BSU Men’s Hockey Riding Momentum into Rivalry Weekend with Minnesota State

Bemidji State men’s hockey is coming off of a historic comeback on Saturday, where they scored six unanswered goals after trailing 4-0 to Michigan Tech. The team is riding this wave of momentum as they hit the road this weekend to take on rival Minnesota State.

The Mavericks have a new look this year after their longtime head coach Mike Hastings left to take the Wisconsin job, but the Beavers still expect the rivalry to remain the same.

“I’m sure even with the changes in the coaching staff and the players, [they’re] still going to be a hard-nosed, tough-to-play-against team,” said senior forward Eric Martin. “I mean, I’m sure that won’t change. Their identity probably won’t change much. It’s always going to be a different game. Every year we go down there, our team’s different, their team’s different, but now we’re just going to expect them to come out and play the exact same way that we’ve always expected them to.”

“I don’t know where we’re at from a tactical standpoint. I don’t know where Mankato is from a tactical standpoint,” said head coach Tom Serratore. “The bottom line is, though, it’s a fun, fun rivalry, it’s a fun series, and there’s going to be a lot of emotion in a lot of these games. The intensity level is just a notch higher than other games. And, you know, I guess people could probably say is that, ‘guys, your intensity level should be the same all the time.’ Well, maybe so, but it just doesn’t work that way.”

Bemidji State has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams. Before that, MSU had won five straight. Games are at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17 and 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.