BSU Men’s Hockey Takes Break from CCHA Play to Face Minnesota for Home-and-Home

BSU men’s hockey is taking a break from CCHA play this week to take on the third-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers in a Thursday-Saturday home-and-home series.

The Beavers will travel to Minneapolis on Thursday to play the Gophers at Mariucci Arena and then come back to Bemidji for a Saturday showdown at the Sanford Center.

Bemidji State is coming off a split at Augustana this past weekend and currently sits at 4-5 overall, with a 2-3 record versus ranked opponents. Minnesota enters the series on an eight-game win streak with a 9-1 record and one of the best forward groups in the country, ranking second in the nation in scoring offense and goal differential and outscoring opponents 43-17.

“How do you slow ’em down, how do you floor check them?” asked head coach Tom Serratore at a press conference this week. “I mean, that’s the million-dollar question, is that, we’re a pretty aggressive floor checking team, and that’s just our identity, that’s just how we play. But there’s no question, you gotta play a little differently against those guys. We all know how good they are right now and they got a heck of a hockey team, so it’s going to be a challenge, but it’s gonna be fun playing them. There’s always enthusiasm and excitement with all the people.”

“I think from maybe a broad perspective, you can see that’s there’s points on the line versus non-points on the line, but when you show up to the rink and play an opponent, I think it’s just game-on mentality and whoever is in front of us, we just have to focus on that game,” stated graduate forward and captain Jackson Jutting. “To play a game like the Gophers, in-state rival, someone as good as them, we’re gonna be up for the test, and I think, like I said, it’s just a game-by-game basis we’re gonna show up Thursday and put our best foot forward.”

It will be the 24th meeting between Bemidji State and Minnesota since they first played on October 14th, 2000, and it will be the first non-exhibition game between the two teams since 2019. The Gophers have not played in Bemidji since 2013, but they’re 7-0 when playing there and own a 20-2-1 record against the Beavs.

Thursday’s game on the road will be at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s game at the Sanford Center will be at 6.