DATE: Jan. 15, 2005
Brendan Cook scores game winner with 12 seconds left in extra period

BEMIDJI, Minn. (John Glas Fieldhouse) [stats] - Bemidji State senior wing Brendan Cook (Reston, Manitoba) became the program’s career Division I-era goal-scoring leader, tapping home his 48th career goal off a shot from the point by defenseman Andrew Martens (Friendswood, Texas). The goal propelled the Beavers to a 4-3 overtime thriller over the Robert Morris Colonials in College Hockey America play.

Robert Morris held leads of 2-1 and 3-2 during the game, with the Beavers forcing overtime on a goal by freshman Blaine Jarvis (Gladstone, Manitoba) with 4:43 to play in regulation. It marked the second consecutive weekend BSU completed a series sweep of a College Hockey America foe with an overtime win in Game 2. BSU toppled Air Force by an identical 4-3 count in overtime on Saturday, Jan. 8.

“Hats off to Robert Morris,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. “Two Saturdays in a row, the team we played didn’t deserve that fate.”

Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) got BSU off to a quick start, scoring his eighth goal of the season just 15 seconds after the opening faceoff. It was the second-fastest goal to open a game in BSU’s Division I era, trailing only a CHA-record eight-second goal against Niagara on Feb. 1, 2002. It was the fourth-fastest goal to open a period in BSU’s Division I era.

Jace Buzek answered Erickson with his first of two goals at 9:33 of the first period to even the score. Brett Hopfe scored on a power-play opportunity at 1:29 of the second to give the Colonials their first-ever lead over BSU, 2-1, but a Ryan Huddy (Stony Plain, Alberta) goal just 54 seconds later drew BSU back even, 2-2.

Buzek’s second goal at 5:35 of the second put the Colonials back on top, 3-2, where the score remained until Jarvis’s goal late in the third.

Robert Morris, which entered the weekend ranked dead last in College Hockey America in penalty killing at just .738, stymied BSU’s power play for the second consecutive night. The Colonials held BSU to 0-for-5 with the man advantage, and for the series limited the BSU power play to just one goal on 16 opportunities (.063).

“Robert Morris did a great job on the penalty kill,” Serratore said. “They played with intensity in a great road game for them. They’re a team I’m not looking forward to playing down the road.”

In its last eight games, BSU is just 4-for-39 (.103) with the man advantage.

Freshman Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) won his third consecutive start, saving 17 of 20 shots faced including the only shot he faced in overtime on a one-on-one breakaway. He has earned the win in each of BSU’s last four games and improved to 5-2-0 on the season.

Christian Boucher was the hard-luck loser in net for Robert Morris. He was strong for the second consecutive night, saving 35 of 39 shots faced. He saved 11 or more shots in each of the three periods in regulation - 11 shots in the first, 10 in the second and 11 in the third. He saw his record fall to 4-10-3 on the season.

Andrew Murray (Selkirk, Manitoba) extended his BSU Division I-era record scoring streak to 11 consecutive games with a pair of assists. He helped on Erickson’s goal 15 seconds into the game, and fed Martens for the shot which led to Cook’s tip-in and game winner in overtime. It marked Murray’s ninth multi-point game of the season and his eighth during his 11-game scoring sizz. Murray has rolled up 9-14=23 points during his scoring streak - an average of 2.09 points per game.

The pair of assists gives Murray 41-65=106 points for his career, extending his own BSU Division I-era scoring record. Murray’s 106 career points have him seventh place on the College Hockey America career leaderboards and vault him into a five-way tie for 39th place on BSU’s career all-time scoring list. His 65 career assists are a BSU Division I-era record and lift him past Ala.-Huntsville’s Jason Hawes and Niagara’s Joe Tallari for sole possession of sixth place in CHA history. Hawes and Tallari each had 64 assists during their respective careers.

With the victory, Bemidji State improved to 13-7-0, 8-2-0 in CHA play, and now lead College Hockey America by three points over second-place Alabama-Huntsville. Robert Morris fell to 4-13-3 overall and remains winless at 0-7-1 in CHA play.

The series sweep sends Bemidji State into next weekend’s road showdown with the second-place Chargers riding a five-game winning streak dating back to a win over Western Michigan on Dec. 18. The streak is tied with several others for the longest winning streak in BSU’s Division I era.

“We got the matchup we want next weekend and got our home points,” Serratore said. “It’s time to get ready for Huntsville on Monday.”

--bsu--