Tyler Scofield and Matt Read each paced visiting Bemidji State with three points on the night as the Beavers routed homestanding Alabama-Huntsville 7-1 in front of 2,633 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Scofield led off the scoring for the Beavers with a five-on-three power-play goal that beat Chargers’ freshman goaltender Cameron Talbot [1-7-0]. The Beavers next three goals, spread over the middle 25 minutes of the game, were largely owed to poor goaltending by the Chargers, according to coach Danton Cole.
“I thought the guys played hard for the most part, but we’re again unfortunate. Just three goals that really shouldn’t go in, and then it’s 4-1 when it should be a 1-1 hockey game. Those guys have to be held accountable.”
Matt Francis beat Talbot on a low-angle shot as the first period closed, and then Matt Pope and Brandon Marino each solved sophomore netminder Blake MacNicol with similar, near-the-goal-line shots late in the second and early in the third.
One of the few bright spots for the Chargers was the backhanded goal scored by junior Matt Sweazey to lead off scoring in the second.
“I thought it was a great goal, and it was about time we got something by [Bemidji goalie Matt Climie],” said Cole. “We had a lot of good chances, and we couldn’t get anything by him.”
Climie finished with 31 saves on the night and stopped 54 of 55 shots on the weekend all told.
After the visitors went up 4-1, Talbot re-entered the game, only to see Read and Scofield continue their scoring burst as the CHA leaders pulled away with the win. In all, Bemidji State was 3-of-7 on the power play for the game while holding their opponents scoreless in seven chances.
The Chargers face off next weekend with a two-game home series against Yale University, while the Beavers travel to Colorado to play Colorado College and Denver in single games.
