific pass to set up the first goal, and created multiple other chances with her strength and ability to make plays in tight spaces. She’s a really good player that will likely have to carry the Bulldogs next season.

-On a similar note, Bemidji State put together an all-freshman line with Kiki Radke-Haley Mack-Jackie Kaasa in the overtime, and they generated a couple nice chances. It might take some time before they’re big contributors, but the Beavers will really need their offense as the season progresses.

Fancy Stats

Shots on Goal: UMD: 10-18-10-3-41 BSU: 3-13-10-3-29

Shot attempts: UMD: 22-47-17-7-71 BSU: 8-18-16-4-46

Prime scoring area attempts: UMD: 8-11-9-3-31 BSU: 2-6-4-2-14

What do the numbers tell us?

Minnesota Duluth had a big advantage in terms of both attempts and quality of attempts, but Bemidji State got good goaltending and was opportunistic to scrape out a tie.

Final Scoring

5:09 Katherine McGovern from Sydney Brodt 1-0 Minnesota Duluth

Brodt won a race to a loose puck in the right corner and skated the puck behind the net where she made a nice pass to McGovern in the low slot. McGovern’s first attempt was blocked, but she was able to knock the rebound past Mowat for the goal.

19:51 Katerina Mrazova from Ashleigh Brykaliuk and Demi Crossman 2-0 Minnesota-Duluth

Brykaliuk skated the puck down the left wing and sent a spinning behind-the-back pass to the front of the net, where Mrazova tipped it into the upper corner of the net with her backhand.

Second Period

5:00 Alexis Joyce from Natalie Stanwood and Emma Terres 2-1 UMD

Joyce carried the puck into the offensive and cut from the left wing to the high slot where she fired a high wrist shot that beat Rooney to the blocker side.

12:13 Brooklyn Schugel from Katherine McGovern and Lynn Astrup 3-1 UMD

McGovern worked the puck out of the left corner to Schugel, who was all alone in front of the net. Schugel deked around Mowat and fired the puck into the upper corner of the net.

17:50 Emma Terres from Madison Hutchinson and Emily Berglund (5x3 power play) 3-2 Minnesota Duluth

Bemidji State worked the puck around with a 5-on-3 power play to Terres at the top of the right circle. Terres took a one-timer slap shot that beat Rooney for the goal.

Third Period

7:13 Emma Terres from Alexis Joyce and Natalie Stanwood 3-3 tie

Joyce took a shot from the point and Terres collected the rebound at the right cirlce and backhanded it back into the net.

Overtime

None