NCAA DI Men's Hockey

CCHA RinkRap: Salad Days For Bemidji

CCHA RinkRap: Salad Days For Bemidji

The upstart Bemidji Beavers took five out of six points from CCHA rival Michigan Tech, a team that had their number in the 2021-22 regular season.

Oct 24, 2022 by Tim Rappleye
CCHA RinkRap: Salad Days For Bemidji

Bemidji coach Tom Serratore was multitasking on the Beavers’ victorious bus ride home from Michigan Tech. As he was returning a call from a reporter, he was also making sure the team’s XL salad was divided 17 ways. Despite being in his 22nd year at the helm of the Beavers, he remains as engaged and enthusiastic as any young coach in college hockey.

Every time the cameras cut to him during their weekend sweep of Tech, he appeared engaged and enthusiastic, drawing his team toward him for quick lessons and encouragement—he is the coach with the dry-erase marker when it’s time to draw up faceoff plays.

His Beavers took five out of six points from CCHA rival Michigan Tech, a team that had their number in the 2021-22 regular season. Serratore has too much hard-earned experience to get cocky at this stage. 

“I’m happy where we’re at after two weeks, but it’s only two weeks,” said Serratore after settling his team’s salad issue Saturday night.

Bemidji and Michigan Tech both found their respective cupboards depleted last summer after graduation and transfers, both had to scramble to restock their rosters. Serratore brought in three veteran transfers who have paid early dividends: Kaden Pickering from St. Lawrence, Jackson Jutting from Colorado College, and “Magic” Mitchell Martan from Canisius. 

Martan has filled the void—and the net—after the departure of Bemidji’s two prodigious Sillinger brothers. The fifth-year senior has rifled in four goals in his last three games. 

“T.S. called me and convinced me,” said Martan, referencing his new coach by his age-old nickname. 

“T.S. is a historic coach.” 

It was more than Serratore’s reputation that convinced Martan to pack his bags for Bemidji. It was the Beavers dismantling of Big 10 Champions Wisconsin in the 2021 NCAA tournament that swayed this elite goal scorer. 

“I love the way the Beavers play, I watched them beat Wisconsin, it wasn’t even close.”

Rolling the dice on transfers is never a sure thing. 

“You watch a lot of tape, but you never know,” said Serratore. 

“There’s not many players over the years that you know what you’re getting. Those things just happen, and they evolve a lot of times.” 

Serratore prefers to recruit his players and bring them in as freshmen, and the avid fisherman landed a whopper in Minneapolis product Lleyton Roed. The rookie scored three circus goals this weekend in Houghton, including a pure snipe Friday night that made all-CCHA goalie Blake Pietila look pedestrian. Roed is Serratore’s kind of athlete. 

“We think Lleyton’s a helluva player. He’s got grit, skates well, shoots the puck well,” said Serratore. 

“He’s been very impactful for us in the early going. He plays how we like guys to play.”

The old Serratore formula was to smother with defense, kill over 90 percent of the penalties against, and scratch out a couple goals. But on Saturday night, the Beavers’ vaunted PK unit suffered two goals-against in the third period, costing BSU a pure sweep against Tech. 

Newcomers have infused offense throughout the Bemidji lineup, making them a more entertaining club, and the Beavers’ dressing room is full of happy chatter from a group with plenty of names on the score sheet. It was a boisterous bus full of Beavers who traversed the upper reaches of Minnesota early Sunday morning, but Serratore refuses to project long-term success. 

“College hockey can punch you right in the nose,” said Serratore. 

“You better not puff your chest out too much. You start doing that and you’re going to get beat up pretty good.”

Notes: 

  • Five of the 11 total goals scored this past weekend in Houghton were scored by freshmen from Minneapolis; three by Bemidji’s Roed, and on Saturday Michigan Tech’s Kyle Kukkonen scored both goals for the Huskies. The two players appear to be fabulous talents. Why, we asked Serratore, aren’t they playing for the glamorous hometown Gophers? “We have a lot of good hockey players in the state of Minnesota,” said Serratore, in a massive understatement. 
  • For all those waiting to see if and when Blake Pietila might be given a night off in the Michigan Tech net, the answer came Saturday night. Finnish frosh Max Vayrynen kept his club in the game with his steady play and calm demeanor. He had no mishaps handling the puck, and appears entirely comfortable at the NCAA level. Both coaches sung the praises of the 6-foot-2 kicker from Espoo, the goaltending future in Houghton.
  • Northern Michigan’s A.J. Vanderbeck exploded for two goals and two points in two periods Friday night against Anchorage. His six goals trail only Jack Randl in the national goal-scoring race. Vanderbeck now has 46 goals in his NCAA career.
  • For fans wondering why Lake Superior assistant coach Zack Cisek no longer appears as the second intermission of every FloHockey stream from the Soo, he has resurfaced in Miami. Cisek now assists old friend Chris Bergeron. Replacing Cisek on the Lakers coaching wheel is former volunteer assistant D.J. Goldstein. The upstate New York native injects both enthusiasm and candor to the LSSU intermissions.
  • St. Cloud State swept No. 2 Minnesota State this past weekend to win the unofficial Minnesota state championship before league play kicking in come November. With the weekend’s series hanging in the balance Saturday night, “Suitcase” Grant Cruikshank scored the tie-breaking, game-winning goal with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation. This is the third Division One team for Cruikshank in as many seasons (Colorado College and Minnesota the previous schools). Cruikshank also scored the tying goal and set up the game-winner on Friday versus the Mavericks. Welcome to the new world order of college hockey, where mercenary snipers jump from club to club in search of the best fit for their services. With six goals already this year, Cruikshank appears to have finally found the right home. St. Cloud is currently a perfect 6-0.