2023–24 Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey season was the 68th season of play for the program, the 24th at the Division I level and 3rd in the CCHA. The Beavers represented Bemidji State University, played their home games at Sanford Center and were coached by Tom Serratore in his 23rd season.

2023–24 Bemidji State Beavers
men's ice hockey season
CCHA, champion
Conference1st CCHA
Home iceSanford Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall20–16–2
Conference15–7–2
Home15–7–0
Road5–9–2
Coaches and captains
Head coachTom Serratore
Assistant coachesTravis Winter
Andrew Magera
Brock Kautz
Captain(s)Kyle Looft
Alternate captain(s)Carter Jones
Jackson Jutting
Eric Martin
Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

Season

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Bemidji State's primary concern entering the season was how to replace four of their top five scorers from 2023. Though the leading scorer, Lleyton Roed, was back for his sophomore season, the Beavers would need the rest of the team to step up as well. With the offense still a work in progress, the team had trouble winning early in the season. The team was competitive in most of their games, playing three overtime matches in the first two weeks, but they were only able to win once. Once the team began its conference schedule, Bemidji's hopes were diminished when starting goaltender, Matias Scholl, suffered a lower body injury and was forced to miss several weeks.[1] Though Gavin Enright stepped up against St. Thomas, he wasn't able to sustain that level of play and the team's goals against ballooned.

During that time the offense began to figure itself out. Though they also lost Jackson Jutting for over 2 months due to injury, Bemidji State started seeing major contributions from new quarters. Several returning players posted new career highs and the Beavers were buoyed by the addition of Eric Pohlkamp. When Scholl returned The team was treading water but remained in the hunt for the conference title. He helped the team post a weekend sweep but because of the winter break, the Beavers weren't able to build on that momentum. Instead, Bemidji State lost four of five to kick off the second half of their season.

At the beginning of February, the team was 4 games under .500, however, because many of their losses were in non-conference games, the Beavers still had a good chance to get home ice in the first round of the conference tournament. However, over the final four weeks of the regular season, Bemidji State tore through its opposition. Scholl finally looked to have recovered from his injury while the offense found a consistency that had eluded them all season. The Beavers won eight games in a row (one in a shootout) and missed only two points in the standings. The streak sent BSU rocketing up the rankings and after they shutout Minnesota State in back-to-back games, the Beavers found themselves 9 points ahead of second place.

Bemidji State entered the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the country and they continued to roll over their competition. Though they got a slight scare from Ferris State in the first game, the Beavers swept their quarterfinal match and then easily dispatched Lake Superior State in the semifinals. With a conference championship their only path to the NCAA tournament, Bemidji State had even more to play for against Michigan Tech. Kasper Magnussen gave the team the lead in the first but after that the offense was unable to find the net. Despite firing 28 shots in the final two periods, no more scoring came from the Beavers. Tech was able to summon just enough scoring to take the lead and then held on for dear life thanks to a stellar performance from their goaltender.[2]

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Ross Armour Forward   Canada Graduation (signed with Savannah Ghost Pirates)
Brad Belisle Forward   Canada Graduation (signed with Éléphants de Chambéry)
Mike Carr Goaltender   United States Graduation (retired)
Mitchell Martan Forward   Canada Graduation (signed with Manchester Storm)
Aaron Myers Forward   United States Left Program (retired)
Kaden Pickering Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
Elias Rosén Defenseman   Sweden Graduation (signed with Kansas City Mavericks)
Will Zmolek Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Philadelphia Flyers)

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Rhys Chiddenton Forward   Canada 20 Campbellville, ON
Liam Engström Forward   Sweden 19 Surahammar, SWE
Kasper Magnussen Forward   Norway 19 Fredrikstad, NOR
Jake McLean Forward   Canada 21 North Vancouver, BC
Eric Pohlkamp Defenseman   United States 19 Brainerd, MN; selected 132nd overall in 2023
Noah Quinn Forward   Canada 20 Nelson, BC
Raythan Robbins Goaltender   United States 21 Anchorage, AK

