DATE: Dec. 2, 2005
Beavers fall out of first place in College Hockey America standings

BEMIDJI, Minn. (John Glas Fieldhouse) - Bemidji State’s Ryan Miller (Fergus Falls, Minn.) erased a 3-2 deficit with his fifth goal of the season at 12:47 of the third period, but Niagara’s Ted Cook answered just 10 seconds later to help propel the Purple Eagles to a 4-3 victory in College Hockey America play tonight in Bemidji.

Niagara needed just 1:19 to score the game’s first goal. BSU could not contain a loose puck in front of its own net, and Justin Cross took advantage from just outside the crease to put the Purple Eagles on top, 1-0. It marked the third time in BSU’s last seven games, and second time in its last three, it allowed a goal in the first two minutes of the contest.

The one-goal lead for Niagara held until the 14:15 mark of the first, when Jean-Guy Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba) evened the scoreboard. Ryan Huddy (Stony Plain, Alberta) fed Juha Keinänen (Tampere, Finland) in the BSU defensive zone. Keinänen made a nice play with the puck to feed Gervais, who beat Niagara goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten five-hole on the breakaway.

Gervais’ marker sparked a burst of three goals in a span of 4:13 for the two teams. Niagara recaptured the lead, 2-1, after Matt Pope (Langley, British Columbia) drew a two-minute minor for charging Van Nynatten behind the Niagara net at 17:15. The Purple Eagles needed just over a minute to take advantage, as Ted Cook scored his ninth goal of the season on the power-play opportunity at 18:18.

Cook’s power-play goal was the first allowed by BSU in regular-season CHA play since 19:24 of the second period at Air Force on Oct. 28, 2005. Since then, BSU had killed 25 consecutive penalties over a span of 218:54 against CHA opponents.

Gervais again knotted the score with his second marker of the period, needing just 10 seconds to answer Cook’s goal. With help from Huddy and Andrew Martens (Friendswood, Texas), he evened the score at two goals apiece and secured his third career multi-goal game.

Niagara pulled back ahead at 6:50 of the second when Jason Williamson beat BSU goaltender Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) over the right shoulder with a wrister from the point. The Purple Eagles would take the 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

The 3-2 lead for the visitors held until midway through the third period. Miller helped BSU take advantage of a tripping penalty against Niagara’s Matt Caruana, and with help from good puck movement by the BSU power play and passes from Martens and Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) was able to draw the Beavers even at three goals apiece.

But Cook responded off the ensuing draw, with help from Les Reaney and Armando Scarlato, to put the Purple Eagles back on top, 4-3, with 6:47 to play in regulation.

Climie was off for the game’s final 1:07, with Niagara narrowly missed an empty-net goal, but BSU was unable to force overtime.

“We’re getting everyone’s ‘A’ game, so we better be able to play with them,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. “We played a 20-minute hockey game tonight, and you can’t win against good teams if you’re only going to play 20 minutes. This was a playoff-type hockey game, and that’s not for teams who can’t leave everything out on the ice.”

Climie notched 26 saves for Bemidji State, but allowed four goals in 58:53 of work and saw his season record fall to 3-3-0. He has gone 3-4-0 in his last seven decisions after posting an 11-2-1 mark in his previous 13.

Van Nynatten out-duelled Climie, turning away 35 of 38 shots faced to pick up his CHA-leading seventh victory of the season. He saved 18 of 19 shots faced in the third period alone.

The game was relatively penalty-free, as the teams combined for just eight penalties. Niagara drew three minor penalties for six minutes, while BSU drew five penalties for 18 minutes, including a 10-minute misconduct against Erickson following Niagara’s third goal.

Niagara went 1-for-4 on the power play, while BSU went 1-for-3.

Bemidji State falls to 9-13-4 all-time against Niagara, 6-4-3 in games played in Bemidji. The Purple Eagles have won each of the last two meetings on BSU’s home ice and three of the last five. The win gives Niagara its first consecutive wins in its series with Bemidji State since winning three in a row from Feb. 14 - Dec. 13, 2002.

BSU drops to 8-3-0 on the season with the loss, 3-2-0 in College Hockey America play. Niagara improves to 7-6-1 overall and 3-1-1 in CHA play; with seven points, Niagara moves past BSU into first place in the CHA standings. Bemidji State and Niagara wrap up their two-game College Hockey America series tomorrow night. Opening faceoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. Central time from the John Glas Fieldhouse on the BSU campus.

--bsu--