June 19, 2008

[complete 2008-09 schedule]

BEMIDJI, Minn. — Seventeen home contests, 10 non-conference games scheduled against Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) opponents, eight games versus NCAA Tournament participants and a holiday tournament at Dartmouth highlight Bemidji State University's 36-game 2008-09 men's ice hockey schedule announced today by BSU head coach Tom Serratore. In addition to the Beavers' 18-game College Hockey America (CHA) line-up, 14 non-conference contest and a pair of tilts versus each of the University of Manitoba and the USA under-18 squad round out the schedule.

For the second consecutive season, the Beavers will play 17 contest on their home ice, splitting the 36-game itinerary between home and road ice (19). The team's 17 home contests match three other seasons for the most games played at the John Glas Fieldhouse in any season since the Beavers played 18 during the 1979-80 campaign. BSU also hosted 17 contests in 1999-2000, 2004-05 and last winter.

"This is going to be an exciting year of Beaver Hockey. We play five WCHA teams in addition to our CHA schedule and non-conference games versus Air Force, Manitoba and the USA Under-18 Team." Serratore added, "We're also headed to the Dartmouth Tournament, which will be a wonderful experience for us. It is always nice to play in a tournament-type setting to get you ready for playoffs."

The Beavers draw the curtain on the 2007-08 slate with four consecutive road games. Minnesota State University, Mankato is first on the docket hosting the Beavers for an Oct. 10-11 series. BSU has opened the seasons earlier in the calendar year only one time, in 2005-06 when the Beavers broke the seal on the 2005-06 season with an Oct. 7-8 series at University of Minnesota, Duluth. The following weekend The Beavers travel west to Colorado Springs, Colo. to rekindle a rivalry with former CHA foe Air Force. The two-game set marks the first time the Beavers and Falcons, coached by brothers Tom and Frank Serratore respectively, have met since AFA left the CHA in 2005-06 and is only the fifth and sixth times the teams have met as non-conference opponents.

The home portion of the schedule is set to begin Oct. 24-25 when BSU welcomes 2008 NCAA tournament participant St. Cloud State University to the John Glas. The series versus the Huskies dates back to 1948 and is the second consecutive season the Beavers have faced the WCHA squad, but will mark the first time the Huskies have played the Beavers on their home ice since the front half of a home-and-home series early in the 2001-02 campaign.

The Beavers continue play at the Glas the following weekend (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) with a first-ever series versus Manitoba. Although the Beavers and Bison have met on five other occasions since BSU made the jump to the major college hockey level in 1999-2000, the series marks the first time the teams have played on back-to-back nights during that span.

The CHA season officially gets underway Nov. 7-8 as Bemidji State makes its only trip to Huntsville, Ala. to face long-time rival University of Alabama-Huntsville. After a week off, BSU jumps right back into league play with a pair of road tilts at 2008 CHA Tournament Champion and NCAA Tournament participant Niagara University.

"It's interesting," Serratore commented about the 2008-09 CHA schedule. "With a four-team league we had to figure out how to make a conference schedule work. We decided on a balanced six-games schedule against each team for a total of 18 conference games." Serratore went on to say, "This particular year we are only home for eight of those games and on the road for 10 so there is no question it will be a challenge for us to repeat a CHA Champions."

The four member teams of the CHA will each play each other in three two-game series to make up the 18-game league schedule. In the unbalanced slate, BSU will play 10 on the road, which include two trips Niagara and Robert Morris University while hosting eight with four coming against UAH.

The Beavers break from conference play Nov. 28-29 to host Michigan Tech University. Meeting the WCHA foe for just the fourth time ever, MTU will make a trip to Bemidji, Minn. for the first time on record.

Dec. 5-6, BSU hosts Alabama-Huntsville before a two-week break for the holidays.

The Beavers return to action with a trip to the east coast during which BSU has the potential to play two first-time opponents. The Beavers open the event with a rare Sunday afternoon match up versus first-time foe University of Massachusetts (UMASS) Dec. 28 while Dartmouth will host Army. Winners of the first day's games will play each other Monday (Dec. 29) while the losers play each other in the classic format event. If BSU draws Dartmouth on the second day, it will also mark the first time the teams have met.

Just three days later, BSU enters into a home-and-home series with regional foe and 2008 NCAA Final Four qualifier University of North Dakota. The Beavers host the Fighting Sioux to open the calendar year, Jan. 2 and will make the 100-mile trip west on Highway 2 for a 7:35 p.m. contest at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

BSU hits the road for its second consecutive series versus a WCHA opponent Jan. 16-17 with a pair of road contests at Minnesota Duluth in a battle for the "Babe the Blue Ox" traveling trophy.

Of the Beavers' final 14 games of the 2008-09 regular season, 14 come versus CHA foe setting up a stretch run to the conference title. January 23-24, BSU hosts Niagara before traveling to Robert Morris for a two-game set Jan. 30-31. The Beavers are back home versus Alabama-Huntsville Feb. 6-7 before making their second trip to RMU in the span of two weeks. The Saturday and Sunday series accommodates for a long road trip during which BSU will play four CHA games in just six days. The Beavers continue their road swing with an immediate trip to Western New York to face Niagara in a Thursday/Friday series (Feb. 19-20). BSU then breaks from CHA competition Feb. 27-28 to host the USA Under-18 team before capping the regular season at the Glas for a two-game series versus Robert Morris--BSU's only home contests versus the Colonials.

At the conclusion of the regular season, BSU will participate in the CHA Tournament attempting to claim its third title in six years. The location of the Mar. 13-15 league tournament is yet to be determined.

The Bemidji State men’s ice hockey team is coming off a season in which it captured its third CHA regular-season title with a league mark of 13-4-3 and recorded its sixth consecutive season with a winning percentage of .500 or better recording an overall record of 17-16-3. Serratore carries a core of 18 players over to the 2008-09 roster including All-CHA players Cody Bostock (Sr., D, Salmon Arm, British Columbia) and Travis Winter (Sr., F, St. Cloud, Minn.) as well as CHA Rookie of the Year and CHA All-Rookie team pick Matt Read (So., F, Ilderton, Ontario).

--bsu--