Roster

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As of September 15, 2023.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1   Gavin Enright Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-08-26 Farmington, Minnesota Green Bay (USHL)
2   Tony Follmer Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 2000-10-26 O'Fallon, Missouri Lincoln (USHL)
3   Jack Powell Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1999-09-11 Alexandria, Minnesota Aberdeen (NAHL)
5   Will Magnuson Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2001-10-16 Chaska, Minnesota Bismarck (NAHL)
6   Mitch Wolfe Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2002-07-19 Andover, Minnesota Des Moines (USHL)
7   Kyle Looft (C) Graduate D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1998-06-27 Mankato, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL)
8   Adam Flammang Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-11-09 St. Michael, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL)
9   Carter Jones (A) Graduate F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1999-05-15 Hillyard, Washington Trail (BCHL)
11   Eric Martin (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 166 lb (75 kg) 2000-06-05 Calgary, Alberta Drumheller (AJHL)
12   Patrik Satosaari Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-06-18 Jyväskylä, Finland Pelicans U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
13   Donte Lawson Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-11-03 Taconite, Minnesota Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
14   Liam Engström Freshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 2004-09-17 Surahammar, Sweden Örebro HK (SHL)
15   Logan Acheson Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2002-04-24 Edmonton, Alberta Spruce Grove (AJHL)
16   Jere Väisänen Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-07-10 Espoo, Finland Amarillo (NAHL)
17   Noah Quinn Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2003-06-02 Nelson, British Columbia Cranbrook (BCHL)
18   Rhys Chiddenton Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 2003-05-23 Campbellville, Ontario Cranbrook (BCHL)
19   Jackson Jutting (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 2001-02-27 Savage, Minnesota Colorado College (NCHC)
20   Kirklan Irey Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2001-01-08 Bismarck, North Dakota Sioux City (USHL)
21   Alexander Lundman Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-06-17 Norrköping, Sweden HV71 J20 (J20 Nationell)
22   Austin Jouppi Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2000-04-18 Duluth, Minnesota Bismarck (NAHL)
23   Eric Pohlkamp Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2004-03-23 Brainerd, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL) SJS, 132nd overall 2023
25   Vince Corcoran Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-09-21 Plainfield, Illinois Wichita Falls (NAHL)
26   Jakub Lewandowski Junior F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 2001-10-25 Toruń, Poland Vítkovice U20 (Extraliga juniorů)
27   Jake McLean Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2002-07-27 North Vancouver, British Columbia Bismarck (NAHL)
28   Kasper Magnussen Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 2004-02-19 Fredrikstad, Norway Leksands IF J20 (J20 Nationell)
29   Lleyton Roed Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2002-08-08 White Bear Lake, Minnesota Tri-City (USHL)
30   Mattias Sholl Junior G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-09-30 Hermosa Beach, California Youngstown (USHL)
35   Raythan Robbins Freshman G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2002-06-05 Anchorage, Alaska Muskegon (USHL)

