Bemidji Boys’ Hockey Creating Buzz in 2nd Year of Kinne’s Tenure

In the last seven years, Bemidji boys’ hockey has only seen two seasons of more than 10 wins. They won 14 in the 2017-2018 season and won just 11-games two years ago.

But this season, the team is putting together their most successful season in eight years, where the Lumberjacks already have 11 through their first 15 games and are currently ranked 17th in Class AA.

There’s a buzz over at the BCA, as in his second year as head coach, Ben Kinne has the Lumberjacks bought in to his brand of hockey.

“This goes back to last year, right?” noted Kinne. “It takes a little while to adjust and for the players to take get used to playing hard all the time. It’s become a staple for our team thus far this year. They’re competitive. They work really hard and it’s shown so far in wins and losses.”

Last year, the Boys in Blue only mustered nine wins and a first-round exit in the section tournament, but the change necessary to improve started long before the first puck dropped this winter.

“I think our success thus far has been from the dedication we had in the summer,” said Noah Manausau, senior captain. “Working out, skating, everyone’s put in the time and that’s helping us out during the season. All new systems last year, we were trying to learn them, but now that we’ve got them down, we’re starting to execute.”

And that execution has led to better offensive and defensive production this season. The Jacks are scoring two-and-a-half more goals a game while also holding opponents to nearly one less goal per contest. Mix in a senior-laden roster that includes 18 upperclassmen, and you’ve got yourself a winning recipe.

“This group of seniors has been together the whole time, just working and growing together,” senior captain Nick Johnson pointed out. “We’ve just got to keep up the energy. We got to keep doing the things we’ve been doing all year. Every single line from the third to the first, every D pair. We just got to keep working together, getting wins.”

This group of Lumberjacks now has a chance to write its own chapter in the Bemidji history books and host its first section playoff game since the 2016-17 season, the same year the Jacks last made the state tournament.

“Making that state tournament – that’s a goal of every kid that plays Minnesota high school hockey, right?” Kinne asked with a smile. “You want to play at the Xcel Energy Center. You want to play for your community, all those things. So that’s what our kids focus is right now. But again, it’s one game at a time.”

Bemidji is coming off a 3-1 win over Roseau on Saturday. The Lumberjacks now have 10 games remaining in the regular season, seven of which are at home and with five against ranked opponents.