In a game that was dominated by the goaltenders, the Beavers of Bemidji State took third place at the Mariucci Classic with a 1-0 shootout win. The official score will be recorded as a 2-2 tie.
Union goaltender Brandon Snee was named to the all-tournament team after making 72 saves on 77 shots he faced on the weekend.
Union had more shots on net in the first period against Bemidji State than it had in its entire game against Minnesota on Friday night, doubling up the Beavers 16-8 in that category. The Beavers, however, got on the scoreboard first when Marty Goulet drove the puck into the zone from neutral ice and slid it past Snee just 23 seconds into the game.
Union winger Nathan Gillies tallied his first goal of the season on a rebound at 12:06 to tie the game, and Kris Goodjohn put the Dutchmen ahead with just under a minute remaining in the period. Meanwhile, BSU goalie Grady Hunt made some tremendous saves in the net to keep his team in the game.
The Beavers had the only goal in the second period on Miikka Lindholm’s first of the night and second of the tournament. A shot from the right faceoff circle deflected off Snee’s stick and popped over his shoulder to tie the game at two.
The third period was marked by great goaltending on both ends of the ice. Bemidji was called for too many men on the ice at 18:36, which could have proven costly, but the Beavers killed that penalty and sent the game to overtime.
The solid goaltending of regulation continued throughout the overtime. Both teams had scoring opportunities, but Snee and Hunt shut them down to send the game into a shootout.
Each team was given five opportunities in the shootout. Goulet, the fourth shooter for Bemidji State, was the only shooter to get the puck in the net, which gave the Beavers the third place trophy and their first point since a November 25 victory over Wayne State.
The Beavers return to conference play next weekend when they travel to Niagara for a pair of games, while Union heads back east to take on Harvard and Brown on Jan. 5-6.
