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Beavers felled by Falcons: Serratore records two points, No. 20 Air Force splits series

BEMIDJI-Air Force's hometown Bemidji Lumberjack made sure his name was heard plenty at the Sanford Center this weekend. Bemidji native and Falcons forward Matt Serratore had a hand in each of his team's two first-period goals as No. 20 Air Force ...

BSU's Gerry Fitzgerald and the Air Force's Kyle Haak go head to head for control of the puck during Saturday's game at the Sanford Center in Bemidji. (Jordan Shearer | Bemidji Pioneer)
BSU's Gerry Fitzgerald and the Air Force's Kyle Haak go head to head for control of the puck during Saturday's game at the Sanford Center in Bemidji. (Jordan Shearer / Forum News Service)

BEMIDJI-Air Force's hometown Bemidji Lumberjack made sure his name was heard plenty at the Sanford Center this weekend. Bemidji native and Falcons forward Matt Serratore had a hand in each of his team's two first-period goals as No. 20 Air Force defeated the Bemidji State men's hockey team 5-1 Saturday night to secure a series split.

First, the junior played a puck to Jordan Himley in the slot for the first goal of the night at the 7:24 mark, returning the favor to Himley who had assisted on Serratore's goal Friday.

Then, Serratore batted in a one-timer, beating Michael Bitzer stickside for his second goal of the weekend with just 21.7 seconds left in the frame to make it 2-0 entering the intermission.

"To me it's not about Matt getting a goal and an assist," said his father, BSU head coach Tom Serratore. "It's about us losing a game and, not only losing. I don't mind losing. I can handle losing. I just don't like it when we get beat in our own building like we did tonight."

Despite a second-period power-play goal, the Beavers (2-1-1) could not hang with the Falcons (4-1-1) and suffered their first loss of the season.

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"The better team just won, flat out," Tom Serratore said. "They came ready to play. They played with a lot of passion. They played with a lot of desperation."

Bemidji State was outshot 13-5 in the first period, but recovered to edge the visitors 12-11 in the second.

BSU got a break on the power play early in the second. Jay Dickman redirected a shot from Zach Whitecloud into the back of the net 3 minutes, 18 seconds into the period.

The one-goal deficit lasted until the 11:05 mark of the frame when a puck trickled in past Bitzer during a scrum in front of the net. Officials reviewed the play but the goal was ruled good and credited to Tyler Ledford.

The Falcons extended the lead to 4-1 less than five minutes later when Matt Koch snaked a long-distance shot through traffic that eluded Bitzer.

The senior goaltender was pulled after the goal for freshman Henry Johnson who made his first collegiate appearance.

"We weren't supporting Mike Bitzer at all," Tom Serratore said. "I felt bad for Bitz. So I just felt at that particular time the game was over.... The way we were playing we weren't touching the puck so I said, 'Bitz, come on.' Gave Hank a little experience and, again, at the end of the day Bitz has saved us a lot and I just didn't feel like we played in front of Bitz the way we were supposed to."

The BSU defense kept Air Force off the board for most of the third period, but the Beavers could not come through with another goal despite winning the shots battle 13-2 in the frame.

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Himley scored an empty-net goal with 39 seconds left to secure the series split with the 5-1 win.

"We flat out got outworked," Dickman said. "We didn't come out ready to play."

Saturday's result means Air Force head coach Frank Serratore and his brother, Tom, split the first series played between the siblings in eight years. Tom still holds a 21-4-1 advantage in all-time meetings between the former BSU players.

The Beavers will attempt to bounce back from Saturday's defeat with their first Western Collegiate Hockey Association series of the season next weekend against Ferris State. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 28.

No. 20 Air Force 5, Bemidji State 1

AF 2 2 1-5

BSU 0 1 0-1

First period-1, AF, Himley (Serratore), 7:24; 2, AF, Serratore (Tomlak, Boje), 19:39.

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Second period-3, BSU, Dickman (Whitecloud), 3:18, PP; 4, AF, Ledford (Giesler, Boje), 11:05; 5, AF, Koch (Kucera, Stone), 15:32.

Third period-5, AF, Himley (unassisted), 19:21, EN.

Saves-BSU, Bitzer 20; BSU, Johnson 1; AF, Christopoulos 29.

"Pink the Rink" jersey auction to fund mammograms

The Sanford Health Foundation in Bemidji and the Edith Sanford Breast Center are teaming up with Bemidji State hockey to "Pink the Rink" and fight breast cancer.

On Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28, the Beaver men's and women's hockey teams will take to the ice wearing limited-edition pink jerseys. Those 53 player jerseys will be auctioned off with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the Sanford Health Foundation's Edith Sanford Breast Center in Bemidji, raising funds for local women who otherwise could not afford the screening.

To participate, text PINK to 71760. The online auction will close on Friday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m.

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BSU's Gerry Fitzgerald and the Air Force's Kyle Haak go head to head for control of the puck during Saturday's game at the Sanford Center in Bemidji. (Jordan Shearer | Bemidji Pioneer)
BSU's Leo Fitzgerald prepares to shoot during Saturday's game against the Air Force at the Sanford Center in Bemidji. (Jordan Shearer / Forum News Service)

Austin Monteith is the former sports editor at the Bemidji Pioneer. A native of Bloomington, Ill., he is a 2015 graduate of Butler University. Follow him on Twitter at @amonteith92. Contact the Pioneer sports department at sports@bemidjipioneer.com.

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