BSU Men’s Hockey Upsets #3 Minnesota at Home; Sholl Gets CCHA Honors

Since BSU and Minnesota first played in men’s hockey in 2000, the Beavers had only beaten the Golden Gophers twice in 24 meetings, and the Beavs had never beaten them in Bemidji. But that all changed Saturday night.

Bemidji State was hosting third-ranked Minnesota in front of a sold-out crowd at the Sanford Center on Saturday, where they were playing in game two of a home-and-home series. The Gophers beat the Beavers 5-3 on Thursday in Minneapolis.

But the Beavers gave the crowd something to cheer about right away, as junior forward Kirklan Irey scored just 21 seconds into the game for his second goal of the series. Irey got another goal midway through the first.

Goaltender Mattias Sholl stood on his head between the pipes for the Beavers, holding Minnesota scoreless until 2:12 left in regulation. Bemidji State would snag an empty netter late as they upset Minnesota 3-1.

Sholl had 38 saves in the victory, earning him CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors.

“He’s unreal. I mean, self-explanatory,” said Irey after the win. “He kept us in the game the whole time. He just makes it look easy. We can rely on him to make a save, and then we got to grab a rebound. And we head out of the zone, right? So I think that’s that’s big time. As a collective group, we believe in them.”

“[Minnesota’s] level of play, they’re such a high-skilled team and they can make plays at any moment, so you have to expect literally anything,” explained Sholl. “You build confidence when you see, you know, the guys in front of you, too. It’s like sacrificing everything like we did tonight. And it’s just a great, great feeling beating these guys, and it was a team effort.”

Sholl earned his 6th career CCHA Goaltender of the Week award, and his first this season.