By Bemidji State Athletics
Published 1:10 a.m. on March 2, 2024
The Bemidji State men's hockey team fired off five goals in the second period as BSU defeated Minnesota State Mankato 6-0 on Friday night to clinch the program's second-ever MacNaughton Cup and first as Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season champions.
Senior Jackson Jutting ignited the frenzy for the Beavers, scoring 1:18 into the second frame. He factored in on four of the Beavers' five goals in the period for a career-high, four-point night (2g-2a). On the other end of the ice, junior goaltender Mattias Sholl was calm and collected in between the pipes and turned aside al 28 shots by the Mavericks to earn his third career shutout.
Bemidji State wins its second MacNaughton Cup championship and first since 2017 as the league's regular season champion. BSU previously won the cup as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
The Beavers also secured the top seed in the CCHA Playoffs and will host eight-seed Ferris State at Sanford Center for the best-of-three quarterfinal round March 8-10.
After a scoreless first period, Jutting scored his ninth goal of the season 1:18 into the second period with a wrist shot from the left circle, which beat goaltender Alex Tracy to the far post and in. Then, 8:39 later, he scored his second of the game after batting home his own rebounded shot for his second career two-goal effort and second of the season.
Just 57 seconds later, freshman Kasper Magnussen one-timed the puck from the slot and scored his fourth of the season to put the Beavers up by three with just over 29 minutes left in the game.
The goals just kept coming for the Beavers and exactly one minute later, junior Donte Lawson poked free a loose puck in the crease and into the back of the net for his third goal of the season and second goal over the past three games.
The Beavers didn't stop at four and, with 1:43 to play in the frame, senior Eric Martin benefited from a Beaver bounce that deflected off a defender's skate and to the far post past new goaltender Keenan Rancier for his sixth of the year.
BSU's scoring blitz in the period ended at five and was the first time scoring five goals in a period since Dec. 12, 2020.
Bemidji State put the bow on the championship bout with longtime rival Minnesota State when Adam Flammang scored his ninth goal of the season 2:02 into the third period.
Jutting finished the historic night recording two goals and two assists for his first four-point effort. Eleven different skaters earned a point in the game, with Jutting, Rhys Chiddenton (2a), Austin Jouppi (2a) and Kasper Magnussen (1g-1a) each recording two points.
Sholl earned his fifth consecutive victory in goal for the Beavers and improved to 11-7-2 on the season. He is the conference's leading goaltender with a .600 winning percentage.
