Nov. 7—BEMIDJI — Five minutes in into the first period, Morgan Smith believed she gave the Bemidji State women's hockey team a 1-0 lead.

Then St. Thomas challenged.

Smith caught a pass from Kate Johnson just inside the blue line, then beat goaltender Julia Minotti for the game's first goal. However, after a lengthy review, the officials determined Johnson was offside carrying the puck into the zone.

"The way the rule reads, if you don't have possession coming over the blue line, it's (offsides), and the St. Thomas defender had her stick there and (Johnson) lost possession for a split second there," Fryklund said. "That was the explanation."

The NCAA Ice Hockey 2025-26 rulebook, rule 86.1, states: "A player controlling the puck who crosses the line ahead of the puck shall not be considered off-side, provided the player had possession and control of the puck prior to the player's skates crossing the leading edge of the blue line."

Under rule 55.4, the rulebook also states: "Control of the puck is defined as the act of propelling the puck with the stick, hand or skate. If, while it is being propelled, the puck is touched by another player or that player's equipment, hits the goal or goes free, the player shall not be considered in control of the puck."

Jenessa Gazdik mirrored Johnson on the play. She swatted her stick at the puck twice without making contact with the puck or Johnson's stick. Still, the officials ruled that Johnson lost control of the puck.

"There was a video we were sent earlier in the year on a play similar to that," Fryklund said. "It's certainly unfortunate for us. A split second and a lift of a stick changes that. We certainly would've loved that goal. But they took a long time to review it, which we certainly appreciate."

It was a beneficial break for the Tommies, who scored five unanswered goals after the review to win the series opener 5-0 on Friday night at the Sanford Center.

"Certainly, not the result we wanted," Fryklund said. "I thought we had a good first period, but I'm not excited about the result today. In the second period, credit to St. Thomas. They came out with a lot of jump. ... Our first period was unfortunate to have that goal overturned, and the rest of the game we couldn't find a way to score."

Chloe Boreen scored a one-timer goal five minutes later on the heels of a UST power play. The Tommies doubled their lead 40 seconds into the second period. On a goal from Gazdik, a Minnesota State transfer.

"They look like a different team, structurally and in their systems," Fryklund said. "They have a lot of talented players who can put the puck in the net. Some of those players are getting older and have that experience. They're well-coached, they have a good staff and they've done a good job."

UST scored thrice in the third period. After assisting on the first two goals, Rylee Bartz, a Warroad High School graduate, scored her eighth goal this season. Then Ella Boerger scored her eighth goal before Ilsa Lindman capped the scoring with just under five minutes left.

Despite conceding three goals in the final 20 minutes, Bemidji State had its best chances in the third period. Several of the Beavers' eight shots on goal came from high-danger scoring chances, including Hailey Armstrong's breakaway that prompted Minotti to make a stellar glove save.

"They blocked a lot of shots," Fryklund said. "I know that we had some good looks in the offensive zone, and there were a lot of blocks from their team when we tried to get pucks to the net. ... Their goaltender made some really good saves tonight, too. We had a breakaway and some good looks and chances. Every weekend in the WCHA, it's going to be a battle."

St. Thomas (8-5-0, 3-4-0 WCHA) blocked 14 shots on Friday. Minotti made all 17 saves to keep BSU (2-6-1, 0-6-1 WCHA) goalless.

"We had some momentum and chances there in the third period," Fryklund said. "There's nothing we can do about it now, but our response is what we talked about — finding ways to get pucks to the net and in the net. We have to reset today, come back tomorrow and have a fresh perspective."

St. Thomas 5, Bemidji State 0

UST 1 1 3 — 5

BSU 0 0 0 — 0

First period — UST GOAL: Boreen (Bartz, Ju. Gazdik) 9:10.

Second period — UST GOAL: Je. Gazdik (Ju. Gazdik, Bartz) 0:40.

Third period — UST GOAL: Bartz (Boreen, Je. Gazdik) 0:33; UST GOAL: Boerger (Hause) 5:04; UST GOAL: Lindman (Je. Gazdik, Boerger) 15:46.

Saves — Hills (BSU) 16; Minotti (UST) 17.

RALEIGH, N.C. – After a promising start in a tough environment, the Carolina Hurricanes found an answer for everything the Minnesota Wild could throw at them.

Matt Boldy had a pair of goals to snap out of a notable drought, and Minnesota’s special teams continued a strong stretch, only to see the Hurricanes rally for a 4-3 win. Brock Faber got his second goal of the season.

Looking for a third consecutive win, the Wild twice held one-goal leads and also came back to forge a 3-all tie in the second period. But the Hurricanes stormed back at every turn.

Filip Gustavsson, making his 12th start in goal for the Wild, had a shaky start. Carolina scored four times on its first eight shots. After that, the goalie settled in and finished with 23 saves in the loss

Minnesota fell to 5-7-3 with the loss, and are now 0-6-1 when trailing after the first period.

The Wild got the game’s first power play but could not muster a shot on goal. But with the teams back to even strength a short time later, Kirill Kaprizov got loose in the middle of the offensive zone and made a rush to the net that was thwarted. Boldy was able to punch the loose puck in before Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen could cover it.

Boldly had scored just once in the Wild’s previous 10 games.

After the Wild killed their first penalty of the game, fourth line winger Tyler Pitlick leveled Carolina defenseman Jalen Chatfield with an open-ice check. After a brief fight, Chatfield was helped off the ice and Pitlick was ejected from the game for the illegal hit to the head.

Chatfield did not return to the game, officially listed as dealing with an upper body injury.

With the teams skating four-on-four, Carolina’s Jackson Blake made a coast-to-coast rush with the puck and snapped a low shot past Gustavsson to tie the game. But the Wild answered 31 seconds later, reclaiming the lead at 2-1 via a Brock Faber wrist shot after a set up pass from Kaprizov.

The lead was brief, as Andrei Svechnikov fooled Gustavsson with a low shot on the next shift. The trio of goals in 52 seconds was the fastest three-goal span in the NHL this season.

The Wild killed the rest of the extended penalty only to see Carolina take the lead on a long shot through a crowd in front of the Minnesota net five seconds after the teams were back to full strength.

Minnesota had three shots in the first period, and Andersen stopped one of them.

Opening the middle frame on a power play, the Wild needed 37 seconds to tie the game as Vladimir Tarasenko fed Boldy for a tap-in goal. The tie was again brief, as Carolina scored on the ensuing faceoff, nine seconds later, to lead 4-3.

With just over eight minutes left in regulation, Kaprizov looked to have an open net for the tying goal, only to have Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker disrupt the play. Minnesota made a furious final push with Gustavsson on the bench but could not get the equalizer.

Andersen finished with 19 saves for the Hurricanes, who make their only visit to St. Paul this season on Nov. 19.

The Wild’s current two-game Eastern road swing concludes on Friday night when they visit the New York Islanders for the only time this season. Their game at UBS Arena on Long Island faces off at 6 p.m. CT.

Briefly

The Hurricanes lineup featured three veterans of Minnesota prep hockey: K’Andre Miller (Minnetonka), Mike Reilly (Holy Angels) and Blake (Eden Prairie). But the Wild lineup featured the only player from the Carolinas. Ryan Hartman was raised in suburban Chicago, but he was born in 1994 in Hilton Head Island, S.C. and was the first NHL player born in South Carolina.

Related Articles

• First opportunity for Daemon Hunt in his return to the Wild
• The story behind the whacky goal that won the Wild a game
• A game ‘like a fruit salad’ gives Wild their first win streak
• Success stems from Wild penalty killers’ focus on basics
• Every Wild win will end in a postgame hat trick this season