The Beavers completed a nonconference sweep of the No. 5 Falcons with a 3-1 victory Friday afternoon at the Sanford Center. In the last two weeks alone, BSU (5-4-2, 1-1-0 WCHA) has handed BGSU (14-4-0, 3-1-0) three of its four losses and its first losing streak of the season.
Alex Ierullo broke a 1-1 deadlock and delivered the game-winner six minutes into the third period before an empty netter iced the game late.
“I thought the guys put a strong 120-minute effort in on the weekend,” Beavers head coach Tom Serratore said. “They were great games. We could be 0-4, we could be 4-0, we could be 2-2. There’s just a small margin of error in these games.
“We had a little puck luck, but we also played very well. I thought they were well-earned wins.”
Until Friday, BSU hadn’t swept a ranked opponent since October 2016 against a No. 16 Bowling Green squad, and hadn’t swept a top-five team since December 2010 versus No. 4 Omaha.
“Whenever you can sweep a team that’s highly ranked like them, it feels really good,” Ierullo said. “I’m proud of all the guys. We worked extremely hard Thursday and Friday and we got rewarded.”
Goaltender Zach Driscoll totaled 32 saves while conceding only two goals all series.
A takeaway created the Beavers’ first goal late in the opening frame.
Bemidji State junior Owen Sillinger (12) celebrates after scoring in the first period against Bowling Green on Friday at the Sanford Center. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)
Owen Sillinger pickpocketed a Falcon near his own blue line and skated to a breakaway goal, beating goalie Eric Dop five-hole. The unassisted tally put BSU up 1-0 with 51 seconds to go in the first.
A pair of Lakeville natives connected on Bowling Green’s tying goal six minutes into the second.
Max Johnson played a puck to Garrett Daly in the low slot where he backhanded it in for the equalizer.
BGSU outshot Bemidji State 18-10 in the second period, but the Beavers responded after the intermission.
Six minutes into the third period, Elias Rosén found Ierullo all alone up ice during a power play. Ierullo snuck behind the Bowling Green defense and pocketed a partial breakaway goal.
“Just before we got out there I told Rosie, “Just take a quick look up at the far blue line. I might get behind their defensemen. If it’s not there, don’t pass it. If it is there, I’ll be gone,’’ Ierullo said. “I took a quick look, (Rosén) made a beautiful pass and I was lucky enough to finish.”
Brendan Harris capped the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
The Beaver power play converted on 1-of-3 chances, and the team’s penalty kill blanked BGSU on three opportunities.
Bemidji State has now won three in a row, all against the Falcons, but the team knows there’s plenty more work to be done over the back half of the schedule.
“We swept a really good Bowling Green team. But they don’t hand out trophies for sweeping a fifth-ranked team, right?” Ierullo said. “We’ve got to stay focused. We will enjoy it tonight, get back to work on Monday and get ready for Lake State.”
Next weekend’s games against Lake Superior State are scheduled for 7:07 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, and 6:07 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30.
LSSU was scheduled to face Michigan Tech for a Jan. 22-23 series, but COVID-19 testing results within the Lakers program forced the series to be postponed only hours before the teams were set to face off Friday.
Bemidji State 3, No. 5 Bowling Green 1
BGSU 0 1 0 -- 1
BSU 1 0 2 -- 3
First period -- 1, BSU, O. Sillinger (unassisted), 19:10.
Second period -- 2, BGSU, Daly (Johnson, Kruse), 6:12.
Third period -- 3, BSU, Ierullo (Rosén, Miller), 5:50, PP; 4, BSU, Harris (L. Sillinger, Looft), 19:33, EN.
Goalies (saves-shots) -- BSU, Driscoll (32-33); BGSU, Dop (29-31).
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January 23, 2021 at 07:00AM
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MEN'S HOCKEY: Beavers get better of No. 5 Bowling Green, complete sweep - Bemidji Pioneer
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