DATE: Dec. 18, 2004
Jake Bluhm’s first career goal propels Beavers to non-conference split

BEMIDJI, Minn. (John Glas Fieldhouse) [stats][game notes] - Bemidji State freshman wing Jake Bluhm (Red Wing, Minn.) picked up an early Christmas present he’ll not soon forget, scoring his first collegiate goal to help the Beavers fight off a furious Western Michigan rally en route to a 4-2 non-conference victory.

Western Michigan scored two power-play goals exactly four minutes apart - at 2:26 of the third period by Mike Erickson and at 4:26 by Daryl Moore - to erase a 2-0 Bemidji State lead. The teams remained tied until the 13:03 mark, when Bluhm took a pass from linemates Shane Holman (Hibbing, Minn.) and Blaine Jarvis (Gladstone, Manitoba) and lit the lamps for what eventually became the game-winning goal.

“Our fourth line played their hearts out,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said of Bluhm and his linemates. “I was very happy to see them benefit from all their hard work. They may have been our best line this weekend.”

Less than 20 minutes of game-time earlier, Bluhm’s heroics might have seemed unnecessary. After a sluggish first 30 minutes of hockey which saw the teams firmly tied at zero, BSU erupted for a pair of goals in the final five minutes of the second period.

Ryan Huddy (Stony Plain, Alberta) broke the scoring drought, punishing the Broncos for an interference penalty called against Jonathan Lupa with his second career power-play goal at 15:14 of the second period to put BSU ahead, 1-0.

The Beavers extended that lead to 2-0 when Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) found himself at exactly the right place at exactly the right time at 18:43 of the second. Erickson’s linemates Brendan Cook (Reston, Manitoba) and Andrew Murray (Selkirk, Manitoba) picked the puck up near BSU’s defensive blue line and played a two-man game up the left side of the ice, while Erickson snuck down to the goal line on the right side. Murray fed Cook, who unloaded a one-timer which struck pipe to the left of Western Michigan goaltender Daniel Bellissimo, and the puck caromed directly to Erickson. He scored easily on the rebound, and BSU would take a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.

But as has been the story in recent weeks, Bemidji State let its opponent claw back into the game with penalties. A hooking call on John Haider (Forest Lake, Minn.) and an obstruction-hooking whistle to Ryan Miller (Fergus Falls, Minn.) both led to Western Michigan power-play goals, and in a span of only four minutes BSU’s 2-0 lead had evaporated into a tie game.

But Bluhm’s goal at 13:03 snapped the deadlock and propelled BSU to the win.

The Broncos called time out with 1:41 to play and pulled Bellissimo for an extra attacker, but Jean-Guy Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba) was able to scoop up the puck on the left side and scored on the empty net for the game’s final 4-2 margin.

“We responded to Western Michigan’s goals nicely,” Serratore said. “It was the same script today [as last night], except this time we found a way to win.”

Layne Sedevie (Bismarck, N.D.) picked up the victory in net for Bemidji State, earning his seventh win in his last nine starts. He saved 19 of 21 shots faced, allowing only the two third-period power-play goals and running his season record to 8-5-0.

Bellissimo saved 39 of 42 shots faced for the Broncos in the losing effort. He saved all 16 shots he faced in the first period and 16 of 17 in the second, but saw his season record fall to 9-7-1.

Murray extended his personal scoring streak to seven games with his assist of Erickson in the second period, tying his career high. However, his streak of consecutive games with a goal scored ended at six, a streak which had tied BSU’s Division I-era record. Murray’s helper was his 60th career assist, extending his own BSU Division I-era record and moving him into eighth on the College Hockey America career charts. It was also career point no. 99 for Murray, moving him into ninth on the CHA career list and leaving him just one shy of Marty Goulet’s school Division I-era career scoring record.

The Beavers evened their all-time record against Western Michigan at 1-1-0 with the victory and improved to to 4-11-0 in their Division I era against Central Collegiate Hockey Association foes. Western Michigan fell to 11-3-0 all-time against CHA opponents and lost for the first time in six games against the league this year.

With the victory, Bemidji State will enter its holiday break with a record of 9-7-0 and sit second in the College Hockey America standings at 4-2-0. Western Michigan drops to 9-8-1, suffering its first non-conference loss of the season. Bemidji State is off until Jan. 7, when it opens a two-game CHA series against the U.S. Air Force Academy, coached by Frank Serratore - older brother of BSU head coach Tom Serratore. Serratore is 10-0-1 against his older brother as a collegiate head coach.

--bsu--