Bemidji State (8-10-0) vs. Bowling Green (7-13-0)

A rare Thursday/Friday series took place in Bemidji between the Beavers and the Falcons, with the Beavers skating to a series sweep and bypassing the Tommies to claim first place in the CCHA standings.

Sophomore defenseman Logan Acheson recorded his first collegiate goal with 7:22 to put the Beavers ahead in the first period of game one. That lead held until just over the midway point of the second when Carter Jones doubled Bemidji's lead. At the end of the third period, with their goaltender pulled, Bowling Green made it 2-1 with 2:36 remaining in the game; however, Bemidji State answered with an empty netter to seal a 3-1 victory. The Beavers dominated the shots column, outshooting the Falcons 46-19. 

The Beavers' power play was firing on all cylinders in the first period of game two as Bemidji State tallied three power-play goals to jump out to a decisive 3-0 lead after one. The Falcons clawed one back 7:25 into the second, but the Beavers reclaimed their three-goal lead later in the period via a goal from Kirklan Irey. St. Michael native Adam Flammang extended Bemidji's lead to 5-1 with 8:14 remaining in regulation, and Bowling Green scored the final goal of the weekend to end the game 5-2. The Beavers again placed a ton of pucks on net and outshot the Falcons 40-18. 

This marks Bemidji's second sweep of the season, and the team will now have the holiday weekend off before returning to play No. 14 St. Cloud State (9-5-2) in a home-and-home series on 12/29 and 12/31. 

Minnesota State (8-8-2) at RPI (3-11-1)

Minnesota State traveled to New York to play Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), which marked the first time these two teams have played since the 2012-13 season. 

Game one Friday night started with a scoreless first period before a three-goal second, with Steven Bellini breaking the deadlock and putting the Mavericks ahead 2:02 into the period. Less than two minutes later, RPI tied it at 1-1 and later added a power play goal of their own, leading 2-1 after two. A shorthanded Lucas Sowder goal tied the game at 2-2. However, the tie did not last long, as the Engineers retook the lead only 34 seconds later. On Minnesota State's next power play attempt, the Mavericks responded, retying the game at 3-3 with 7:47 remaining in regulation. The game eventually headed to overtime, and RPI's Jakob Lee scored the winning goal, claiming the Engineers' third win this season. 

In Saturday's rematch, the Mavericks scored 5:50 into the game to lead 1-0 after one. RPI quickly tied it at 1-1 in the second period, with Blaine native Austin Heidemann scoring his fifth goal of the season. Adam Eisele then tallied his fifth goal of the season to put Minnesota State back in front, but the Engineers responded once again, tying it at 2-2 to close the second period. The Mavericks made it 3-2 less than two minutes into the third and then kept RPI off the scoresheet the rest of the way, with leading goal scorer Sam Morton adding an empty net goal to win it 4-2 and split the series. In his fourth start in net this season, Keenan Rancier made 21 saves and improved his record to 2-2. 

Sitting in fifth place in the CCHA standings with 17 points, Minnesota State will begin their holiday break and have over two weeks off before returning to play Augustana (6-8-2) on 1/5 and 1/6 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.