HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Bemidji State's Tyler Scofield scored two goals and Matt Climie turned in a stellar 42-save effort in goal to help lift the Beavers to a 3-1 victory at Ala.-Huntsville. The victory extends BSU's school-record unbeaten streak in College Hockey America play to 11 consecutive games, and coupled with Niagara's weekend sweep at the hands of Robert Morris helped propel the Beavers back into first place in the CHA standings.
The Beavers won despite being out-shot by a margin of 43-27 in the contest. It marked the second time this season the Beavers have overcome the Chargers despite a dramatic shot deficit, and both occurrences came in Game 2 of the weekend series. The Beavers overcame a 46-34 shot deficit and beat the Chargers 4-2 in Bemidji on Dec. 16.
Scofield wasted little time getting BSU on the board, as Travis Winter and David Deterding set up his fifth goal of the season just 40 seconds into the game to give the Beavers an early advantage. That one-goal lead held through the end of the first period, a frame which saw seven minor penalties called in a span of 9:43 midway through the period.
The penalty spree spilled over into the second period, as true to their history the Beavers and Chargers continued to pile up the penalty minutes. Seven minor penalties were called in the first 16 minutes of the second period, and an elbowing penalty to Tyler Lehrke allowed the Chargers to break up the shutout. Lehrke's infraction came at 15:57, and Ala.-Huntsville's Grant Selinger capitalized at the 17:48 mark - with just nine seconds remaining on the power play - to pull the Chargers even at a goal apiece.
The draw would be short-lived, as Scofield put up his second goal just 18 seconds later to give the Beavers the lead for good, 2-1.
ADVERTISEMENT
The teams settled in, with only three penalties being called over the game's next 20 minutes following Scofield's second goal, but the Chargers were held to seven shots on net in the third period and were unable to pull even. Joey Moggach, who assisted on Scofield's second-period goal, completed his second consecutive multi-point night with an unassisted goal at the 17:35 mark of the third to give BSU an insurance goal and secure the 3-1 victory.
Moggach's goal gave him 1-3=4 points in the Ala.-Huntsville series, helped assemble a three-game scoring streak to tie his career high, and gives him 3-8=11 points in BSU's last nine games dating back to Dec. 16 against the same Chargers.
Scofield's two-goal effort marks the first multi-goal game of his career; he had scored 10 goals in 57 career games played entering the contest.
Climie turned in one of his strongest efforts between the pipes in weeks, slapping aside 42 of 43 shots to post the 30th victory of his collegiate career. Climie was 14-of-14 in the first period, then piled up 21 saves in a second period which saw the Chargers pummel him with 22 shots on goal. He then went 7-of-7 in the third period as Moggach tacked on the insurance goal and propelled BSU to the victory.
The 42 saves are Climie's second-highest single-game total this season and the third-best of his BSU career. Climie had 44 saves, also in a Game 2 victory over Ala.-Huntsville, on Dec. 16, 2006, and posted a career-high 45 stops against Denver in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. It marks the third time this season Climie has saved 40 or more shots in a victory - in addition to the Dec. 16 win over the Chargers, Climie also had 40 saves in BSU's Dec. 29 victory at then-No. 8 Colorado College. Climie improved to 10-5-4 with the win.
Marc Narduzzi took the loss for the Chargers, and saw his season mark dip to 6-14-1. He saved 24 of 27 shots faced, including 14 of 15 in the first period.
BSU improved to 8-0-3 in its last 11 regular-season CHA contests dating back to a Nov. 10, 2006 loss to Robert Morris, with the 11-game unbeaten streak extending a school record. BSU had previously gone unbeaten in nine consecutive CHA games on two separate occasions.
The victory saw Bemidji State improve to 16-25-2 all-time against Ala.-Huntsville, and the Beavers picked up just their fifth road victory in 23 all-time games against the Chargers at the Von Braun Center (5-17-1). BSU is 4-0-1 in its last five meetings with Ala.-Huntsville and played a weekend road series against the Chargers without suffering a loss for the first time ever.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bemidji State improved to 13-9-4 with the win and saw its CHA record climb to 8-2-4 for 20 points. The win slid BSU past Niagara (8-3-3, 19 points) into sole possession of first place in CHA. Ala.-Hunstville saw its season mark fall to 7-17-2, 4-9-1 against the CHA circuit. BSU remains on the road next weekend, traveling to Robert Morris for a two-game CHA slate on Feb. 9-10. Opening faceoff for both contests is slated for 7:35 p.m. Eastern time from Moon Township, Pa.
