Beavers go to No. 3 Gophers for WCHA series and Hockey Day in Minnesota

BEMIDJI, Minn. The Bemidji State University women's hockey team returns to the road for the final series of its 13-game road streak, traveling to No. 3 University of Minnesota Friday-Saturday.

The Beavers (4-20-1, 2-16-0 WCHA) will face the Golden Gophers (19-5-1, 13-4-1 WCHA) on Friday, January 24 at Ridder Arena for game one of their series and will then head outside to Valleyfair in Shakopee, Minnesota, to take part in the statewide hockey celebration for Hockey Day in Minnesota on Saturday for game two. Game one at Ridder Arena is scheduled for 12 p.m., puck drop as festivities begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday

Friday's game will be streamed online on B1G+ with play-by-play provided by Gopher Athletics, while Saturday will be televised exclusively and streamed online on Fan Duel Sports Network. There will be a Beaver Radio Network broadcast available for every game, courtesy of the Beaver Radio Network. Fans can tune in online at www.beaverradionetwork.com or on the radio at 94.3 FM The Legends.

Bemidji State Notes

• Bemidji State faces Minnesota for the fourth and fifth meetings this season, the most of any opponent.
• The Beavers end a 13-game road streak this weekend.
• Bemidji State is participating in the second Hockey Day in Minnesota festival after Bemidji hosted the event in 2019.
• Saturday will mark the third time in program history that the Beavers have played outdoors and are 0-2-0 on outdoor ice.
• BSU competed against the University of Wisconsin in the Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic, held at Camp Randall Stadium on February 6, 2010, and on Hockey Day in Minnesota on January 19, 2019, as it played outdoors twice.
• The Beavers face their third consecutive opponent in the top 15 of the national rankings and fifth overall.
• BSU is back in action after falling to No. 11 St. Cloud State University in two games last weekend in St. Cloud.
• The Beavers fell just short of upsetting the Huskies in game two after scoring the first two goals, but the Huskies stormed back to score three unanswered, including the game-winning goal with 1:09 to play.
• Bemidji State is 0-3-0 against the Gophers this season and last met on Jan. 1 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Face-Off Classic, where the Gophers earned a 4-1 victory.
• The Beavers hope to end a 25-game losing streak against the Gophers that dates back to Nov. 2, 2018.
• Bemidji State is 9-97-7 all-time against the Gophers and 5-49-4 when playing on the road.
• Sophomore Kate Johnson (2g-2a) and seniors Genevieve Hendrickson (1g-3a) leads all Beaver skaters with a total of four career points against the Gophers.
• Johnson scored the Beavers' lone goal in their last meeting on Jan. 1.
• There are only five WCHA series left in the 2024-2025 regular season and the Beavers will look to earn as many league points as possible to climb out of eighth place in the standings.
• Minnesota enters this weekend in second place in the standings with 39 points in conference play.
• Bemidji State head coach Amber Fryklund is back with the team after traveling with Team USA at the IIHF U-18 Women's World Championships, where she helped Team USA earn a silver medal.
• Minnesota enters the weekend ranked third in both the USA Hockey/The Rink Live and USCHO.com national polls and has won its last four games.
• The Beavers are led by their underclassmen, with eight of their top-10 scorers being freshmen or sophomores.
• Sophomore Hailey Armstrongredshirt freshman Isa Goettl and freshmen Morgan Smith paced the Beavers by a total of 13 points apiece.
• Armstrong leads the team with eight goals while Morgan Smiths five power play goals leads the team and ranks third in the WCHA.
• The trio scored the most points in a season for BSU since the 2021-2022 season.
• Goettl is committed to being a sophomore Kate Johnson for the team leader with seven assists.
• Smith's five power-play goals this season rank 10th most in a single season in program history and trail program record holder Sadie Lundquist, who scored eight in 2011-12.
• Smith leads the Beavers with seven points on the power play (5g-2a), while Goettl follows with five (2g-3a).
• The Beavers' power play ranks seventh in the WCHA, converting 0.169 percent (10 of 59) of their chances.
• Bemidji State remains the nation's top team in shot blocking, leading the league and ranking fifth in Division I with 413 blocked shots.
• Five of the top 10 shot blockers in the league are Bemidji State Beavers, including sophomores Riley Reeves who leads the league and is tied for third in the country with 63 blocked shots.
• Freshmen Kaitlin Groess is the Beavers' leading netminder, posting a 3-12-0 record with a 3.36 goals against average and a .901 save percentage in 15 games this season.
• She shared time with the sophomores during the second half of the season Eva Filippova who is 0-6-0 with a save percentage of .881 and a 3.87 goals against average.
• 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.
• The Beavers' roster consists of 17 Minnesotans, 19 from the U.S., five from Canada and three from Europe.
• 2024-2025 marks the 27th season in Bemidji State women's hockey history and the program is 279-562-81 (.347) in 920 games played.

For more information about the Bemidji State women's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on X or Instagramor like them Facebook.

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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