After returning from Madison, Wis., this past weekend, the Bemidji State University women’s hockey team prepares for another nationally ranked opponent in No. 4 University of Minnesota this weekend. The Beavers (2-12-2, 2-12-2 WCHA) host the No. 4 Gophers (9-7-1, 9-7-1 WCHA) for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series beginning Friday, Feb. 19 and ending Saturday. The series begins a four-game homestand for the Beavers who end the season next weekend by hosting St. Cloud State University. Game one between the Beavers and Gophers is slated for 6:07 p.m., followed by 3:07 p.m. for game two.
THE SERIES
Bemidji State and Minnesota will meet for the 97th and 98th meetings in the all-time series history and only series in 2020-21.
The Gophers dominate the all-time series record at 80-9-7 (.870) and are 37-3-3 (.895) when playing in Bemidji.
Bemidji State’s last win against the Gophers came on Dec. 2, 2017 and Minnesota on an eight-game winning streak against the Beavers.
Head Coach Jim Scanlan is 5-22-1 (.196) when coaching against the Gophers while Minnesota head coach Brad Frost is 49-7-4 (.850) when facing the Beavers.
Bemidji State is led by senior co-captain Mak Langei who has posted eight points off of two goals and six assists in 12 career games versus the Gophers while fellow co-captain Clair DeGeorge follows closely with seven points off of two goals and five assists in 12 career games.
Sophomore Reece Hunt leads all BSU skaters with three goals in four games against the Gophers after she posted her first career hat trick last season on Feb. 8.
Senior Kerigan Dowhy leads the Beavers’ netminders with three career games against Minnesota and has posted an 0-3-0 record. Dowhy has a 3.05 goals against average and .906 save percentage against the Gophers and last faces Minnesota Nov. 16, 2019.
BEMIDJI STATE NOTABLES
(1-7-2, 1-7-2 WCHA)
Bemidji State stands seventh in the WCHA with seven points, a .233 points per game percentage and has posted a 1-7-2 record in both league play and overall.
The Beavers have played in eight overtime games this season, most of any team in the WCHA.
Bemidji State traveled to No. 1 University of Wisconsin last weekend where it fell to the Badgers in two games by scores of 4-0 and 7-0.
Bemidji State is last in the league by averaging 1.19 goals per game and rank sixth on defense by allowing 3.12 goals per game.
The Beavers’ power play is the lone team in Division I to have yet tally a power-play marker and have come up empty on 27 chances this season.
Bemidji State’s penalty kill is seventh in the WCHA and has stopped 34-of-40 chances for an .850 percentage. The Beavers have killed off the last eight power play chances for its opponents.
Bemidji State has been led by the play of senior netminder Kerigan Dowhy this season. Despite posting a 2-11-2 record, Dowhy boasts a .922 save percentage and 2.47 goals against average to rank fifth in the league in both categories.
Bemidji State is led offensively by Clair DeGeorge who has totaled nine points in 16 games (4g-5a) but has been held off the scoresheet in the last five games.
DeGeorge is followed by sophomore Reece Hunt who has posted seven points (7a) in 16 games and has also been held off the scoresheet the past five games.
Senior Tina Kampa paces the Beavers’ blueline with five points (5a) while senior co-captain Mak Langei follows with three points off of two goals and an assist.
Langei leads the nation with 60 blocked shots while Kampa follows closely in fourth with 46 blocked shots.
Bemidji State continues to lead the nation in blocked shots with 301 and have five defensemen who boast 20 or more blocked shots this season.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS
(9-7-1, 9-7-1 WCHA)
Minnesota enters the weekend’s action as the fourth-ranked team in both the USCHO.com and USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine national polls and boasts a 9-7-1 record in league play for fourth in the conference standings. The Gophers are 9-7-1 overall and play their final series of the regular season against the Beavers. Minnesota will be looking to rebound against the Beavers after being swept at home by then No. 4 Ohio State University.
The Gophers are third in the WCHA and rank 11th nationally by averaging 2.76 goals per game while their defense ranks fourth in the WCHA and 19th in Division I by holding opponents to 2.24 goals per game. Minnesota’s power play is third in the WCHA with a .128 (6-of-47) power play percentage. Its penalty kill also ranks fourth in the conference at .889 (40-of-45) percent.
Minnesota is led offensively by senior Grace Zumwinkle who paces the team and is fifth in the WCHA with 15 points off of 12 goals and three assists this season. Her 12 goals this season is second in the league and has scored two power-play goals to tie for the league lead. She is centered by junior Taylor Heise who is tied for second on the team with junior Emily Oden after the pair have each posted 12 points in 17 games. The Gophers’ blueline is led by senior Emily Brown who has posted seven points off of two goals and five assists for sixth among league defensemen while Crystalyn Hengler, Olivia Knowles and Madeline Wethington have each added six points. Bemidji State hopes to see a familiar face in net this weekend as redshirt senior Lauren Bench makes her lone return to Bemidji after transferring to Minnesota to pursue a medical degree. Bench leads the Gophers with an 8-5-0 record to go along with a 2.26 goals against average and .924 save percentage but sophomore Makayla Pahl has had the hot glove as of late and has posted a 1-2-1 record with a 1.79 goals against average and .939 save percentage.
