Bemidji State Beats Army

Courtesy of Army Athletic Communications

BEMIDJI, Minn. - Bemidji State scored the game-winning goal in the third period and then added a pair of empty net tallies and beat Army, 3-0, Saturday night in college hockey at the John Glas Fieldhouse.

The game was scoreless until the third period when the Beavers pushed across three scores and swept the series with Army while improving to 2-0-0.

Army fell to 0-2-0 on the season, despite a great showing from freshman goalie Jay Clark, Clark, a native of nearby Baudette, Minn., allowed one goal and made 22 saves in his collegiate debut. Clark faced 28 shots and turned away a number of Bemidji State scoring chances.

Unlike Friday's game when Army scored on its first shot, Saturday had a slower pace of place. The Black Knights had the first shot on goal at the 17:36 mark of the first period.

Clark made his first career save with 16:19 showing on the clock. The freshman made his first big collegiate stop when he turned away a two-on-none Bemidji State opportunity on an Army power play. The two-on-zero came when the referee could not get out of the way of an Army skater. Clark turned away another Bemidji State opportunity with less than six minutes remaining when he stoned a BSU shooter on a one-on-one chance.

Army, despite a 12-3 deficit in shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, had opportunities as Robb Ross, Luke Flicek and Jeff Fearing had shots on goal but Bemidji State goalie Orlando Alamano kept the game scoreless.

The Black Knights fired off 13 shots on goal in the second period and held Bemidji State to three but the scoreless tie remained. Even though each team had a power play opportunity, it remained 0-0 after 40 minutes.

Bemidji State pushed across the first goal early in the third period. Coming out of a short-handed situation, Ian Lowe scored off a double assist from Jamie Ruff and Chris McKelvie at the 15:49 mark.

Army continued to push, used a timeout and pulled the goalie but Bemidji State closed the scoring with two empty net goals in the final minute.

The Black Knights will host RPI Friday at 7:05 p.m. at Tate Rink in their home-opener. Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling 1-877-TIX-ARMY.

Game Notes: Army head coach Brian Riley started four players from Minnesota: Matt Hickey (Mendota Heights, Minn.), Zach McKelvie (New Brighton, Minn.), Jay Clark (Baudette, Minn.) and Luke Flicek (Burnsville, Minn.). Owen Meyer and Bryce Hollweg rounded out the starting lineup ... Clark is the fourth Army freshman to earn playing time in the first two games of the season, joining Cody Omilusik, Joey Ammon and Pat Copeland ... The series with Bemidji State marked a challenging weekend for Rick and Vicky McKelvie. Zach McKelvie is a defenseman on Army while his twin brother Chris is a freshman at BSU. The McKelvie's oldest son, Ryan, is a graduate assistant coach at Bemidji State. Rick McKelvie opted for an Army top and BSU hat for the games and was overheard rooting for a tie ... Zach and Chris were on the ice a few times together. Saturday, Zach was pushing his twin out of the crease ... Army was initially introduced as the Black Hawks before the public address announcer quickly corrected himself ... Andrew Lundbohm (USMA'99), a four-year letterwinner for the Black Knights was among the large Army contingent at the game.

Bemidji State 3, Army 0
Army  0-0-0 0
Bemidji St. 0-0-3 3

First Period:
None.

Second Period:
None.

Third Period:
B - Ruff (Lowe, McKelvie) 4:11
B - Pope, 19:35, empty net,
B - Jarvis, 20:00, empty net

Shots: Army 22 (3-13-6), Bemidji State 28 (12-3-13)
Saves: Army 25 (Clark, 59:08, 12-3-10); Bemidji State (Alamano, 60:00, 3-13-6)
Power Plays: Army 0-4; Bemidji State 0-3
Penalties: Army 3-6; Bemidji State 4-8
Attendance: 1,283