As chaos commences around CCHA, Beavers are unconcerned with playing spoiler
· Yahoo Sports
Feb. 27—BEMIDJI — Regardless of sport, coaches often mutter a repetitive cliché about their teams playing their best by the end of the season.
For the Bemidji State men's hockey team, there's historical truth behind it.
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When the Beavers begin their two-game series at 7:07 p.m. on Friday against St. Thomas, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association won't be any closer to determining a league champion. That's because heading into Friday's slate of games, five of the nine teams in the league can still win the MacNaughton Cup. Only one postseason seed has been decided — Ferris State will finish in eighth place — and only one team has clinched home ice.
While Augustana currently sits in first place with 50 points and has a two-point edge over the Tommies (48 points) and Michigan Tech (48), the Vikings, who will open the Mason Cup playoffs at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls, will likely slide down the standings. They finished their regular season last weekend by taking five points in a road series against UST.
Michigan Tech hosts fifth-place Bowling Green (44), while fourth-place Minnesota State (46) hosts eliminated Northern Michigan.
From the national perspective, four CCHA teams are still in the running for at-large bids. Minnesota State, St. Thomas, Augustana and Michigan Tech slot in 15-18 in the NPI rankings, respectively.
The table is set for a final weekend feast of chaos. And if history repeats itself, the biggest factor in all of it could be the Beavers.
When BSU played its road series against UST Jan. 16-17, the Tommies swept the Beavers for the first time as a Division I school. However, St. Thomas hasn't had much luck at the Sanford Center. In fact, they don't have a single win in eight games.
Bemidji State is 6-0-2 against Tommies at home. But there's an even more damming historical trend that goes against BSU's opponents. When hosting its final home series, Bemidji State is 10-2 over the last six years.
Bemidji State has also won five consecutive games on Senior Night. If the Beavers win Saturday's 6:07 p.m. game against UST (or if they win the series opener on Friday), chances are good the MacNaughton Cup will likely never make a stop on campus in St. Paul.
"It's going to be a dogfight," head coach Tom Serratore said. "They beat us a month ago in St. Paul and they have a heck of a hockey team. They're playing for a conference championship. We know we have to be at our best this weekend."
Bemidji State's turbulent season has culminated in a final postseason audition. The Beavers are 12-17-3 (10-11-3 in CCHA games) and are coming off a bye. Before the break, BSU split a pair of 1-0 games on the road against Minnesota State.
"We have to have a little desperation in our game right now," Serratore said. "We're still trying to figure out who the heck we are. Nobody wants to be figuring out who they are this late in the year, but we have to try to do that and get into a rhythm. That's what that was (in Mankato). We got into a rhythm by playing 120 minutes of pretty good hockey."
St. Thomas won 11 games in a row in December and January, but is just 1-3-1 in its last five, with its only win coming in overtime on the road against Bowling Green.
"We knew they were going to come in and have a good team this year," senior captain Kirklan Irey said. "They have great team speed. They're physical and they defend well and hard. They have great goaltending. I think that's something we can match. We struggled that weekend when we played them, all over the ice and in every aspect of our game. We knew that; we watched video and learned from it. I think we need to ramp up our speed and physicality and defend inside out."
St. Thomas has never won the MacNaughton Cup or the Mason Cup. The Tommies finished as the runner-up school in the last two pushes for the MacNaughton Cup and lost to Minnesota State in last year's Mason Cup championship game.
This is UST's final year in the CCHA. It will depart for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference next season, bringing the CCHA back down to eight teams. While Bemidji State could be the ultimate spoiler, preventing the Tommies from winning anything in the league before darting to another, it's a thought that's out of sight and out of mind in the BSU locker room.
"We're not worried about being a spoiler for St. Thomas as much as we're focused on playing good hockey," Serratore said. "Obviously, if you win and you play the spoiler, you look back on that and say it's kind of fun. But it's different than going into a game and saying you're a spoiler. Maybe some guys will, but we don't talk about it. We don't bring that stuff up."
Bemidji State still has its own spot to clinch. The Beavers will finish in sixth place by taking one or more points against St. Thomas this weekend. They will also clinch if Lake Superior State doesn't beat Ferris State in regulation on Friday.
"I can't worry or think about where things are going around us," Serratore said. "Of course we look at the scores and stuff when the games are over and all of that jazz, but we're just fighting to be playing our best hockey. That's where our focus is at with the Beavs."