DATE: November 11, 2006
Three-goal second period, sixth career shutout by Matt Climie lead Beavers to split

BEMIDJI, Minn. (John S. Glas Fieldhouse) - Bemidji State junior goaltender Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) recorded 26 saves on 26 Robert Morris shots, posting the sixth shutout of his career with a 3-0 victory over the Colonials. The victory helped BSU salvage a split of a two-game College Hockey America series.

Climie stopped all five Robert Morris shots in the first period, 12-of-12 in the second period and all nine shots faced in the third, improving to 2-2-1 on the year. Climie’s sixth shutout gives him BSU’s career Division I-era record and moves him into a tie with Jack Horner (1974-78) for third all-time at Bemidji State.

The Beavers and Colonials skated to a scoreless first period which was controlled by the defenses, as each team managed just five shots on goal in the stanza.

BSU had its first sustained scoring chance of the first period inside the 11-minute mark, when it peppered Tuset with three shots on a power-play opportunity following a high sticking call against the Colonials’ Jeff Gilbert.

Three of the five RMU shots in the period came on its third of three power-play chances in the first, following a Brandon Marino (Riverside, Calif.) hooking penalty at 14:58. The best Colonial scoring chance came on that power play, when Brett Hopfe unleashed a shot from the top of the right circle. The shot soundly struck the pipe to the left of Alberta, and in the ensuing scrum for the rebound Robert Morris appeared to push a puck past Climie. The apparent goal was waved off due to an interference call against Gilbert and the game remained scoreless.

BSU broke through the deadlock at 15:39 of the second period on the first goal of the season by Matt Pope (Langley, British Columbia). Robert Morris had just finished successfully killing a high-sticking penalty against Aaron Clarke when BSU assembled a rush up the center of the ice. Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) fired from the top of the right circle, and the loose puck was picked up behind the net by Marino. Marino found Tyler Scofield (Prince George, British Columbia) at the top of the crease, and Scofield flicked the puck left to Pope, who pushed it past Joe Tuset to give BSU a 1-0 lead.

The Beavers pushed their lead to 2-0 at the 4:04 mark of the second, and again Pope was in on the scoring. Joey Moggach (Brandon, Manitoba) stood at the left pipe after taking a pass from behind the net from Jake Bluhm (Red Wing, Minn.), and Moggach shoved a pass across the crease to Pope. Tuset had committed to Moggach, and Pope tapped the puck into an unguarded net to stake the Beavers to a 2-0 lead.

Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) picked up his team-leading sixth goal of the season less than three minutes later. On the opening faceoff after a pair of coincidental roughing minors and a grabbing the facemask penalty against Robert Morris following a shoving match at the BSU net after a Climie save, Erickson pushed home a power-play marker with help from Travis Winter (St. Cloud, Minn.), extending the Beaver advantage to 3-0 at 18:47.

With 22 seconds to play in the second period, the game was delayed several minutes after another brawl in front of the BSU net following a Climie save. Logan Bittle was called for two minutes for contact with Climie, and that set off several minutes of pushing and shoving which involved all 10 skaters on the ice. Three sets of coincidental minor penalties were issued in the scrum, and BSU skated off the final seconds of the second period on a power play.

The teams skated to a scoreless third period as BSU’s 3-0 lead held up, but the Beavers kept pressure on Tuset by out-shooting the Colonials 18-9 in the frame.

Tuset was solid in net for Robert Morris in the losing effort, posting 33 saves on 36 shots faced. He turned aside all 18 shots he faced in the third period to keep the Colonials within three goals, but took the loss and fell to 0-2-0 on the year.

BSU and Robert Morris combined for 26 minor penalties in the contest - 13 against each team - the sixth-most combined penalties in a single game in BSU’s Division I era. BSU’s 13 penalties marked the fourth time in eight games this season the Beavers have drawn a dozen or more penalties. Robert Morris went 0-for-9 on the power play, scoring just once on 16 opportunities with the man advantage in the series.

The Beavers went 1-for-9 on the power play, converting only on Erickson’s second-period marker.

The victory helped BSU retaliate for its first-ever home-ice loss to the Colonials in Game 1 of the series last night, and improved BSU to 8-2 all-time and 5-1 in Bemidji against Robert Morris (3-5-0 / 2-2-0 College Hockey America).

Bemidji State (3-4-1 / 1-2-1 College Hockey America) wraps up the only back-to-back home weekends of its 2006-07 season next weekend, when it hosts Niagara for an important early-season College Hockey America series. It will mark the final regular-season meeting between the Beavers and Purple Eagles; Niagara took three of four points from BSU in Niagara University, N.Y. on Oct. 27-28. Opening faceoffs for the two-game set are slated for 7:35 p.m. and 7:05 p.m., respectively, Nov. 17-18, 2006 at BSU’s John Glas Fieldhouse.

NOTES: Matt Pope’s second-period goal was the 15th of his career and his 40th career point; he is the 20th player in BSU’s Division I era to reach 40 points for his career... Luke Erickson’s second-period power-play goal was the 20th of his career; he is just the third player in BSU’s Division I era to reach 20 career power-play goals scored; he needs two to tie Brendan Cook’s BSU Division I-era career record (22, 2001-04)... Erickson’s power-play goal was the 113th point of his career, moving him within two points of Andrew Murray’s BSU career Division I-era scoring record (115, 2001-04); it also helped him move into sole possession of eighth place on the College Hockey America career scoring list...

--beavers--