Jan. 24, 2003
BEMIDJI, Minn. - [box score] It was just the game you might have expected between two rivals. The Bemidji State Beavers and the Air Force Falcons went toe-to-toe for 60 minutes in a game not decided until the waning moments, when Riley Riddell's empty-net goal at 19:34 of the third period sealed a 4-2 BSU win.

The Beavers enjoyed one of their most-productive offensive outings of the season. The contest marked just the third time this season BSU has managed more than three goals in a game, and the Beaver power-play put up two goals for the first time since Dec. 6, 2002 at Minn.-Duluth.

"It's nice to get four goals, and we had opportunities to get more," BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. "It was nice to see our power-play clicking. Last year we had the No. 1 power-play in the CHA and this was a good step towards that this year.

"We played a complete game," Serratore added.

Air Force scored the game's first goal, picking up an even-strength marker from Ryan Wiggins at 16:56 of the first period. But the Beavers would need just a minute and a half to counter, as Jeff McGill took advantage of a Brian Reaney holding penalty and got BSU on the board with a power-play goal at 19:23 of the first.

The teams then played a wild second period which featured six penalties (three on each team) and three total goals scored in a span of just a minute and 49 seconds. The Beavers took their first lead of the night at 6:14 of the second on a wind-up blast from the blue line by defenseman Bryce Methven, his first goal of the season. Air Force knotted things up less than a minute later, as Andy Berg scored his CHA-leading 20th goal of the season and NCAA-leading 14th power-play goal, punishing BSU for an Andrew Murray boarding penalty with the lamp-lighter at 7:05.

But Myles Kuharski answered the call 58 seconds later, powering an unassisted marker past Air Force goaltender Mike Polidor at 8:03 to give BSU a 3-2 lead. Kuharski, who assisted on Methven's goal less than two minutes earlier, picked up his first career multi-point game and earned first-star honors for the contest.

The score remained 3-2 until the final minutes of the third period. Air Force called time out at 18:14 of the period and pulled Polidor, and appeared to score the game-tying goal just four seconds later. But that goal was waved off due to a high-sticking call, and when Polidor was again pulled for an extra attacker with 44 seconds to play in regulation, Riddell found the loose puck and put home the insurance tally for BSU at 19:34 of the third. It was Riddell's first career empty-net goal.

Grady Hunt played well between the pipes for BSU in support of the offense. While the defense in front of him limited the Falcons to just 26 shots for the game, and just six in the pivotal third period, Hunt stopped 24 shots to pick up his sixth win of the season. The win was also the 20th of his career. Hunt also picked up the second assist on Riddell's insurance goal in the third, scoring his second career point. Hunt also had an assist Nov. 25, 2000 against Wayne State.

The victory was the 18th of Serratore's career, moving him past Eric Hughes into sole possession of fourth place on the BSU career victories chart. Next for Serratore is Mike Gibbons, who won 30 games for BSU during the 1982-83 season in his only year on the bench. The win also improved Serratore to 3-0-1 as a head coach against his older brother Frank, the Air Force head coach.

"It was a great game," Serratore said. "Both teams competed hard. This was a game for men only; there were a lot of bodies flying around. We were fortunate to come out on the right side."

With tonight's win, Bemidji State improves to 6-8-6 on the season while Air Force drops to 8-16-1. The Beavers pick up two points in College Hockey America play, improving to 4-3-2 in the league and moving to 10 points. Air Force falls to 2-8-1 against the circuit and holds at five points. BSU now trails Niagara by just four points for second place in the league. The teams wrap up their two-game CHA series tomorrow afternoon. Opening face-off from the John Glas Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Central time.

SCORING SUMMARY
USAF: Mike Polidor (58:47 / 15-14-9=38 saves / 3 GA / L, 7-16-1); empty net (0:57 / 1 GA)
BSU: Grady Hunt (60:00 / 7-11-6=24 saves / 2 GA / W, 6-5-3)
Penalties/Power Plays: USAF: 6-12/1-4; BSU: 5-10/2-5
three stars: 1/Myles Kuharski, BSU; 2/Andy Berg, USAF; 3/Grady Hunt, BSU