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Beavers make Huskies earn sweep
By Eric Stromgren
 Media Credit: Adam Masloski SCSU´s Matt Gens takes a shot on goal as Bemidji State´s Luke Erickson does his best to pester Gens during Saturday´s 3-2 Husky win.
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The Huskies are now on a four- game winning streak after sweeping Bemidji State University with a 5-2 win Friday, and a close 3-2 victory Saturday in a non-conference series at the National Hockey Center.
Bemidji State took an early lead Friday night by scoring 18 seconds into the game off a deflection from defenseman Bryce Methven's knee.
At the end of the first period, the teams were tied even though the Beavers held the shot advantage over the Huskies 16 to nine.
"The first period was kind of a wake-up call, they really took it to us," said senior captain Matt Hendricks. "We had to rally the troops up and get after it."
And rally they did. The Huskies came out in the second period a bit calmer and scored three consecutive goals.
At 4:28 of the second period, walk-on forward Garrett Larson scored his seventh goal of the season after he put home a rebound over the shoulder of BSU goaltender Grady Hunt.
The Huskies took a 3-1 lead after Konrad Reeder passed to first-year forward Grant Clafton who scored the goal.
Billy Hengen ended second period scoring with 5:18 left, beating Hunt from a centering pass from Matt Hendricks behind the goal line.
The Beavers attempted to make a comeback midway through the third period when Riley Riddell intercepted a clearing attempt and passed it to Luke Erickson for a top shelf goal over Tim Boron.
The Huskies defense clamped down and did not allow another goal and Hendricks bagged an empty-netter to ice the game 5-2.
Hendricks was impressed with the play of Bemidji State.
"They've worked as hard as any team we played this season, if not harder," he said.
He was even more impressed with the play of Tim Boron, who won the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week award for his performance against Michigan Tech last week.
"They put two goals in, and they could have had seven if it wasn't for Timmy Boron," Hendricks said.
Boron stopped 27 shots and kept the Huskies in the game during the Beaver's first period shooting barrage. The win improves the Huskies' Friday night record this season to 10-2-2.
Saturday night, the Huskies were the first on the scoreboard.
Dave Ianazzo put the Huskies up on a power-play goal, beating Grady Hunt with a wrist shot between the circles.
The Beaver's Andrew Murray tied the game two minutes later during a 5-on-3 power-play after scoring on a rebound from a Boron kick-save.
At the 7:15 mark, Peter Szabo was called for a slashing penalty. One second after the Huskies killed the penalty, BSU forward Lou Garritan beat Boron on the glove side to give the Beavers the 2-1 lead.
With just over five minutes remaining in the second, Szabo was called on a spearing match penalty after his stick swung around and hit a Bemidji State player.
Three minutes into the penalty kill, Tim Conboy cleared the puck down the ice into the Bemidji State corner. Dave Ianazzo came into the zone along the boards as Grady Hunt came out of his net to play the puck.
"He looked back at me and turned around to ring it. I went to the wall, it went right to me, and I just fired it," Ianazzo said.
The shot deflected off the tip of Hunt's stick as he tried to get back into position and went into the net for a short-handed goal.
"Killing off that penalty was the turning point of the game for sure," said Husky head coach Craig Dahl.
With 36 seconds left in the second period, Garrett Larson scored his eighth goal in 15 games and the eventual game winner. His shot from the goal line trickled through Hunt's pads.
"I just tried to throw it at the net and luckily it caught the inside left of his pad," Larson said.
The Huskies completed the sweep of Bemidji, winning 3-2. Tim Boron made 29 saves to help the Huskies win their fourth consecutive game.
"Timmy Boron was great all weekend, he definitely won them the series," said Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore.
The win did not come without loss, however. Peter Szabo will have to sit the first game against the Badgers next weekend in Madison for the match penalty he received Saturday night.
Justin Fletcher suffered a concussion during the first period and Matt Gens re-injured his shoulder that sidelined him for the past two series.
"We are going to have to fight through losing those two defensemen," Dahl said.
Next week's games against the Badgers is the first of a tough three series stretch for the Huskies. The two teams are tied for third in the WCHA with 27 points. The following week the Huskies will take on Colorado College at the NHC (20 points) and then the Gophers (23 points) in Minneapolis for the last series of the season.
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