DATE: Feb. 12, 2005
Sophomore Layne Sedevie notches first career shutout, leads Beavers to sweep

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (RMU Island Sports Center) [stats] - Bemidji State sophomore goaltender Layne Sedevie (Bismarck, N.D.) saved all 18 shots he faced, recording his first career shutout in a 3-0 BSU victory over Robert Morris tonight in College Hockey America play.

Sedevie saved all six shots he faced in the first period, saved three in the second and seven in the third to record his first shutout in his 28th collegiate start.

He improved to 10-7-0 on the season and picked up his second consecutive victory in goal. Sedevie has allowed just five goals in his last three starts.

Sedevie out-dueled Robert Morris freshman netminder Christian Boucher, who was stellar in goal for the Colonials. Boucher turned aside a school-record 50 shots with 19 saves in the first period, 20 on 21 shots faced in the second, and 14 saves on 16 shots as BSU added a pair of insurance goals in the third. Boucher saw his season mark fall to 7-13-4.

In Boucher’s three losses to Bemidji State this season, the Colonials have mustered a total of just four goals.

After a scoreless first period which saw the Beavers out-shoot the host Colonials by a margin of 19-8, Bemidji State received all the offense it would need at 10:48 of the second period. Jean-Guy Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba) punished the Colonials for a tripping penalty against Nick Pernula, scoring with help from Ryan Huddy (Stony Plain, Alberta) and Myles Kuharski (Neepawa, Manitoba) to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead.

BSU then put up two insurance goals to seal the game in the third period. Kuharski scored unassisted for his fourth lamp-lighter of the season at 8:10 of the stanza, and freshman Matt Pope (Langley, British Columbia) scored his seventh marker of the campaign against an open net with three seconds to play in regulation for the game’s final 3-0 margin.

Kuharski assisted on Pope’s marker to give him a hand in all three BSU goals of the contest. It marks Kuharski’s first three-point game since a 1-2=3 point night against Alabama-Huntsville on Feb. 21, 2004 and could indicate the beginning of his traditional late-season scoring explosion. In his three seasons at Bemidji State, Kuharski has scored just 27 points in 75 games played (0.36 ppg) prior to the second weekend of games in February. However, with tonight’s three-point effort he has scored 32 points in 18 games played (1.78 ppg) after the Feb. 10 calendar date.

Nathan Schwartzbauer (Wasilla, Alaska) also assisted on Pope’s empty-netter for his eighth helper of the season. All eight of Schwartzbauer’s assists this year have come against CHA opposition.

BSU won for the second consecutive night without a point from its top line of seniors Brendan Cook (Reston, Manitoba) and Andrew Murray (Selkirk, Manitoba) and sophomore Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.). BSU had been 0-2-1 entering this weekend’s series when its first line failed to score, and Robert Morris becomes the first team this season to hold a line of Cook, Murray and Erickson scoreless in both games of the series.

Robert Morris went 0-for-2 on the power play, continuing a dominant streak by the Bemidji State penalty killers. BSU not allowed a power-play goal in its last five games played and has killed off 28 consecutive opponent chances with the man advantage. The Beaver penalty-killers have run their streak of minutes without allowing a power-play goal to 313:36, the fourth-longest streak in the program’s Division I era. The last power-play goal allowed by BSU came at 9:38 of the third period on Jan. 28, 2005 at then-no. 12 North Dakota.

The teams combined for just six penalties, with a season-low two penalties for four minutes called against the Beavers. BSU’s two penalties are its fewest in a game since Dec. 14, 2002 when it was also whistled for two penalties in a 3-3 draw with Niagara.

The win gives Bemidji State a four-game season-series sweep of Robert Morris, with three of the four victories coming by two goals or less including two overtime victories.

The victory improves Bemidji State to 18-9-1 overall and 13-3-0 in College Hockey America play. The win, coupled with Alabama-Huntsville’s 3-2 loss to Air Force earlier today, gives BSU a five-point cushion atop the CHA standings with just four games to play in the regular season. Robert Morris falls to 7-17-4 and 3-11-2 in CHA play. BSU is back in action Feb. 18-19 with a two-game series against Alabama-Huntsville. BSU can clinch the College Hockey America regular-season title for the second consecutive season with a sweep in the series. Opening face-offs are scheduled for 7:35 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. Central time on the BSU campus.

--bsu--