BSU Women’s Hockey off to Best Start in School History

The Halfway Point Marks a Season of Firsts and More to Come



Beavers out to prove they belong
Photo by: Eric Story



Story #8 - Final

Word Count: 965

Eric Story

With winter break upon us and fall semester officially over, the BSU women’s hockey team wrapped up arguably the best start first half of a season in school history. The Beavers entered enter winter break with an impressive 8-7-3 overall mark, and 6-5-3-2 record in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play. Their eight wins ties a school high for most wins before the semester break, but getting there was no easy task.

At the midway point of the season the Beavers have established a series of firsts in program history. Coming off an impressive finish to the 2009-10 season that culminated with their first ever playoff win and first appearance in the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF. The Beavers entered the 2010-11 season with a brand new home and a mentality that they could hold their own against the WCHA conference powers.  

The Beavers would end up playing six of their nine series against teams ranked in the top 10 in the country, with five of six series against ranked teams being critical conference matchups. Entering the season the Beavers where just 10-139-11 all-time against ranked opponents.

BSU opened the season with a pair of road series, splitting with Wayne State University before dropping both games at No. 5 Wisconsin.

The Beavers returned home for an eight game home stand, with three of the four series against ranked teams. In their home opener the Beavers would break in their brand new home, the BREC, squaring off against No. 1 Mercyhurst.

BSU entered the matchup against Mercyhurst just 1-9-2 all-time against the Lakers, and 0-20-1 all-time against a No. 1 ranked team. The Beavers would drop their first game in their new home 0-4, but would shock the Lakers in the series finale to earn the programs first ever win over a nation’s top ranked opponent.



Beavers take to the ice for the first time in new home
Photo by: Eric Story



After the game you could see the glow as head coach Steve Sertich had a grin from ear to ear during his post game press conference.  “It was great to be able to knock-off a No. 1 team in the country, but you have to start with McElhinney in net,” said Sertich. “She was unbelievable and really was the difference.”



The win sparked a four game win streak, and an offensive explosion from senior forward Erin Cody. Cody tallied seven goals and five assists during the win steak, including a natural hat-trick in the first period of the Beavers 3-2 win over St. Cloud State. Her second goal of the period was a thing of beauty and made its way on to the Beavers highlight introduction the next week, which is played before each home game.



Defenseman Marlee Wheelhouse chipped the puck out of the neutral zone toward forward Sadie Lundquist, who dished it off to Cody. She made a beeline towards the goal with SCSU defenders chasing her. Making a fake move to the inside drawing SCSU goaltender Ashley Nixon to drop into butterfly, before pulling the puck to her backhand going around the net minder. With half her body over the end line, Cody squeezed the puck past the near post and into the far corner of the net. Cody’s three fist period goals marked the first time in BSU history a player scored three times in one period.

The last win of the four game streak was probably the biggest win of the year so far, because it came against a team that the Beavers had never beat. The 1-0 win over the University of Minnesota Duluth ended a winless record over the conference power. It took over a decade and the 50^th try finally beat the Bulldogs.



“This was a great win for our program,“ said Sertich. “This is our home now and I think we’ve played well here. We have been playing the top teams toe to toe, and we’ve got some momentum going. It’s been fun to win games in this building.”

Sophomore forward Emily Erickson knows the win was monumental for the program but she and the rest of the team are taking the season all in stride. “We have a lot of skill on this team and every girl in the locker room knows it,” said Erickson.  “We’re just going out this year to prove it to everyone else."



The Beavers continued to show they are a team that’s no longer a bottom feeder in the WCHA, with a win and a tie against No. 8 North Dakota. The Beavers then earned a tie and a loss on the road against No. 9 Ohio State before an instate showdown at home against the seventh ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers.

In the first game of the two game series the Beavers snapped 17-game winless streak against the University of Minnesota, beating the Golden Gophers for just the third time in program history by a score of 2-0.



“We’ve come so far,” said Cody. “I’ve been here before where they were basically playing keep-away from us from the very beginning. Just going out there tonight and knowing that we’re even with them and that we have a good chance to win, it just comes down to who wants it more.”

At the halfway point of the season the Beaver sit in fifth place in the WCHA, just one point behind the Gophers. Their four wins over ranked opponents so far is more than any previous team in program history has accomplished in an entire season.

While the team has already accomplished so much, there’s still half a season to play. With their goal set on exceeding last year’s playoff run.  In a season so far filled with firsts, the BSU women’s hockey team is out to prove last season’s run to the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF was no fluke.

“We're ready to make history all season long,” said Erickson.