BEMIDJI STATE ROSTER
No. - Name - Pos. - Ht. - Yr. Hometown/Previous School
1 - Hannah Hogenson - G - 5-4 - Fr. Anchorage, Alaska/Alaska Oilers AAA
2 - Mak Langei - D - 5-5 - Sr. East Grand Forks, Minn./Shattuck St. Mary's
3 - Lydia Passolt - F - 5-6 - Sr. Chanhassen, Minn./Chanhassen HS
4 - Kara Werth - D - 5-7 - Sr. Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead HS
5 - Abby DeLaRosa - D - 5-4 - So. Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake HS
6 - Claudia Verkerke - F - 5-8 - Jr. White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake HS
7 - Abby Ecker - D - 5-8 - R-Jr. Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle HS
8 - Taylor Nelson - F - 5-4 - Fr. Carlton, Minn./Cloquet-Esko-Carlton HS
9 - Mya Neugent - F - 5-6 - So. Sun Prairie, Wis./Bishop Kearney HS
10 - Lindsey Featherstone - F - 5-4 - Sr. Woodbury, Minn./Hill Murray HS
11 - Tina Kampa - D - 5-0 - Sr. Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS
12 - Kayla Santl - F - 5-7 - Fr. Roseau, Minn./Roseau HS
13 - Paige Anderson - F - 5-7 - So. Andover, Minn./Andover HS
14 - Anika Stoskopf - F - 5-5 - Fr. Roseau, Minn./Roseau HS
16 - Ellie Moser - F - 5-8 - Jr. Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS
17 - Calli Forsberg - F - 5-6 - Fr. Devils Lake, N.D./Shattuck St. Mary's
18 - Paige Beebe - F - 5-7 - Sr. Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine HS
19 - Khloe Lund - D - 5-3 - Fr. Thief River Falls, Minn./Thief River Falls HS
20 - Gabbie Smith - F - 5-6 - Fr. Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd HS
22 - Kate Boland - D - 5-5 - So. Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS
23 - Graysen Myers - F - 5-7 - Jr. Fargo, N.D./Fargo South HS
25 - Cheyenne Abear - F - 5-3 - So. Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd HS
26 - Clair DeGeorge - F - 5-10 - Sr. Anchorage, Alaska/Shattuck St. Mary's
29 - Reece Hunt - F - 5-5 - So. Nelson, B.C./Okanagan Hockey Academy
30 - Lexi Baker - G - 5-7 - Jr. Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS
33 - Kerigan Dowhy - G - 5-6 - Sr. The Pas, Manitoba/Interlake Lightning
COACHING STAFF
Jim Scanlan - Head Coach
Shane Veenker - Assistant Coach
Emma Terres - Assistant Coach
Jessica Ellinghuysen - Director of Hockey Ops
MINNESOTA ROSTER
No. - Name - Pos. - Ht. - Yr. Hometown/Previous School
1 - Olivia King - G - 5-6 - So. - Garrison, Minn./Brainerd HS
2 - Emily Brown - D - 5-8 - Sr. - Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS
3 - Catie Skaja - F - 5-7 - Jr. - New Prague, Minn./New Prague Senior HS
4 - Audrey Wethington - F - 5-7 - Fr. - Edina, Minn./Blake HS
5 - Madeline Wethington - D - 5-10 - So. - Edina, Minn./Blake HS
6 - Gracie Ostertag - D - 5-7 - Jr. - Shakopee, Minn./Shattuck St. Mary's
7 - Sydney Shearen - F - 5-4 - So. - Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake HS
9 - Taylor Heise - F - 5-10 - Jr. - Lake City, Minn./Red Wing HS
11 - Anne Cherkowski - F - 5-6 - Fr. - Colstream, B.C./Pursuit of Excellence Academy
12 - Grace Zumwinkle - F - 5-9 - Sr. - Excelsior, Minn./Breck HS
13 - Crystalyn Hengler - D - 5-8 - Jr. - Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS
14 - Maggie Nicholson - D - 5-9 - Fr. - Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka HS
16 - Amy Potomak - F - 5-9 - R-Jr. - Aldergrove, B.C./George Elliot Secondary
17 - Josey Dunne - D - 5-10 - Fr. - O'Fallon, Mo./Chicago Mission
18 - Abbey Murphy - F - 5-5 - Fr. - Evergreen Park, ill./Chicago Mission
19 - Tella Jungels - F - 5-4 - Fr. - Edina, Minn./Edina HS
21 - Emily Oden - F - 5-8 - Jr. - Edina, Minn./Edina HS
22 - Abigail Boreen - F - 5-8 - Jr. - Somerset, Wis./Hill Murray HS
24 - Olivia Knowles - D - 5-9 - Sr. - Campbell River, B.C./Okanagan Hockey Academy
26 - Addie Burton - F - 5-10 - Fr. - Orono, Minn./Blake HS
28 - Taylor Wente - F - 5-8 - Sr. - Plymouth, Minn./Maple Grove HS
33 - Makayla Pahl - G - 5-11 - So. - Rochester, Minn./Rochester Mayo HS
35 - Lauren Bench - G - 5-10 - R-Sr. - Eagan, Minn./Bemidji State
COACHING STAFF
Brad Frost - Head Coach
Joel Johnson - Associate Head Coach
Bethany Brausen - Assistant Coach
Jessica Scott - Director of Operations