Lumberjacks blank Warroad to end 17-year, 31-game winless drought

Jan. 2—BEMIDJI — Bailey Rupp and Payton Weidemann didn't know the last time the Bemidji High School girls hockey team beat Warroad.

They were shocked when they learned it was Dec. 28, 2006.

"Seriously?" Weidemann questioned. "I was born in 2006. I guess that just makes this even crazier, even better."

"Wait, are you serious?" Rupp added. "Was it actually that long ago? That's insane. That's crazy, and that's awesome."

It had been 17 years and three days since the Lumberjacks knocked off the Warriors. But with some blissful ignorance toward the 31-game winless streak, the Jacks ended it with a 1-0 win on Tuesday night at the Bemidji Community Arena.

"We were doing that for our seniors because they said they've never beaten Warroad," Rupp said. "But I guess a lot of seniors never got to beat Warroad."

Rupp, a freshman forward, entered Tuesday's game with six goals and five assists in her last three games. She was seventh among all Minnesota girls skaters in points (36) and first among all ninth graders, according to MN Girls' Hockey Hub.

Against Class A's third-ranked Warroad, Rupp had no trouble picking up where she left off.

She scored her 17th goal this season with 4:08 left in the first period. Rupp relieved one of five exhausted Jacks, who were hemmed in the defensive zone for over a minute by the Warriors. She received a neutral-zone pass from Sammy Nistler, beat a Warroad defender to the net and scored, burying her own rebound shot to give BHS a 1-0 lead.

"She's a really big part of our team in many ways," Weidemann said. "She's a team player, and that's what makes her great. It's not just about her, and she knows that. She scores a lot of goals, which is really good for us, but she's a team player first."

Scoreless second and third periods didn't come without action. While Rupp rang a puck off the crossbar while the Jacks peppered Warroad goalie Payton Rollo, the Warriors forced Weidemann to be even better in the Lumberjacks' crease.

Bemidji's senior goaltender made nine saves in the middle frame, including a breakaway denial on Emmie Hardwick and a one-time stop on Kaiya Sandy sitting on the doorstep.

Weidemann added eight more saves in the third period. She stopped Taylor Reese's redirected shot before robbing Sandy's point-blank chance with her blocker with 5:19 left. Maddie Skogman and Karlee Kalbrener also had high-dancer chances that led to game-saving stops by Weidemann in the final five minutes.

"She was crazy. Payton is so good," Rupp said. "She literally won that game for us. I love having Payton back there. I never worry when she's in net."

With 2:06 left in regulation, Warroad took its timeout to get its best line on the ice with fresh legs. Bemidji's top forward trio of Rupp, Megan Berg and Naomi Johnson survived the first 75 seconds of the Warriors' final push before BHS head coach Mike Johnson turned to his most defensively-sound group.

"I was thinking about calling my timeout, and some might question why I didn't use it," Johnson added. "I saw (Warroad) put their second unit on the ice for the last 40 seconds or so. I'll take my second unit over theirs every time. Sammy Nistler, Emma Greiner and Taylor Bjerke may have been our best line in the defensive zone tonight anyway.

"We lost our first four one-goal games to start the year. Now, we're starting to get on the right side of that. They know how much it sucks to lose a one-goal game. We did a fantastic job of protecting that lead at the end.

Dating back to a 1-1 tie on Nov. 26, 2013, the Jacks had lost its last 19 games against Warroad. In the 31 games the two teams played since Bemidji's last win in 2006, the Warriors (10-4) outscored the Lumberjacks 203-31, with 17 of those contests entering running time.

For Weidemann and Bemidji's (10-7) four other seniors, Tuesday was their final chance at snapping the dramatic winless skid that started the year they were born.

"I've always wanted to beat Warroad," Weidemann said. "They've been a good team for a very long time. But this time was our time."

Bemidji 1, Warroad 0

WAR 0 0 0 — 0

BHS 1 0 0 — 1

First period — BHS GOAL: Rupp (Nistler) 12:52;.

Second period — No scoring.

Third period — No scoring.

Saves — Weidemann (BHS) 23; Rolli (WAR) 15.