March 12, 2006
College Hockey America Tournament Championship
Beavers Are Back in the NCAAs

Bemidji State 4, Niagara 2
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
No Scoring
Second Period
1-BS	Ryan Huddy (8)	EV
13:37	L. Erickson, R. Miller
2-BS	Ryan Miller (17)	SH
19:31	J. Bluhm
Third Period
3-BS	Jean-Guy Gervais (11)	EV
1:07	T. Scofield, A. Martens
1-NIA	Vince Rocco (11)	EV
1:48	T. Madsen
2-NIA	Ted Cook (20)	PP
14:54	J. Cross, S. Bentivoglio
4-BS	Jean-Guy Gervais (12)	EV
18:13	T. Scofield, D. Deterding
Goaltending
BSU: Layne Sedevie (60:00, 31 saves, 2 GA)
NIA: Jeff Van Nynatten (58:44, 19 saves, 4 GA)
Penalties: BS 7/14; NIA 4/8
Power Plays: BS 0-3; NIA 1-6
Attendance: 752
All-Tournament Team
G: Layne Sedevie, Bemidji State D: Andrew Lackner, Niagara D: Andrew Martens, Bemidji State F: Logan Bittle, Robert Morris F: Ted Cook, Niagara F: Ryan Miller, Bemidji State MVP: Jean-Guy Gervais, Bemidji State

Bemidji State’s Jean-Guy Gervais scored the game-winning goal 1:07 into the third period and added an insurance marker with 1:47 left in regulation, leading the Beavers to their second straight College Hockey America playoff championship with a 4-2 against top-seed Niagara at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Detroit Sunday.

With the win, Bemidji State (20-13-3) becomes the first team to earn a berth in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Beavers are also the first CHA school to win the league’s postseason title in back-to-back seasons since Wayne State accomplished the feat from 2001-03.

Gervais’ first goal capped a span during which the Beavers broke a scoreless tie by scoring three times over a 7:30 stretch of the second and third periods. Senior forward Ryan Huddy extended his current point streak to seven straight games on a goal with 6:23 remaining in the second period. The senior forward corralled a rebound off a shot by linemate Ryan Miller and tapped the puck past Niagara goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten for his eighth goal of the season. Miller gave BSU a 2-0 edge just prior to the second intermission with his 16th goal of the season, a shorthanded tally on a play started by Jake Bluhm, who forced a turnover in the neutral zone.

Gervais scored his first goal of the third period off a feed from Tyler Scofield on a two-on-one break, but Niagara (20-15-1), the CHA regular-season champion, had an answer for the Beavers’ offensive prowess this team. Just 41 seconds after BSU took the three-goal lead, the Purple Eagles’ Vince Rocco scored his 11th goal of the season, beating Layne Sedevie with a quick wrist shot from the right doorstep.

CHA Co-Freshman of the Year Ted Cook cut the Bemidji State lead to 3-2 with a power-play tally with 5:06 left in regulation, converting a nifty cross-ice feed from Justin Cross, stationed at the right point, for his 20th goal of the season. Gervais, a senior forward from Winnipeg, Manitoba, sealed the victory for the Beavers a little more than three minutes later, once again scoring on an assist from Scofield.

Sedevie made 31 saves for Bemidji State, outdueling the conference co-player of the year, Van Nynatten, who stopped 19 of the 23 shots he faced.

WHAT'S NEXT

Twelve of Bemidji State's top 13 scorers and both goaltenders were on the team that gave Denver a scare last year. It's easy to forget how close the Beavers came to an upset of the eventual national champions that afternoon in Amherst, Mass., when they held a pair of leads and eventually sent the game into overtime.

Bemidji will likely get another tall order in terms of an opponent, with No. 1 Minnesota as one possibility. Regardless of who they play, the Beavers will head in with confidence gained from their trip East last spring.