Since opening the 2008-09 season with four straight losses, Bemidji State has found their game going 5-3. Included are three victories against WCHA opponents and a pair of splits with conference opponents on the road.
More important is that the Beaver offense has started to find the back of the net with eight goals over the past three games, after scoring more than two goals in a game just twice over the first nine.
The contributions are coming from varied sources with six different goal scorers over the last three games. Senior forward Matt Francis has made quite a return from a separated shoulder with two goals and an assist over four games. And Tyler Scofield is starting to find his touch around the net with half of his season total six goals coming over the past four games.
The Beavers swept Michigan Tech on home ice last weekend with sophomore goaltender Matt Dalton picking up a shutout one night and his first collegiate assist on the game-winning goal the next.
This week it’s Alabama-Huntsville in town for the first of two trips this season. The two teams split in Huntsville the first weekend of November with game two going to the Chargers in overtime—their first win of the season.
The two games mark the final action for Bemidji State prior to a three-week break. Their next action is the Ledyard Bank Tournament at Dartmouth right after the Christmas holiday.
It’s Early … Right?
The calendar just turned to December and two CHA teams have played four conference games and two have played just two. But is it too early to be concerned with the standings?
Defending regular season champ Bemidji State is in first place by a point over Robert Morris and Alabama-Huntsville with playoff defending champ Niagara in last place. Robert Morris and Niagara have only played two league games each and the two hook up Friday in Moon Township for a third.
What is interesting is that not one of the CHA teams has scored more goals than they have allowed with Robert Morris have the largest differential at -17 while Niagara the smallest at -4. But the Colonials are the only team to have scored more goals than it has allowed in conference games, albeit only two of them.
RMU With A Home/Roadie
Multi-venue weekends happen quite often in tight geographical conferences such as Hockey East and ECAC Hockey, but CHA teams are used to staying for two games in the same location.
After their home game against conference (both now and future?) foe Niagara, Robert Morris will then head two hours up the road to battle Ohio State at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
The Colonials were 2-5 against Niagara last season including losing their final three of the season, but split two games with the Purps at the Island Sports Complex last season.
Ohio State defeated RMU 4-0 three weeks ago at The Igloo in Pittsburgh despite 32 shots on net by the upstart Colonials.
Another Step
From the Tuesday, Dec. 2 edition of the Bemidji Pioneer: The Bemidji City Council approved the hiring of an environmental firm (Environmental Engineering of Grand Forks, N.D.) for work associated with the regional events center.
Environmental Engineering will be charged with ensuring that the events center meets the state of Minnesota’s sustainability standards and that the facility operates as efficiently as possible.
