DATE: Feb. 18, 2005
Teams combine for two goals in final 27 seconds; BSU’s CHA lead shaved to three points

BEMIDJI, Minn. (John S. Glas Fieldhouse) [stats] - Alabama-Huntsville chipped Bemidji State’s lead in College Hockey America down to three points, surviving a late flurry which saw the teams combine for two goals in a span of 10 seconds in the game's final minute to post a 3-1 victory over the Beavers tonight.

“The better team definitely won tonight,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. “They came to play; they executed. They’re a team that plays very well with a lead, which was evident tonight. This was a disappointing game for us when you factor in what was at stake for us, in front of our best crowd of the year.”

Bemidji State got the game off to a rapid start, out-shooting the Chargers by a decisive 20-4 margin in the first period. However, the Beavers could not solve Charger netminder Scott Munroe, who held BSU scoreless, while the visitors managed to make one of their four shots count. Seconds after BSU had successfully killed off its second penalty of the period, a Charger power play which featured 45 seconds of five-on-three time, Huntsville defenseman Matt Montes took a pass from Doug Watkins and unloaded a bomb from the blue line above the right faceoff circle. His shot was tipped in front of the goal by Bruce Mulherin and slipped behind BSU goaltender Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead they would take into the first intermission.

The Alabama-Huntsville defense was strong in the second period, turning aside the BSU onslaught from a period earlier and holding the Beavers to just five shots on net. BSU did not get its first shot on goal until more than eight minutes had elapsed in the second period.

Grant Selinger staked the Chargers to a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal at 2:42 of the second, with assists from Brett McConnachie and Steve Canter.

At 11:19 of the second, Mulherin, who entered the game as the nation’s leading per-game scorer, was hit hard into the far-side boards near the BSU blue line. He was down for several minutes and skated off the ice under his own power, but did not return to the game.

Alabama-Huntsville’s 2-0 lead held until the final minutes of the third period. BSU pulled Climie for an extra attacker with 2:03 to play in regulation, and after 1:46 with an extra skater was able to break up the shutout. Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) fired on Alabama-Huntsville goaltender Scott Munroe from between the face-off circles, and Munroe could not control the rebound. Andrew Murray (Selkirk, Manitoba) picked up the loose puck on the left side of the crease and beat Munroe to pull BSU within a goal, 2-1, with 27 seconds to play.

But Huntsville’s Jared Ross, the defending CHA Co-Player of the Year, won the ensuing draw and scored against BSU’s empty net from center ice with 17 seconds to play for the game’s final 3-1 margin.

Climie saved 18 of 20 shots faced in the loss, which saw his eight-decision unbeaten streak come to an end. He falls to 8-3-1 on the season and suffers his first career loss in a game which did not end in overtime. Climie had not been beaten since Dec. 17, 2004.

Munroe, who finished as the game’s first star, saved 38 of the 39 shots he faced including all 20 during the wild first period to see his season record improve to 13-7-4.

Murray’s goal marked the third time in BSU’s Division I era it has broken up a shutout by scoring a goal in the game’s final minute. It improved his career totals to 45-67=112 points, moving him into a tie with Wade Froelich (1978-82) for 33rd on BSU’s career scoring list. Murray, who already is BSU’s career Division I-era scoring leader, is the first player to start his career at BSU during its Division I era and climb into the program’s career Top 50 in scoring.

Alabama-Huntsville finished 1-for-5 on the power play, snapping a dominant streak by the Bemidji State penalty killers. Selinger’s second-period power-play marker snapped a streak of 30 consecutive penalties killed by BSU over a five-game span, and ended the unit’s streak of consecutive minutes without allowing a power-play goal at 336:18. BSU had not allowed a power-play goal since 9:38 of the second period at North Dakota on Jan. 28, 2005.

“There’s no question it’s a must-win,” Serratore said of tomorrow’s series finale. “If they’re up a point, up three points the rest of the way, there’s no way they’re going to give that up. They’re too good of a hockey team.”

Tonight’s loss drops Bemidji State to 18-10-1 overall and 13-4-0 in College Hockey America play, while Alabama-Huntsville sees its season mark climb to 14-7-4 and 11-3-1 in CHA play. The loss narrowed BSU’s lead over UAH for first place in the CHA standings to three points. The teams will wrap up their two-game series tomorrow evening with a 7:05 p.m. faceoff at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse on the BSU campus.

--bsu--