Bemidji State, No. 15 in the nation, scored two first-period goals and then held off a late Air Force rally for a 2-1 win over the Falcons in a College Hockey America game Saturday night, Oct. 29, at the Cadet Ice Arena.
The two teams split the opening series of the season and both are tied for first in the league with two points. The Falcons are 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the CHA. BSU is 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the league.
BSU came out strong in the first period and took a 2-0 lead 11 minutes into the game. Jean-Guy Gervais put the Beavers on the board at the 2:57 mark. His one-timer came on a pass from Shane Holman on a rush up ice. Ryan Huddy also assisted on the play. Sophomore Blaine Jarvis gave BSU a two-goal lead at the 11:28 mark. His wrister from the slot was assisted by Dave Deterding.
The Beavers had six power plays in the second period and outshot the Falcons 10-5, but goaltender Ian Harper kept the net clean as neither team scored.
Air Force controlled the third period, outshooting the Beavers 11-3. The Falcons took the goose egg off the board at the 9:53 mark on freshman Josh Frider’s second goal of the season. Billy Devoney fed Mike Knaeble in the neutral zone and the senior forward skated the puck down the slot weaving through BSU defenders. He slid the puck across the slot to Frider who was coming down the right side and cut the BSU lead to 2-1. The Falcons continued to pressure BSU goalie Layne Sedevie and had two power-play opportunities in the final seven minutes. On the final power play, the Falcons pulled Harper from the net and had 1:01 of a two-man advantage. Harper was out for the final 1:30 of the game. The Falcons had four shots on net, but could not tie the game.
Both teams’ penalty kills were perfect as BSU was 0-for-8 on the power play while Air Force was 0-for-9. BSU had 19 shots on their power plays while Air Force had 10. The Beavers had just seven even-strength shots while Air Force had 15. The Beavers outshot the Falcons, 26-25, in the game.
Sedevie made 24 saves for the Beavers, including 10 in the third period. Harper made 24 saves in the game, including 21 in the first two periods.
Air Force is now off until Nov. 11-12 when the Falcons travel to West Point, N.Y., to face service academy rival Army. BSU also gets a weekend off before traveling to Wayne State.