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Bemidji State 24 15 7 2 2 1 2 48 82 64 38 20 16 2 117 111
St. Thomas 24 12 11 1 0 2 0 39 68 62 37 15 20 2 97 105
#19 Michigan Tech* 24 12 10 2 1 2 0 39 63 54 40 19 15 6 109 102
Minnesota State 24 12 10 2 2 1 1 38 73 62 37 18 15 4 111 96
Northern Michigan 24 10 10 4 1 1 2 36 57 67 34 12 16 6 83 105
Bowling Green 24 11 12 1 1 1 1 35 60 69 36 13 22 1 86 116
Lake Superior State 24 11 12 1 2 2 0 34 79 73 38 17 20 1 114 113
Ferris State 24 6 17 1 3 2 1 19 49 80 36 10 24 2 83 125
Augustana ^ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 12 18 4 90 105
Championship: March 22, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup)
^ Augustana is playing a transition schedule of 16 games against conference opponents that are not counted in the standings
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 8 6:00 pm at #3 Minnesota* 3M Arena at MariucciMinneapolis, Minnesota (Exhibition) BTN+ Robbins L 2–5  8,289
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 13 7:07 pm Wisconsin* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Ice Breaker Game 1)   Sholl L 3–4 OT 2,008 0–1–0
October 14 6:07 pm Army* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Ice Breaker Game 2)   Enright W 3–2 OT 1,986 1–1–0
Regular Season
October 20 7:07 pm at #14 Minnesota Duluth* AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota   Sholl L 0–4  5,866 1–2–0
October 21 6:07 pm #14 Minnesota Duluth* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Enright L 4–5 OT 2,451 1–3–0
October 27 7:07 pm St. Thomas Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Enright W 3–2  1,686 2–3–0 (1–0–0)
October 28 6:07 pm St. Thomas Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Enright W 2–0  1,643 3–3–0 (2–0–0)
November 3 6:07 pm at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Enright L 3–4 OT 1,231 3–4–0 (2–1–0)
November 4 5:07 pm at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Enright L 1–5  1,313 3–5–0 (2–2–0)
November 10 7:07 pm Michigan Tech Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Enright L 2–4  1,632 3–6–0 (2–3–0)
November 11 6:07 pm Michigan Tech Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Enright W 6–4  1,740 4–6–0 (3–3–0)
November 17 7:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Enright L 1–5  4,941 4–7–0 (3–4–0)
November 18 6:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota KEYC Enright W 7–6  5,008 5–7–0 (4–4–0)
November 24 7:07 pm at #1 North Dakota* Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota Midco Enright L 2–3 OT 11,631 5–8–0
November 25 6:07 pm at #1 North Dakota* Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota Midco Enright L 0–5  11,690 5–9–0
December 8 7:07 pm Lake Superior State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Enright W 7–1  1,687 6–9–0 (5–4–0)
December 9 6:07 pm Lake Superior State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Enright L 1–6  1,536 6–10–0 (5–5–0)
December 14 7:07 pm Bowling Green Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl W 3–1  1,019 7–10–0 (6–5–0)
December 15 7:07 pm Bowling Green Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl W 5–2  1,539 8–10–0 (7–5–0)
December 29 7:07 pm #14 St. Cloud State* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl L 1–6  3,998 8–11–0
December 31 6:00 pm at #14 St. Cloud State* Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Sholl L 1–6  4,789 8–12–0
January 5 6:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Sholl W 4–1  1,504 9–12–0 (8–5–0)
January 6 5:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Sholl L 3–5  1,734 9–13–0 (8–6–0)
January 19 6:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey Sholl L 1–2  2,864 9–14–0 (8–7–0)
January 20 6:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey Sholl T 2–2 SOW 2,769 9–14–1 (8–7–1)
February 2 7:07 pm Augustana* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl W 5–0  2,050 10–14–1
February 3 6:07 pm Augustana* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl L 2–5  2,435 10–15–1
February 9 6:07 pm at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Sholl W 4–2  2,645 11–15–1 (9–7–1)
February 10 6:07 pm at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Sholl T 3–3 SOW 3,011 11–15–2 (9–7–2)
February 15 7:07 pm Ferris State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl W 3–2 OT 1,256 12–15–2 (10–7–2)
February 16 7:07 pm Ferris State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl W 4–1  2,153 13–15–2 (11–7–2)
February 23 7:07 pm at St. Thomas St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl W 6–5  1,014 14–15–2 (12–7–2)
February 24 6:07 pm at St. Thomas St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl W 3–1  1,008 15–15–2 (13–7–2)
March 1 7:07 pm Minnesota State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sholl W 6–0  2,522 16–15–2 (14–7–2)
March 2 7:07 pm Minnesota State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Enright W 2–0  2,402 17–15–2 (15–7–2)
CCHA Tournament
March 8 7:07 pm Ferris State* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Sholl W 5–4 OT 1,725 18–15–2
March 9 6:07 pm Ferris State* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Sholl W 4–0  2,176 19–15–2
March 16 7:07 pm Lake Superior State* #20т Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Semifinal) FloHockey Sholl W 4–1  3,048 20–15–2
March 22 7:07 pm Michigan Tech* #20 Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Championship) FloHockey Sholl L 1–2  4,373 20–16–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Lleyton Roed LW 38 14 16 30 16
Kyle Looft D 32 6 22 28 14
Eric Martin F 38 8 18 26 6
Eric Pohlkamp D 32 11 13 24 18
Carter Jones F 37 6 18 24 12
Jackson Jutting F 27 10 12 22 2
Adam Flammang RW 38 9 10 19 24
Austin Jouppi F 37 2 17 19 16
Jere Väisänen F 37 9 8 17 4
Kirklan Irey F 37 8 7 15 22
Mitch Wolfe D 38 1 12 13 14
Kasper Magnussen LW 29 7 4 11 6
Vince Corcoran D 34 2 9 11 14
Jake McLean F 38 6 4 10 2
Alexander Lundman LW/RW 20 3 5 8 4
Rhys Chiddenton LW 23 2 6 8 4
Donte Lawson F 17 4 3 7 0
Patrik Satosaari D 31 1 5 6 8
Liam Engström F 17 3 2 5 4
Tony Follmer D 28 1 4 5 4
Will Magnuson D 32 0 5 5 16
Logan Acheson D 28 2 2 4 4
Jakub Lewandowski F 9 1 1 2 4
Noah Quinn F 18 1 0 1 10
Raythan Robbins G 3 0 0 0 0
Jack Powell D 4 0 0 0 0
Gavin Enright G 15 0 0 0 0
Mattias Sholl G 24 0 0 0 0
Total 117 203 320 257

