Bemidji, Minn.  --- Bemidji State scored the first goal of the game and the last goal of the game in edging visiting Minnesota State 2-1 Friday.

The loss ended a three-game winning streak for Minnesota State.

The Beavers kicked off the scoring at 8:06 of the opening period when Jordan Heller walked down the slot and ripped a shot blocker side on Maverick goaltender Cole Huggins. The Beavers came out on top through the first 20 minutes of play leading 1-0 in scoring and also 10-6 in shots on goal.

The Mavericks started the second period off with a power play goal from Marc Michaelis at 4:26 when he bounced a pass off a Beaver player's stick and it slid between Michael Bitzer's legs. The lone goal of the second period from the Maverick freshman marked his fourteenth of the season and tied the game at one. Huggins stopped all eight Beaver shots in the period and after 40 minutes of action the score stood 1-1.

At 9:26 of the third period Gerry Fitzgerald blasted a shot from the top of the face-off circle with the Beavers on the power play that beat a screened Huggins and with Bitzer shutting the door the rest of the way, the game concluded with Beavers claiming the 2-1 win.

The Mavericks outshot the Beavers 27-25 in the game and Huggin, who stopped 23 shots in the contest, saw his record fall to 8-6-1 for this season. Minnesota State (18-11-4, 14-9-4-2 WCHA) went one-for-two in its power play chances on the evening, while Bemidji State (10-12-3, 20-5-2-2 WCHA) was also one-for-two with the man advantage.

The Mavericks and the Beavers close out the regular season Saturday night with a 7:07 p.m. face-off scheduled at BSU's Sanford Center.

Head coach Mike Hastings commented following the game.


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