BSU Men’s Hockey Going to CCHA Mason Cup Final After Win Over Lake Superior State

Bemidji State men’s hockey continued their quest for the Mason Cup this past Saturday in a win-or-go-home semifinal matchup with Lake Superior State.

The Beavers had been roughed up by the Lakers this year, going 1-3 against the men from Sault Ste. Marie, but those four games all came before mid-December when the Beavs were just 6-10. Since then, BSU had gone 13-5-2 and were unbeaten in their last 10 heading into Saturday’s contest.

It was a full house at the Sanford Center for the Mason Cup semifinal. After the game, Lake Superior State head coach Damon Whitten said Bemidji State played like they were “on a mission,” and the Beavers certainly looked it, first striking just a minute and 48 seconds in with a goal from Eric Pohlkamp, who earned CCHA Defenseman of the Week Honors for the third time this season.

Bemidji State won 4-1 over Lake Superior State. The Beavers have won nine straight games, tied with Boston College for the longest win streak in the country.

After the game, the team talked about moving on to the Mason Cup finals and how the electric home crowd played a role in the victory.

“You win for the fans, you win for the alumni,” said head coach Tom Serratore. “Again, we talked about it two weeks ago. It’s not about the coaches, it’s not about the players. That’s gravy. It’s about everybody else, that the enthusiasm, the excitement level that you’re generating. We recognize that, and they’re having as much fun as we are.”

“We feed off that for sure, right? When you go and you lay a big hit and you hear everyone cheering, or when you score a goal and hear everyone cheering, like, just gives our team energy,” explained freshman forward Jake McLean. “And when you have that many people in the building, you don’t really have to create your own energy. It’s there, it’s buzzing, and you can kind of see right from the puck drop, I think we fed off that really well. So yeah, it was awesome. It was super fun to play in front of.”

“It’s amazing. I mean, they’ve been behind our back all season long through the ups and downs,” said sophomore forward Kirklan Irey. “It was great seeing everyone come out tonight, knowing that we were going to go to play for a championship next weekend. We did the little things right tonight … and so we’re looking to push that way in the next weekend.”

Bemidji State will be playing for a Mason Cup Championship for the second time in three years. They’ll be at home on Friday at 7:07 p.m. facing Michigan Tech.

BSU will also be entering the game ranked for the first time this season, as they’re currently 20th in the nation in the USCHO rankings.