BEMIDJI -- The Bemidji State men’s hockey team has finished the 2020-21 season ranked in the top 10 of both final national polls, which were released Monday on the heels of Saturday’s national championship game.
The Beavers were slotted 10th in both the 15-team USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and in the 20-team USCHO.com poll .
The ranking equals a program-best finish in the USCHO poll and is the team’s second highest finish in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
Bemidji State has been ranked in the final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll on five occasions: 2005 (15th); 2009 (ninth); 2010 (12th); 2020 (11th); and 2021 (10th).
The Beavers appeared in the end-of-season USCHO poll for the third time ever. They finished 10th in 2010, 11th in 2020 and 10th in 2021. USCHO released its final poll prior to the NCAA Tournament every year until 2011.
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BSU garnered 196 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, 24 points behind No. 9 Michigan and 29 ahead of No. 11 Quinnipiac. The team earned 406 points in the USCHO poll to trail No. 10 Michigan by 43 points and finish 10 ahead of No. 11 Boston University.
Massachusetts, fresh off a 5-0 win over St. Cloud State in the national championship game, was the unanimous No. 1 team in both polls. SCSU was second in each poll.
Fellow Frozen Four teams Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth also finished in the top four. MSU was tabbed third in the USAT/USAHM poll and fourth in the USCHO poll, while UMD was third in the USCHO poll and fourth in the USAT/USAHM poll. North Dakota was fifth in both polls.
Lake Superior State, the WCHA’s third team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, was 13th in the USAT/USAHM poll and 14th in the USCHO poll. Bowling Green, which failed to qualify for the tournament, finished 18th in the USCHO poll.
Bemidji State completed the season at 16-10-3 overall.
The Beavers earned their fifth NCAA Division I Tournament bid and knocked off Wisconsin in the East Regional semifinals before falling to eventual national champion UMass in the regional final. BSU has lost to the eventual champion in three of its five NCAA D-I Tournament appearances: Denver (2005), Wisconsin (2006) and UMass (2021).
