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NAHL Aberdeen Wings

Former Wings Shine in BSU's Exhibition

October 6, 2015 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Aberdeen Wings News Release


Former Aberdeen Wing Mike Soucier
Former Aberdeen Wing Mike Soucier
(Aberdeen Wings)

Bemidji State's lineup on Sunday afternoon delivered on that promise.

With all eight freshmen dressed and in BSU's lineup against the University of Manitoba, three of them scored to help the Beavers to a 6-1 victory Sunday at the Sanford Center.

"The biggest thing is, we needed to play," BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. "We needed to play with referees, with fans, and with structure. I think we did that. I think it was important for those young guys to get into the game and gain that experience as quick as they possibly can."

Six different players found the back of the net for the Beavers on Sunday, including freshman forwards Mike Soucier and TJ Roo as well as defenseman Dillon Eichstadt.

"It was nice to see those guys have a little success offensively, but the biggest thing is, they've just got to learn how we do things on a consistent basis, day to day," Serratore said. "And that's an adjustment for guys, and that takes time. But overall I thought it was a good effort by our guys. There were some things I liked and some things we need to work on, but that's to be expected."

Eichstadt, a Bemidji High School graduate playing in front of home fans in Bemidji for the first time since suiting up for the Lumberjacks, scored a power play goal late in the second period. With the puck along the boards for at least 30 seconds, Manitoba committed three players to try and dig it out and get the clear. But BSU senior Cory Ward got it first and flipped it to a wide-open Eichstadt in the slot, who buried it for his first goal at the college level.

"That was obviously really special," Eichstadt said. "It was a little bit faster, guys are a little bit older. It was good to get that exhibition before our regular season starts."

Junior forwards Charlie O'Connor and Brendan Harms and sophomore forward Gerry Fitzgerald also scored for the Beavers, who established control early over the Bisons with two quick goals in the first four minutes.

O'Connor opened the scoring 3 minutes, 41 seconds into the game followed by Soucier's rebound tally just more than a minute later. That cause Manitoba coach Mike Sirant to call a timeout to calm his tired team down -- the Bisons were coming off a 8-3 loss to North Dakota in Grand Forks with less than 24 hours of recovery time between faceoffs.

However, the timeout worked, and from there the Bisons were in control for most of the rest of the period.

"I don't think we had another shot for the next eight or nine minutes," Serratore said. "They took it to us. We didn't manage the puck very well, and we were sloppy. And (BSU goalie Michael Bitzer) made some saves. I'm glad he got a little work."

Harms' goal late in the first returned the momentum to the Bemidji side. The junior from Manitoba beat both defenders then deked Manitoba goaltender Justin Paulic three times before backhanding it above the goalie's leg. Harms also tripped over said leg as the puck was flying past the goal line to make it 3-0.

The Beavers went into the dressing room up by that same score and mostly dominated from there.

The Bisons had nine shots in the first period but just three in the second and eight in the third. Sophomore Bitzer started in net for BSU while junior Reid Mimmack played the second period and sophomore Jesse Wilkins the third.

Dylan Kelly scored Manitoba's only goal with just less than two minutes left in regulation.

"It was just nice to get out there and get a feel for the play, get hit a couple times and get back into regular season action in a physical and mental way," BSU senior defenseman and captain Graeme McCormack said. "It was good to get the lines rolling, and with D-pairings, it was good to get chemistry with your partner. There were some mishaps and things, but that will happen the first time you're out with a guy in your real game."

Serratore said he and the rest of the BSU coaching staff is glad to get the first game out of the way so they can get back into a normal routine for the rest of the season. The Beavers play a home-and-home with No. 2 Minnesota Duluth next weekend -- Friday in Duluth and Saturday in Bemidji.

"I'm glad we got to play," he said. "The last couple years, we haven't had an exhibition game. The one thing, it is nice to get this under your belt. It's a good baseline for where to move on next."

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Former Aberdeen Wing Mike Soucier
Former Aberdeen Wing Mike Soucier
   

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