BEMIDJI, Minn. – Bemidji State shut out Minnesota State for a second straight night, winning 2-0 Saturday over the Mavericks at Sanford Center.
 
Mitch Wolf scored the eventual game-winner 3:15 into the second period and the Beavers added an empty net tally to seal the series sweep.
 
Minnesota State (16-4-4, 12-10-2 CCHA) landed fourth in the final regular season standings and will host No. 5 seed Northern Michigan (12-14-6, 10-10-4) in the opening round of the Mason Cup Playoffs next Friday and Saturday (Sunday if necessary) at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Game times are 7:07 p.m. and 6:07 p.m.
 
Following a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Mavericks killed the remainder of a minor penalty to start the second.
 
The Beavers held the offensive zone following their power play and Wolfe came off the bench, snuck in from the left point and one-timed Jake McClean's cross-ice pass with a low shot past Keenan Rancier. It was Wolfe's first career goal. Donte Lawson also assisted.
 
The Mavericks killed five power plays in the game and managed 22 shots on goal, but the Beavers blocked 20 more shot attempts and Kaper Magnussen added a second goal at 19:23 in the third period as BSU took the season series 3-1. Gavin Enright made 22 saves for Bemidji State to earn the shutout in goal.
 
The Mavericks finished 0-2 on the power play and have gone 61 minutes without a goal, scoreless since their final home game against Lake Superior State (Feb. 24).
 
"The weekend didn't go the way we wanted. We look forward to rising to the challenge in our quest for the Mason Cup," said head coach Luke Strand.
 
Bemidji State (17-15-2, 15-7-2 CCHA) is 8-0-1 over its last nine games and hosts No. 8 seed Ferris State (10-22-2, 6-17-1) in the CCHA Quarterfinals next weekend. The Beavers won the MacNaughton Cup as regular season champions for the second time in program history Friday night, ending MSU's run of six in a row.
 
St. Thomas (14-18-2, 12-11-1) split its two-game set against Michigan Tech (15-14-6, 12-10-2) to grab the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds respectively. The Mavericks have hosted the opening round of the conference series every year since 2011-12 (Minnesota Duluth).