Women's hockey kicks off November's action by hosting the No. 3 Gophers

BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University women's hockey team returns to Sanford Center and begins a four-game homestand by hosting No. 3 University of Minnesota this weekend at Sanford Center.

The Beavers (1-8-1, 0-6-0 WCHA) host the third-seeded Golden Gophers (6-3-1, 2-3-1 WCHA) for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series starting Friday, November 1 and ending on Saturday. The Beavers will drop the puck during their two-game set with the Gophers at 3:02 PM CT on Friday and 2:02 PM on Saturday.

Both games in the series will stream online on B1G+ with play-by-play from The Beaver Radio Network. Saturday's game will also be televised on FOX9+. A Beaver Radio Network broadcast can be heard on the radio at 94.3 FM The Legends or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com, with Rob Aitken providing play-by-play commentary.

Bemidji State Notes

• The Beavers kick off play in November by hosting the third-ranked Gophers for the first time this season.
• This weekend marks the fourth time this season that the Beavers will face a nationally ranked opponent and for the second weekend in a row they will face a top-five opponent.
• Bemidji State is seeking its first win over a ranked opponent of the season (0-6-0) and first since Feb. 11, 2022, a 3-2 win over No. 1 Ohio State.
• The Beavers begin a four-game homestand this weekend, but will have their first bye week between home series against Minnesota and University of St. Thomas (Nov. 15-16).
• The Beavers are 1-4-1 at home this season and their only win of the season came on home ice.
• Bemidji State returns to Sanford Center after a road trip to Madison, Wisconsin, where the Beavers took on No. 1 University of Wisconsin.
• BSU fell in both games at LaBahn Arena by scores of 4-0 and 6-0.
• First-year goalkeeper Kaitlin Groess made 77 saves for the Beavers this weekend, including 44 in game two.
• Bemidji State finished the month of October going 1-6-1 during the month.
• The Beavers welcome the Golden Gophers to Bemidji for the first time this season.
• The weekend will also be Organ Donation Awareness Weekend for the State of Bemidji, in an effort to raise awareness of the need for organ donors.
• The last time the Beavers played at Sanford Center, they went 1-0-1 against Lindenwood University.
• First-year head coach Amber Fryklund earned her first collegiate victory and is the program's career points leader (122).
• The Beavers scored a season-high six goals in the win and the most goals since they also scored six against Lindenwood on September 24, 2022.
• Sophomore Hailey Armstrong was awarded the WCHA Forward of the Week for the week and was the first Beaver since Reece Hunt (2021-2022) to be named the league's Forward of the Week.
• Minnesota travels to Bemidji as the No. 3 ranked team in both the USA Hockey/The Rink Live and USCHO.com top-15 national polls.
• The Gophers are sixth in the WCHA standings with six league points, while the Beavers are eighth looking for their first league points.
• Minnesota is coming off a series sweep of Minnesota State University, Mankato at Ridder Arena last weekend, defeating the Mavericks 11-4 in the series.
• Bemidji State is 9-94-7 all-time against Minnesota, while the Gophers have won the last 22 meetings between the two teams.
• The Beavers' last win over Minnesota was on December 2, 2017 in Minneapolis. The Beavers last defeated the Gophers at home on October 8, 2016.
• Bemidji State is 3-45-3 when hosting the Gophers.
• The Beavers are led by their natives of Warroad, Minnesota Genevieve Hendrickson, Talya Hendrickson And Kate Johnson each posted three career points against the Gophers.
• All three scored three points in last season's four-game series, where they each had a goal and two assists.
• Bemidji State is led by Armstrong and a freshman Isa Goettl who have each achieved five points in the first ten games.
• Armstrong leads the team with four goals, while Goettl has scored three goals and two assists.
• Freshmen Morgan Smith leads the team with three assists and has added a goal for four points.
• Sophomore Riley Reeves leads the Beavers' blueline with a total of four points on two goals and two assists. She also leads the team with 34 defensive zone blocks, which is tied for the most in DI Women's Hockey.
• Bemidji State's line of Goettl, Smith and senior captain Alyssa Watkins has been the most productive. The trio combined to score six of the team's fourteen goals (43%).
• Bemidji State's blueline group is one of the best in collegiate women's hockey when it comes to blocking shots.
• The Beavers have blocked 169 opponents' shots this season, most in the WCHA and second in the nation.
• Bemidji State earned 40 blocked shots last weekend at Wisconsin.
• The Beavers rank 1-2-3 in the WCHA in blocked shots with Reeves leading the way, followed by senior Kendra Fortin (25) and second year Olivia the drone (17).
• Freshmen Kaitlin Groess has earned the starting crease for the Beavers and has made seven starts with a 2.88 goals average and .916 save percentage.
• She leads the WCHA with an average of 31.00 saves per game, while her .916 save percentage is seventh in the league.
• Her 217 saves this season are the most in the league and sixth in Division I.
• Bemidji State's penalty kill has improved this season and ranks sixth in the WCHA with a penalty kill percentage of .792 (19 of 24). The Beavers went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill over the last three games.
• In her first season as head coach, Fryklund has welcomed 15 returners from the 2023-2024 season and added 12 newcomers to the roster.
• The Beavers will have one graduate and six seniors leading the team, followed by three juniors, eight sophomores and nine freshmen.
• The Beavers' roster consists of fifteen forwards, eight defensemen and four goaltenders.
• Senior Alyssa Watkins was voted team captain during the season by her peers and is the 40th team captain in program history. She is accompanied by senior Genevieve Hendrickson and junior Mya Headrick who will serve as alternate captains.
• Eight freshmen are joining the program for their first season in NCAA Division I women's hockey. The group consists of five forwards, one defenseman and two goaltenders.
• The Beavers' roster consists of 17 Minnesotans, 19 from the U.S., five from Canada and three from Europe.
• 2024-25 marks the 27th season in Bemidji State women's hockey history and the program is 276-550-81 (.351) in 907 games played.

For more information about the Bemidji State men's and women's hockey programs, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on ).

Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's and women's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs are members of the Northern Sun. Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

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