DATE: February 17, 2007
Chargers rally with two third-period goals to snap eight-game winless streak in the series

BEMIDJI, Minn. (John S. Glas Fieldhouse) - Bemidji State’s men’s ice hockey team stormed to a 3-1 lead behind the third penalty-shot goal in its Division I era and an unassisted short-handed goal in a span of just two minutes of the second period, but the visiting Alabama-Huntsville Chargers rallied to score the game’s final three goals and capture a 4-3 victory and College Hockey America weekend series split against the Beavers. Ala.-Huntsville’s Brett McConnachie scored his 12th goal of the season at the 12:57 mark of the third period to give the Chargers their first - and final - lead of the contest.

Bemidji State controlled the first period to the tune of a 16-4 advantage in shots on goal, and in total limited the Ala.-Huntsville offense to just 10 total shot attempts in the period. Still, it took the Beavers until the final four minutes of the stanza, where they would take advantage of a five-on-three power play, to break through a scoreless deadlock and grab the first goal of the night. Matt Sweazey drew an interference call at 14:34 and Mike Salekin was sent to the penalty box for slashing at 16:02, and at the 16:27 mark BSU’s Blaine Jarvis (Salmon Arm, British Columbia) help put the Beavers on the scoreboard. John Vadnais (Stillwater, Minn.) fed Rob Sirianni (Edmonton, Alberta) from the point, and Sirianni found Jarvis who first fired and missed before cleaning up his own rebound to put the Beavers on the board.

The flow of the game did a 180-degree reversal in the second period, with the Chargers rebounding to out-shoot the Beavers 18-8 and score two goals. However, strong special-teams play helped BSU match the Charger onslaught and score two goals to retain its one-goal lead heading into the third period.

A slashing call against Vadnais just 18 seconds into the period opened the door for the Chargers. Steve Canter took advantage of the ensuing power-play opportunity, picking up his 12th goal of the season to pull the visitors even at a goal apiece at the 2:03 mark of the period.

BSU recaptured the lead at 8:40 when Tyler Scofield (Prince George, British Columbia) scored BSU’s first penalty-shot goal since Oct. 12, 2001 and just the third in the program’s Division I era. With BSU down a man following an obstruction-holding call against Brandon Marino (Riverside, Calif.) which came at the 8:31 mark, Scofield picked up a loose puck and opened a one-on-one breakaway. He was tripped from behind by Huntsville’s Mike Salekin and received the penalty shot, which he converted at the 8:40 mark of the second to help BSU recapture the lead, 2-1.

Travis Winter (St. Cloud, Minn.) helped the Beavers recover from a slashing call against Cody Bostock (Salmon Arm, British Columbia) at the 9:11 mark of the second, staking BSU to a 3-1 lead with an unassisted short-handed goal at 10:40. Winter’s 10th goal of the season also marked BSU’s seventh short-handed goal of the 2006-07 campaign, tying a Division I-era single-season record set in 2004-05.

But the Chargers would not go quietly, pulling back within a goal at the 13:16 mark of the period. Scott Kalinchuk was set up just inside the Charger blue line and unleashed a missle against the BSU net, which struck a post and was in the upper right-hand corner of the net before Beaver goaltender Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) had any opportunity to react. The Huntsville defenseman’s sixth goal of the season helped the Chargers trail just 3-2 heading into the third period and set the stage for their comeback.

Dominik Rozman pulled Ala.-Huntsville even at the 7:51 mark of the third period with his third goal of the year, and senior Brett McConnachie squeezed his 12th goal of the campaign tighly into the upper corner of the goal from below the circle to Climie’s left with 12:57 remaining. McConnachie’s marker staked the Chargers to a 4-3 lead they’d not relinquish and helped the visitors secure the series split.

Climie saved 27 of 31 shots faced for the Beavers in 59:00 of work; BSU pulled Climie for the game’s final 53 seconds in an attempt to even the score with an extra attacker, a gambit which was ultimately unsuccessful. Climie turned aside all four Charger shots he faced in the first period, saved 16 of 18 during the visitors’ second-period barrage and managed seven saves on nine shots faced in the pivotal third period. He suffered the loss and saw his season mark fall to 11-8-4.

Freshman Blake MacNicol performed well for the Chargers in just his third career start. He turned aside 38 of 41 Bemidji State shots in a complete-game victory, including a perfect 17-of-17 in the third period. MacNicol saw his season record improve to 2-1-0.

BSU out-shot the Chargers 41-31 in the contest, including advantages of 16-4 in the first period and 17-9 in the third. After a relatively penalty-free Friday-night matchup between the Beavers and Chargers in Game 1, the long-time rivals returned to their historical form tonight and combined for 19 minor penalties - 12 for 24 minutes against the visitors and seven for 14 minutes against BSU. The Chargers converted on one of six opportunities with the man advantage, while BSU went 1-for-10 on the power play.

BSU wrapped up its 2006-07 regular-season home slate with tonight’s contest, finishing with an 7-3-2 mark in 12 home games this season. It marks the sixth consecutive season and the 39th time in 40 seasons at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse the Beavers have finished a season with a winning record on their home ice.

The loss snapped Bemidji State’s series-best unbeaten streak over Ala.-Huntsville at eight games, dating back to a 3-1 win on March 3, 2006 and marked BSU’s first loss to the Chargers at the John Glas Fieldhouse since a 3-1 setback on Feb. 18, 2005. The series stands 19-26-2 all-time in favor of the Chargers, with BSU continuing to hold an 11-8-1 advantage when the series is played in Bemidji. The game was the last in Bemidji for retiring Ala.-Huntsville head coach Doug Ross.

Bemidji State saw its season record fall to 14-12-4 with tonight’s loss and slid to 9-5-4 in College Hockey America play; coupled with a 4-4 draw between Wayne State and Niagara this evening, BSU now holds a two-point lead over Niagara for first place in CHA. Ala.-Huntsville improved to 8-19-2 and 6-11-1 in CHA play.

BSU wraps up its 2006-07 regular-season schedule next weekend when it travels to Detroit, Mich. for its third and final CHA series against the Wayne State Warriors. Opening faceoffs are slated for 7:05 p.m. on Feb. 23-24 at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. BSU is 4-0-0 against Wayne State so far this season and will take a 10-game unbeaten streak in the series into the final regular-season matchup between the Beavers and Warriors.

--beavers--