[5]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Mattias Sholl 24 1428:42 14 8 2 59 595 3 .910 2.48
Gavin Enright 15 792:03 6 8 0 42 285 2 .872 3.18
Raythan Robbins 3 66:55 0 0 0 6 24 0 .800 5.38
Empty Net - 15:40 - - - 4 - - - -
Total 38 2303:20 20 16 2 111 904 5 .891 2.89

Rankings

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Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20т 20 NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

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Player Award Ref
Kyle Looft CCHA Defenseman of the Year [7]
Mattias Sholl CCHA Goaltender of the Year [8]
Kyle Looft CCHA Best Defensive Defenseman [9]
Jackson Jutting CCHA Best Defensive Forward [10]
Tom Serratore CCHA Coach of the Year [11]
Mattias Sholl CCHA First Team [12]
Kyle Looft
Eric Pohlkamp
Lleyton Roed
Eric Pohlkamp CCHA Rookie Team [13]

References

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  1. ^ "Sholl regains control, returns to Bemidji State's crease after suffering lower-body injury". The Bemidji Pioneer. December 15, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Tech Hockey - Bemidji State Highlights - 03.22.24". YouTube. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey". Bemidji State Beavers. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Bemidji State Beavers. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  5. ^ "Bemidji State Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Looft Claims CCHA Defenseman of the Year". CCHA. March 14, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  8. ^ "CCHA Goaltender of the Year Goes to Sholl". CCHA. March 14, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "Kyle Looft Tabbed Best Defensive Defenseman". CCHA. March 13, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  10. ^ "Forwards Jutting and Milburn Share Defensive Honor". CCHA. March 12, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  11. ^ "Serratore Named CCHA Coach of the Year". CCHA. March 27, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  12. ^ "All-CCHA First Team Announced". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  13. ^ "CCHA All-Rookie Team Revealed". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.