DATE: Nov. 22, 2004
Beavers have won five consecutive games for just fourth time in its Division I era

FRASER, Mich. (Compuware Arena) [stats][game notes] - The Bemidji State men’s ice hockey program picked up its fifth consecutive win, tying with three others for the longest winning streak in the program’s Division I era, with a 2-1 victory over the Wayne State Warriors in College Hockey America play. The victory was the third in four days for BSU, which is in the midst of a four-games-in-five-days Thanksgiving road trip.

Defenseman John Haider (Forest Lake, Minn.) had a huge night for the Beavers, contributing on all three BSU goals with a goal and two assists. Haider got BSU on the board with an even-strength goal at 5:05 of the second period with helpers from Jean-Guy Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Ryan Miller (Fergus Falls, Minn.). It marked the fourth time in Haider’s career he has scored the game’s first goal.

Haider helped stake BSU to a 2-0 lead just over 11 minutes later. He and Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) fed Peter Jonsson (Astorp, Sweden) on a power play, and Jonsson’s first goal of the season at 16:25 of the period put the Beavers ahead by two.

That lead would hold for just over two minutes, as Wayne State rookie sensation Stavros Paskaris netted his seventh goal of the season at 18:42 of the period.

BSU took the 2-1 lead into the second intermission, and Wayne State would lift goaltender Matt Kelly in the final minute for an extra attacker in an attempt to force overtime.

But Haider found Brendan Cook (Reston, Manitoba), who scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season against the empty net and gave BSU the game’s final 3-1 margin. It marked Cook’s second career empty-net goal, and his first since Nov. 14, 2003 against Minn.-Duluth.

Haider’s goal and two assists marked his second multi-point game this season, and his second with more than one assist. It was Haider’s first career game with more than one assist against a College Hockey America foe.

Haider also set a College Hockey America single-game record with 13 shots on goal.

Layne Sedevie picked up his fourth consecutive victory, and has allowed just two goals in his last 121:46 of work - an 0.99 goals-against average. He saved 25 of 26 shots faced, bringing his total to 54 saves on 56 shots faced (.964) in his last two starts. Sedevie improved to 5-3-0 on the season and has now won three consecutive road starts for the second time in his career.

Matt Kelly saved 41 shots for the Warriors in the losing effort. He allowed two goals in 59:50 of work, saving 14 shots in the first period, 16 in the second and 11 in the third.

Bemidji State committed eight penalties for 35 minutes, including a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct on freshman Jake Blum (Red Wing, Minn.) and a 10-minute misconduct against the bench with 41 seconds to play in regulation. Wayne State drew 11 penalties for 33 mintues, with freshman Tylor Michel drawing a major for excessive roughness and a game disqualification with 41 seconds left.

BSU converted on 2 of 10 power play opportunities in the contest, with the 10 power-play chances tied for second-most in its Division I era. Wayne State went 0-for-6 with the man advantage. The shutout improved BSU’s penalty-killing unit to 42 of 43 (.977) over its last five games.

Bemidji State improved to 12-5-3 all-time against Wayne State and extended its winning streak in the series to five, longest by either team since the programs first met on Feb. 18, 2000. BSU has won each of the last three road games in the series, and in those three games has held Wayne State to a total of four goals. BSU is 5-2-2 all-time at Wayne State and has not lost since Feb. 8, 2003.

The victory continues BSU’s recent domination of College Hockey America opposition. In its last 28 regular-season CHA games, BSU has posted a 23-3-2 (.857) record.

The win improved Bemidji State to 6-3-0 on the season, 3-0-0 in College Hockey America play. Wayne State drops to 7-5-1 overall and falls to 1-1-1 in CHA play. The Beavers and Warriors wrap up their two-game non-conference series tomorrow evening. Opening face-off is slated for 7:05 p.m. Eastern time at Compuware Arena.

--bsu--