DATE: Dec. 30, 2005
Beavers fail to protect two-goal second-intermission lead at Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup

BURLINGTON, Vt. (Gutterson Fieldhouse) - Behind a resurgent offense which turned in its best effort in nearly a month, Bemidji State held a 3-1 advantage over No. 15 Clarkson heading into the third period in the first round of the Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup, hosted by the University of Vermont. But BSU could not hold the lead, and Clarkson rallied to force overtime with two third-period markers in an eventual 3-3 draw.

The Beavers picked up the game’s first goal at 5:25 of the first, as Cody Bostock (Salmon Arm, British Columbia) scored his second goal of the season with an assist from Garret Roth (Cary, Ill.). Roth was making his first appearance in the BSU lineup this season, and the assist was his first point since Nov. 13, 2004 against Bentley - a span of 35 games.

The lead would be short-lived, as BSU was caught for two penalties in a span of 12 seconds to leave the Golden Knights with an extended five-on-three power-play opportunity. Matt Allen (New Westminster, British Columbia) was caught tripping at 6:00 of the period, and Riley Weselowski (Pilot Mound, Manitoba) picked up a slashing call 12 seconds later.

With 23 seconds left on the Allen penalty, Clarkson pulled even on the seventh goal of the season from Mike Sullivan.

Jean-Guy Gervais (Winnipeg, Manitoba) put BSU back on top with his seventh goal of the season at 16:40 of the first, his first goal since Dec. 3. He took assists from Ryan Huddy (Stony Plain, Alberta) and Travis Winter (St. Cloud, Minn.), who extended his scoring streak to three on the marker.

BSU pushed its lead to 3-1 by scoring the only goal in a defensive-oriented second period which saw the teams combine for just eight shots on net. The Beaver defense allowed just three shots on net, and the offense was able to convert on one of its five on-target opportunities to grab a two-goal advantage.

Huddy picked up his fourth goal of the season and his second point of the night with help from Winter on an even-strength marker at 4:39 of the period.

BSU killed off two penalties and failed on one power play chance of its own throughout the remainder of the second period, and the 3-1 advantage held into the third.

Clarkson shaved BSU’s lead to a single goal, 3-2, with a short-handed goal at 11:22 of the third. Mike Arciero was called for hooking at 9:36 of the period, and with 14 seconds left on the penalty kill Nick Dodge took a pass from Chris Brekelmans and netted his eighth goal of the season.

The short-handed goal was the third allowed by the BSU power-play unit in the team’s last four games.

Dodge then pulled the Golden Knights even and forced overtime with his ninth marker of the season at 17:29.

Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) snapped a four-start losing streak, saving 25 of 28 shots faced to earn his first draw of the season and see his record move to 3-5-1. It is the second tie of Climie’s career, and both have come by scores of 3-3; he also earned a 3-3 draw, a game in which BSU also blew a 3-1 second-intermission lead by allowing two third-period goals, at North Dakota on Jan. 28, 2005.

David Leggio earned the draw for Clarkson, seeing his record move to 4-2-2. He saved 14 of 17 shots faced, and had no more than five saves in any single period.

BSU saw its winless streak reach five games (0-3-2) dating back to an 8-1 victory over Niagara on Dec. 3, and BSU’s winless streak in Friday games also reached five (0-4-1) dating back to a 4-1 victory at Wayne State (Mich.) on Nov. 11. The five-game winless streak is BSU’s longest since an 0-4-1 stretch from Feb. 6-20, 2004.

The tie was BSU’s second in a row against Clarkson, and left the Beavers winless in their last four meetings with the Golden Knights. Clarkson leads the all-time series with BSU, 2-1-2. The draw moved BSU to 3-4-5 all-time against ECAC Hockey League opponents.

Clarkson entered the contest as the No. 15-ranked team in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine top 15 poll, and the 3-3 draw marked the third time in 29 opportunities as a Division I program BSU escaped a matchup with a ranked team without a loss. BSU improved to 0-2-1 this season against ranked opponents and 1-26-2 since 1999. The Beavers remained .500 this season against teams ranked or receiving votes in the USA Today poll, moving to 3-3-1.

BSU saw its season record move to 9-6-2 with the draw, while the Golden Knights moved to 10-5-2. The Beavers wrap up play at the Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup tomorrow against either Dartmouth or Vermont. BSU would play Dartmouth at 4:00 p.m. while a matchup with No. 5 Vermont would get underway at 7:00 p.m.

--bsu--