Sanford Center

Bemidji, Minnesota

The Sanford Center

With the Alaska Nanook hockey team visiting Bemidji State University and Grand Forks being only 2-1/2 hours from there, it made perfect sense to make the short run over to Bemidji to take in the WCHA game.

Alaska had come from behind to win 4-3 on Friday night. Saturday night was to go more in the Beavers’ favor.
Alaska started out like they usually do, and fell behind 2-0 in the first period. In the second, the Nanooks raised the tempo and tied the game up on goals by Tayler Munson and Marcus Basara, in what was a very fast-paced period of hockey for both clubs.
In the third, the unpredictable, and undisciplined Nanooks took the ice. Four incredibly unwise penalties led to four BSU goals by Nate Arentz, Markus Gerbrandt, Leo Fitzgerald, and Kyle Bauman.
The final score was 6-3 in favor of the BSU Beavers, with 3067 paid attendance.

Alaska Nanooks during warmup

There were quite a few Alaska fans in attendance, with several of them coming over to introduce themselves. Some had seen the car with the Alaska plates drive into the Sanford parking lot.

Bemidji has a very nice rink in the Sanford Center. Seating 4700, the multi-purpose arena opened in October of 2010. I’d love to see a rink like this on-campus at the University of Alaska.