Jones and Martin bust scoring slumps, Beavers return to CCHA play in style over Lakers

Dec. 8—BEMIDJI — Eric Martin and Carter Jones weren't being snubbed of their first goals this season because of a lack of chances.

The two senior forwards for the Bemidji State men's hockey team had totaled 16 combined assists in 14 games. However, both of them had struggled to find a goal. That was until Friday night at the Sanford Center.

The Beavers (6-9-0, 5-4-0 CCHA) returned to league play for the first time in three weeks against Lake Superior State (7-8-1, 4-5-1 CCHA). In the first period, BSU jumped on the Lakers for three goals, with two of them coming off the sticks of formerly snake-bitten seniors.

Martin got things started midway through the first period. He buried a one-time pass from Austin Jouppi to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead.

"It definitely felt good to get the monkey off the back," Martin quipped about ending his scoring drought. "You try not to think about it when you're playing. But sometimes it's hard. It's always in the back of your mind. Now, maybe I can play a little more freely and not worry about it too much."

After Jere Vaisanen doubled the advantage 26 seconds later, Jones scored his first of the season to make it 3-0. He finished off a pressure-packed attack in the final minute and beat LSSU goalie Ethan Langenegger with 15 seconds left before the intermission.

Unlike Martin, Jones didn't feel much lingering pressure to score his first goal.

"Yeah, those felt good," Jones said. "Going into each game, I wasn't too worried about it. The chances were coming, so I just had to keep doing what I was doing: keep getting to the net. Tonight, I was in the right place at the right times. Good plays from Eric and Jouppi on those, too."

Langenegger's night lasted only 20 minutes. Bemidji State's three goals on 11 shots led to Lake State freshman William Håkansson getting his third appearance between the pipes this season.

Håkansson didn't fare any better, allowing four goals on 11 shots. Jones scored again to make it 4-0 early in the second period. After John Herrington got one back for the Lakers, the Beavers scored twice more in a span of 23 seconds before the end of the frame.

Noah Quinn's first career goal was a greasy one. He found a loose puck amid a pile of bodies in front of the goal to make it 5-1. Alexander Lundman added another, ripping a shot through Håkansson's legs.

"Sometimes the puck goes your way," head coach Tom Serratore said. "I've been in a million of these games both ways. I'm not going to sit there and pat our backs. Sometimes the puck just goes your way, and it went our way tonight. Our guys took advantage of that."

Serratore challenged his team to win the third period despite the lopsided score. Not only did Liam Engström's power-play goal ensure that, but the Beavers surrendered only two shots on goal over the final 20 minutes.

"I was proud of how our guys managed the third period," Serratore said. "I thought there were a few dicey moments. They hit the pipe one time. I thought our slot coverage got a little sloppy at times in the third period. But by and large, I thought our guys played a pretty mature third period, and that's what I wanted to see. You don't get many opportunities to win a game like this. There probably won't be another one the rest of the year."

With two goals and an assist, Jones tied for the team high in points on Friday night with Jouppi, his linemate. Jouppi assisted on three of BSU's first four goals.

"He's a horse," Jones said of Jouppi. "He's a guy everyone wants to play with. He's got a high motor, and he's good down low. He's taken a big step this year. He's making a lot of good plays for us."

Of the 12 Bemidji State players to record a point, six of them had more than one. Kyle Looft, Lleyton Roed, Martin and Engström all had multi-point nights. For the first time this season, the Beavers generated goals from all four lines.

"We all know in our locker room that we have great forward depth," Martin said. "There are a lot of guys who aren't even playing that deserve to be playing. Every night, we're going to have four lines out there that can play offensively and defensively. All 12 forwards are on the same page right now, and that's exactly what we need."

As for the series finale at 6:07 p.m. on Saturday, Serratore is convinced that the next contest will be much tighter.

"You better work your tail off," Serratore said. "You better manage the puck. You better be physical. You better play the game the right way because they're going to (on Saturday). I've been pitching in these situations and I've been catching in these situations. It's always a different game on Saturday night. Everybody get (your) tickets. It's going to be a fun one tomorrow."

Bemidji State 7, Lake Superior State 1

LSSU 0 1 0 — 1

BSU 3 3 1 — 7

First period — BSU GOAL: Martin (Jouppi, Jones) 9:25; BSU GOAL: Vaisanen (Flammang, Engström) 9:51; BSU GOAL: Jones (Pohlkamp, Jouppi) 19:45.

Second period — BSU GOAL: Jones (Jouppi, Looft) 4:49; LSSU GOAL: Herrington (Milburn, Westcott) 6:00; BSU GOAL: Quinn (Magnussen, Roed) 18:16; BSU GOAL: Lundman (Roed) 18:39.

Third period — LSSU GOAL: Engström (Martin, Looft) PP, 15:42.

Saves — Enright (BSU) 12; Langenegger (LSSU) 9; Håkansson (LSSU) 7.