DATE: October 28, 2006
Matt Allen’s first goal helps lift Beavers to first point of the season

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. (Dwyer Arena) - Bemidji State’s Matt Allen (New Westminster, B.C.) picked up his first goal of the season at 5:26 of the third period, pulling the Beavers even with Niagara with the game-tying goal in a 2-2 College Hockey America tie with the Purple Eagles. The draw gave BSU its first point at Niagara since the 2004-05 season and snapped BSU’s three-game losing streak to open the season.

BSU’s Chris Peluso (Wadena, Minn.) put the Beavers in a hole early, picking up a hooking call just 37 seconds after the opening faceoff. Unlike BSU’s first three games of the season, where early power-play goals spelled its doom, the Beavers instead capitalized on Peluso’s penalty and grabbed their first lead of the series.

Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) unleashed a shot which was saved by Pagliero, but Blaine Jarvis (Gladstone, Manitoba) was there to clean up the rebound and put BSU on the board with his first career short-handed marker at 1:33 of the first.

True to form for a BSU-Niagara contest, Peluso’s penalty was just the first of 10 between the two teams in the first period. Niagara successfully killed off its first three penalties, and following the Peluso hooking call BSU would kill two Purple Eagle power plays. Niagara finally broke through, taking advantage of a slashing call to Tyler Scofield (Prince George, British Columbia) when sophomore Ted Cook picked up his eighth goal of the season - and his third of the series - on the power play at 13:22 of the first.

The 1-1 draw held into the second period, when Les Reaney matched Cook and picked up his third goal of the season to put Niagara on top, 2-1. With help from Cook and Sean Bentivoglio, Reaney’s seventh marker of the season gave the Purple Eagles their first lead of the game at 9:18 of the period.

The teams settled in the second, combining for just four penalties - two on each team - and Niagara’s 2-1 lead held into the third period.

Allen’s marker at 5:16 of the third helped BSU knot the score, and the Beavers killed two third-period penalties to push the game into overtime tied at two. Cook picked up a hooking penalty at 3:19 of the extra period, but Niagara goalie Juliano Pagliero turned aside several point-blank shots in the final 1:41 of overtime to preserve the draw.

Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) turned in a strong outing for Bemidji State in goal, picking up 33 saves and allowing two goals in the 65:00 complete game. He recorded 11 saves in each of the first two periods, turned aside all nine shots he faced in the third and both Niagara shots in overtime en route to his first tie of the season and the fourth of his career. Climie moved to 0-1-1 on the year with the tie.

Pagliero notched his second consecutive strong performance in goal for the hosts, saving 36 of 38 shots faced in 64:30 of work. His season record remained even at 3-3-1 with the draw. For the series, Pagliero turned aside 72 of 76 shots faced.

The Beavers committed nine penalties for 18 minutes with the Purple Eagles drawing seven minor penalties for 14 minutes. Cook’s first-period power-play goal was the only conversion for Niagara on seven extra-man opportunities, while BSU went 0-for-7 on the power play.

The tie ended BSU’s three-game losing streak to open the 2006-07 season and also ended a three-game road losing streak in its series with Niagara. BSU and Niagara skated to a draw for the first time since a 2-2 tie in Bemidji on Feb. 28, 2003, and tied in Niagara for the first time since a 3-3 deadlock on Dec. 14, 2002. The tie moved BSU to 11-16-5 all-time against Niagara, including a 3-11-2 mark at Dwyer Arena.

Bemidji State (0-3-1 / 0-1-1 College Hockey America) wraps up a school-record six-game road trip to open its 2006-07 season next weekend when it travels to Minnesota State for a two-game non-conference series. Opening faceoffs from Minnesota State’s Midwest Wireless Civic Center are slated for 7:37 p.m. and 7:07 p.m. Central time on Nov. 3-4, respectively, in Mankato, Minn.

NOTES: Luke Erickson’s first-period assist extended his scoring streak to open the season to four games.

--beavers--