DATE: March 4, 2006
Beavers post first two-game CHA series sweep of Chargers, clinch first-round bye in 2006 CHA Tournament

BEMIDJI, Minn. (John S. Glas Fieldhouse) - Bemidji State junior goaltender Layne Sedevie (Bismarck, N.D.) posted his second career shutout, and the Beavers tied a College Hockey America single-game record by scoring five power-play goals as BSU completed its first-ever weekend CHA series sweep of the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers with a 5-0 victory.

The victory helped Bemidji State pull into a second-place tie in the CHA standings with Alabama-Huntsville on the final day of the regular season. The Beavers will be seeded second in the 2006 CHA Tournament and receive a first-round by way of an 11-7 total-goals victory in the four-game season series between the teams.

After a scoreless first period, the Beavers put up three power-play goals on three successive opportunities in a span of less than five minutes of the second period to all but secure the victory. Ryan Huddy (Stony Plain, Alberta) scored his seventh marker of the season at 3:39 of the second after a hooking penalty to Huntsville’s Matt Sweazey for the game’s first goal - and ultimately the game-winner.

Ryan Miller (Hibbing, Minn.) added his 16th goal of the season at 5:54, and Rob Sirianni (Edmonton, Alberta) capped the outburst with his first of two goals in the contest at 8:26.

Sirianni’s second goal of the night came at 3:02 of third to help BSU build a 4-0 lead, and Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) put a cap on the night’s scoring with his 15th marker of the season with 2:15 to play in regulation. Erickson’s goal gave him 102 points for his career, moving him into a tie with Brendan Cook for second place on BSU’s career Division I era scoring list.

Sedevie threw his second career shutout, stopping all 25 Charger shots he faced in 59:55 of work. It is just the second time in 40 all-time meetings in its series the Beavers have shut out the Chargers, and the second time in the last five meetings dating back to last year’s CHA Tournament championship game. The victory was Sedevie’s 10th of the season, and he improved his season mark to 10-6-1.

Sedevie’s shutout was his first since Feb. 12, 2005 at Robert Morris. It is BSU’s second shutout this season, the 16th in BSU’s Division I era and the 85th by an individual goaltender in BSU’s history.

Scott Munroe posted 34 saves in a 60:00 complete game, but allowed all five BSU goals. He took the loss and saw his season mark fall to 16-10-2.

BSU improved to 14-25-1 all-time against the Chargers, and took the lead in the all-time series in Bemidji at 8-7-1. BSU is 6-3-1 in the last 10 meetings with the Chargers in Bemidji since the 2001 season. BSU’s two-game series sweep of Ala.-Huntsville is its first in the College Hockey America era, and first since capturing 3-2 and 4-2 victories in the NCAA Division II national championship series on March 14-15, 1997.

BSU’s five-goal margin of victory marked its biggest win ever over the Chargers, besting a 7-3 win in Bemidji on Nov. 16, 2001. The shutout helped BSU out-score the Chargers 11-7 in the season series, with UAH’s seven goals marking its fewest in a four-game CHA season series against BSU. It is just the second time in seven CHA seasons BSU has out-scored the Chargers in a four-game season series; BSU won the season total-goals series 17-15 in 2002-03.

Bemidji State finishes the 2005-06 regular season at 18-13-3 with tonight’s victory, and finish tied for second in College Hockey America at 12-7-1 in league play (25 points). Ala.-Huntsville finishes at 18-12-2 and tied BSU for second place in CHA at 12-7-1 (25 points). Bemidji State earns a first-round bye in the 2006 College Hockey America Tournament, and will play the winner of the Ala.-Huntsville vs Wayne State quarterfinal game in the CHA Tournament semifinals on March 11, 2006. The 2006 CHA Tournament will be held in Detroit, Mich., from March 10-12, at the Michigan State Fairgrounds.

CHA TOURNAMENT SEEDING:
u Niagara wins the CHA regular-season championship outright (13-6-1, 27 points) and will be the No. 1 seed in the 2006 CHA Tournament.
u Bemidji State finishes in a second-place tie with Ala.-Huntsville in the CHA regular-season standings (12-7-1, 25 points), but will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament and receive a first-round bye based on tiebreaker #3, goal differential in the season head-to-head series.
u Alabama-Huntsville finishes in a second-place tie with Bemidji State (12-7-1, 25 points) but will be the tournament’s No. 3 seed on a tiebreaker loss.
u Robert Morris is seeded fourth.
u Air Force is seeded fifth.
u Wayne State (Mich.) is seeded sixth.

NOTES: BSU extended its Division I-era record streak of consecutive games with a goal scored to 67... Jake Bluhm’s four-game scoring streak was snapped... Tyler Scofield had three assists to lead five BSU skaters with multiple points in the contest... UAH went 0-for-7 on the power play and in total went 0-for-14 in the two-game series.

--bsu--