1 week Ago By Jared Rubado
BEMIDJI – There’s a standard tradition in hockey when a first-career goal is scored. After the players on the ice embrace, they begin to skate to the bench. However, one player hangs back to chase after the puck.
They bring it back to the bench and hand it to the training staff. Then, the official gets a new puck and resumes play at center ice. The Sanford Center was in danger of a puck shortage on Friday night.
The Bemidji State women’s hockey team had a collection of first-time occurrences in its 6-3 win over Lindenwood. It was the Beavers’ first win this season, which gave head coach Amber Fryklund her first victory as the program’s bench boss. “She puts her heart and soul into the game,” sophomore Hailey Armstrong said.
“She supports us and gives us the opportunity to do this. It’s awesome she got her first win. Hopefully, we can be part of many more for her.
” Friday night also included three first goals, three first assists and a first-career hat trick, along with a first win in net for a goaltender and a new program record. “We were delayed going into our locker room tonight because there were so many pucks handed out,” Fryklund said. “That was fun, it was a fun time in our locker room to see so many positive smiles and people pumped for each other.
” The Beavers did something they haven’t done since Jan. 5, 2019. Alyssa Watkins, Morgan Smith and Shelby Sandberg each scored to give BSU a three-goal lead heading into the second period.
It last happened almost six years ago against Union in a 6-3 win at the Sanford Center. Watkins’ second goal this season came midway through the first period. She found a spot under Lindenwood goalie Anna Larose’s arm to give Bemidji State a 1-0 lead.
Isa Goettl and Heidi Strompf picked up assists, the first of their careers. The firsts continued in the closing minutes of the opening frame. Smith scored a power-play goal with 2:19 left before the intermission, the first of her career.
“(It felt) like a dream,” Smith said. “I don’t really remember (what happened), to be honest. I just remember seeing Hailey back door.
The goalie kind of cheated a little bit, so (I’m going to) take that shot.” Sandberg, a sophomore, made it 3-0 with 57 seconds left with her first-career goal. Meredith Killian notched her first point in a BSU jersey with a secondary assist on Sandberg’s tally.
“I don’t think I remember a period where we’ve had three goals since I’ve been here,” Armstrong said. “It’s awesome, and it set the pace. It opened the floodgates.
” The Lions wanted to get in on the career-first action. They got one back on a power-play goal in the second period from freshman Silje Gundersen, her first collegiate goal. Armstrong, the Beavers’ 2023-24 leading scorer, finally broke through with 15 seconds left in the second period after taking 10 shots on goal.
Ironically, it happened when she didn’t shoot the puck. Lindenwood defenseman Ellie Muscrede inadvertently kicked in the goal, with Armstrong being the last BSU player to touch it. “I don’t know how that one went in,” Armstrong said.
“We didn’t even know who scored that one. We were all like, ‘Did you score? Did you score?’” By the end of the night, Armstrong took a team-high 14 shots. She said it’s been a while since she took that many in a single game.
Her last two shots, however, netted another Bemidji State first – a hat trick. Armstrong scored a pair of empty-net goals. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Armstrong said.
“I wanted it pretty bad this game. I took a lot of shots, and I was kicking myself after every one that didn’t go in. It’s nice to be rewarded in the end with those two empty-netters.
” Armstrong’s 14 shots on goal set a new program record, breaking Haley Mack’s mark of 12 set on Feb. 29, 2020 in a four-overtime game against Minnesota Duluth. “She’s been buzzing.
” Fryklund said. “I’m pretty sure in my pregame I talked about how Hailey has a goal in her stick tonight. I should’ve said she had three.
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On those two empty-netters, that’s just pure effort from her. She’s just pure speed.” Sandwiched in between Armstrong’s second and third goals were a pair of unassisted Lindenwood scores from Chloe Corbin.
However, the Beavers gave freshman goaltender Kaitlin Groess enough cushion to get her first-career win. Groess made her fifth start on Friday. She entered the game with a .
943 save percentage, which was seventh in the country among goalies who played over 200 minutes. “She’s been standing on her head for us for the past couple of games,” Armstrong said. “She deserved her first win before now, but I’m glad she got it tonight.
She’s going to keep doing that for us and we’re so happy for her.” In the weeks leading up to Friday night, Fryklund expressed the importance of the process instead of being results driven. Against the Lions, the result and the process were both in the Beavers’ favor.
“Getting a win was the plan today,” Fryklund said. “We talked about scoring goals, and we scored goals today, and that’s exciting. We talked about, in the third period, bringing good, positive energy.
We’re working hard at that and supporting each other. It’s fun to see the energy it brought to our bench and to our play. It was a wild third period, but getting a win is certainly rewarding.
” Fryklund played coy about the sentiment of getting her first win as a head coach by passing off the credit to her assistants and her players. But the girls in the locker room felt glad to be a part of it. “Coach Fryk has done a lot for us,” Smith said.
“She (pulls) you aside for the littlest things and littlest details. She helped build this team, and we want to keep building on that, too.” LU 0 1 2 – 3 BSU 3 1 2 – 6 First period – BSU GOAL: Watkins (Goettl) 10:02; BUS GOAL: Smith (T.
Hendrickson) PPG, 17:41; BSU GOAL: Sandberg (G. Hendrickson, Killian) 19:03. Second period – LU GOAL: Gundersen (Jackel) PP, 5:41; BSU GOAL: Armstrong (Cooper, T.
Hendrickson) 19:45. Third period – BSU GOAL: Armstrong (Reeves, Groess) ENG, 16:36; LU GOAL: Corbin (unassisted). LU GOAL: Corbin (unassisted) PPG, 18:36; BSU GOAL: Armstrong (unassisted) ENG, 18:55.
Saves – Groess (BSU) 24; Larose (LU) 14; Botwell (LU) 28..
