DATE: Nov. 19, 2005
Beavers surrender two power-play goals in crucial three-minute span in second period

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (Ewigleben Arena) - Bemidji State garnered a split with Ferris State, as Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) scored his fifth goal of the season with 26 seconds to play in regulation and lifted the Beavers to a 4-3 non-conference men’s hockey victory.

BSU rallied from a 2-0 deficit after one period of play, as the host Bulldogs controlled the first 20 minutes. Ferris State out-shot BSU 14-5 in the first period, and scored a power-play goal just 3:27 after the opening faceoff. BSU’s Lou Garritan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was called for hooking at 2:18, and Greg Rallo picked up his fourth goal of the season 1:09 later to give the Bulldogs an early lead.

Ferris State would add to its advantage at 14:01 of the first, as Corey Couturier picked up his second goal of the season - and second in as many nights - to put the Bulldogs on top 2-0.

The 2-0 lead held until the opening minutes of the second period. Juha Keinänen (Tampere, Finland), making his collegiate debut, picked up his first career goal just 1:35 into the period to pull the Beavers within a goal after assists from Jean-Guy Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Nathan Schwartzbauer (Wasilla, Alaska).

Ferris State’s Joe Van Culin was whistled for tripping at 3:53 of the second, and BSU needed less than a minute to balance the scoreboard. Andrew Martens (Friendswood, Texas) picked up his third goal of the season, unassisted, at 4:33 to even the score at two goals apiece.

Ferris State would fight back and temporarily recapture the lead when Greg Rallo took advantage of a hooking penalty to Shane Holman (Hibbing, Minn.) later in the second period. Holman went to the penalty box at 11:02, and Rallo scored after a feed from Mark Bomersback and Adam Welch at 11:50.

BSU took control of the game in the third period, out-shooting the Bulldogs 16-7 and scoring twice to escape with the victory. Anssi Tieranta (Lempäälä, Finland) scored his first career goal 7:07 into the period to even the score at three goals each, and the game entered the final minute with the teams apparently headed for overtime.

But Erickson took a feed from Martens and picked up his sixth career game-winner with just 24 seconds to play in regulation.

Junior Layne Sedevie (Bismarck, N.D.) turned in a strong performance in goal for Bemidji State. He improved to 5-0-0 on the season and posted his eighth victory in his last nine starts dating back to last season with 37 saves. He saved 12 of 14 shots faced in the first period, 18 of 19 in the second as BSU rallied to tie the score at 3-3, and all seven shots faced in the third period.

Sedevie’s 37 saves are his most in a game since a career-high 45-save effort at Ala.-Huntsville on Jan. 22, 2005 and are tied for second-most in any single game in his career.

He out-duelled Ferris State’s Mitch O’Keefe, who allowed each of BSU’s four goals. He saved 24 shtos and fell to 4-2-4 on the year.

Each team committed 11 minor penalties for 22 minutes, and each team had eight power-play opportunities on the night. It marked the seventh time in nine games BSU had been called for 10 or more penalties in a game. Ferris State went 2-for-8 with the man advantage while BSU went 1-for-8. The Bulldogs scored five power-play goals in the weekend series; BSU had allowed just five power-play goals in its first eight games of the season.

The two-game weekend series saw the teams combine for 45 penalties.

Bemidji State improved to 3-5 in eight all-time meetings with Ferris State, including 2-4 at Ewigleben Arena. In each of the last three series between BSU and FSU, the home team has won Game 1 by at least three goals and the road team has rallied to win Game 2. BSU is now 5-12 in its Division I era against Central Collegiate Hockey Association foes.

The victory improved Bemidji State to 8-2-0 on the season, while Ferris State dropped to 5-3-4 and lost for just the second time in its last 11 starts dating back to Oct. 15. BSU has its third bye in a span of six weeks next weekend, and returns to the ice Friday, Dec. 2 when it will open a two-game College Hockey America series against Niagara. The contest will represent BSU’s first home game since Oct. 15, a span of 47 days.

NOTES: BSU allowed a season-high 40 shots on goal... Luke Erickson moved into a three-way tie for second place on BSU’s career Division I-era leaderboard for game-winning goals with the sixth of his career... Juha Keinänen scored 1-1=2 points in his collegiate debut.
--bsu--