Jan. 31—GRAND RAPIDS — Ava Hills didn't mince her words on Saturday.

The Bemidji State women's hockey redshirt junior goalie stopped 38 shots the night before in a 3-0 loss against Minnesota State. It was enough to earn another start on Saturday when the Beavers traveled to Grand Rapids to play in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Face-Off Classic at the historic Yanmar Arena.

Through 58 minutes, Hills backstopped the Beavers to a 2-1 lead. And after making her 28th and 29th saves in a defending 6-on-5 situation, she let out a sigh of relief when the clock read collective zeros.

"We deserved that win," Hills said with an exhausted expression on her face, "and I'm just really glad we came out with it."

BSU erased an early one-goal deficit to notch its second comeback win over a ranked opponent, beating No. 13 MSU 2-1. Bemidji State had just one comeback win this season, but it was more of a letdown than a triumph.

On Nov. 22, the Beavers blew a 4-1 lead in the third period against 10th-ranked St. Cloud State. They trailed 5-4 after the Huskies scored four goals in just over 11 minutes in the third period. Isa Goettl tied the game with an extra-attacker goal with 32 seconds left in regulation before Hailey Armstrong buried the winner in overtime.

BSU's second comeback win was far less dramatic, but it snapped a seven-game losing streak and a 10-game skid in WCHA play.

"A comeback win, or any type of win for us, is huge right now," Hills said. "We've been fighting it a little bit. Being down and then being able to grind and get it back, I think that builds a lot of energy and confidence for this team. I'm looking forward to seeing what next weekend looks like because we're going to bring this into next weekend."

Junior forward Shelby Sandberg, who scored the game-winning goal with 7:57 left in regulation, added, "I think tonight gives us a lot of belief that we're able to stay with these teams and pull off comebacks against them if we have to. Having that mentality and knowing that we can finish off these wins will help us finish the year strong."

If there's a college hockey team that used to playing in prep venues, it's the Beavers.

Saturday was the 16th women's iteration of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Face-Off Classic, a game in which the Beavers have played in eight times before this season. Most recently, BSU played in it a little over a year ago on New Year's Day against the University of Minnesota at Hasse Arena in Lakeville.

BSU also played in a preseason exhibition game against the Gophers at the Essentia Health Sports Center in Brainerd on Sept. 20.

"For me, I just love being able to play in youth rinks like this," Sandberg said. "It reminds me of my time growing up in Minnesota. I enjoy how fast the ice is in these rinks. It reminds me of my time in youth hockey. Nothing but great memories."

Before Saturday's game at Yanmar Arena, Coleraine native Claire Vekich dropped the ceremonial puck. Vekich played for Bemidji State from 2021-23 before transferring to Minnesota State. She graduated in 2025 and now plays for the Montreal Victoire in the PWHL.

Instead of Minnesota State captain Taylor Otremba taking the ceremonial faceoff, another native of the Iron Range stood in her place.

MSU freshman forward and 2025 Ms. Hockey winner Mercury Bischoff received a loud ovation from the Grand Rapids/Greenway faithful in her return to Yanmar Arena. She scored 233 goals and 148 assists in 155 games in her six varsity seasons.

Saturday was Bischoff's first game at Yanmar since she graduated in the spring of 2025.

"What other college hockey player has a chance to play a college game in their high school rink in front of their fans and their community?" BSU head coach Amber Fryklund said. "It's so special for her. We're really grateful we got to be a part of this game today with her. She's a legend and a hero here, so it's amazing to see her get that moment."

Otremba gave the Mavericks the first lead, finishing off a 2-on-1 rush with Zoe Lopez midway through the first period.

Izy Fairchild tied the game late in the first on the power play, scoring five seconds into the 5-on-4 advantage for BSU. The goal was Fairchild's fourth this season.

"On film this morning, Coach (Sarah) Bobrowski(-Laird) highlighted that there was an evident seam there off the faceoff," Fryklund said. "We looked at that this morning and saw that. We had Izy there and she absolutely buried it. ... That was a huge goal, and our power play really needed it, too."

The downside to playing a college game in a community rink reared its ugly head against the Beavers in the second period.

Kate Johsnon was assessed a penalty for boarding. Due to technology limitations, the play could not be reviewed for a major penalty. The officials convened for an extended moment and decided Johnson's infraction was worthy of a major penalty without a review.

However, Bemidji State killed off the major penalty and went into the second intermission tied 1-1.

Just under eight minutes into the third period, Sandberg paid off a long offensive shift with the go-ahead goal.

"It started by just being hard on the forecheck and buzzing around," Sandberg said. "I just had a go-to-the-net mentality, always keeping my stick on the ice. That's what got it done for us tonight."

The Beavers (6-19-2, 3-18-1 WCHA) closed out the remaining time in regulation to pick up their sixth win this season and a series split against Minnesota State (12-14-2, 6-14-2 WCHA). It's their third win over a ranked opponent this season.

"It was big," Hills said. "When you're playing in a 6-on-5 in those last few minutes, it's huge to have all of us on the ice working together instead of working as individuals. We did that; we played the whole game that way. Obviously, we had some ups and downs, but that's just hockey. At the end of the day, everyone bought in today and had that energy, that grit and that growth."

Hills stopped 67 of the 71 shots she faced this weekend, raising her save percentage to .901. She was named BSU's MVP by the Face-Off Classic organizing committee. Otremba earned the honor for MSU.

"It's just working with my teammates, communicating on and off the ice," Hills said. "I'm playing the puck more so we don't get hemmed in our zone as much as possible. Yeah, I'm making the final save, but I have so many girls in front of me who put in so much effort to make it easier on me. Without them, it'd be a very different game.

"At the end of the day, it's just hockey, and stuff like this is so fun to be a part of, especially with this team. This is the best team to be a part of."

Bemidji State 2, Minnesota State 1

MSU 1 0 0 — 1

BSU 1 0 1 — 2

First period — MSU GOAL: Otremba (Lopez, Bischoff) 9:17; BSU GOAL: Fairchild (Bray, Smith) PPG, 16:35.

Second period — No scoring.

Third period — BSU GOAL: Sandberg (Carney, Senden) 7;57.

Saves — Hills (BSU) 29; Hansen (MSU) 24.