BEMIDJI — While not a whole lot is going right for the Bemidj State men’s hockey team right now, one sophomore forward has been an obvious bright spot.
Tory Lund was in and out of the lineup his entire freshman season in 2024-25. He was the last player added to the freshman class, committing after his 2023-24 season with the El Paso Rhinos in the North American Hockey League.
Lund was never considered to be a huge offensive threat in the NAHL — 24 goals and 44 assists in 117 games — and he had just three assists in eight games on BSU’s fourth line as a rookie.
But in a stretch where the Beavers are starved for offense, Lund has one of the hottest — and most efficient — sticks in the lineup.
Lund has scored three times this season on just seven shots on goal. Among players who have skated in 10 or more games this season, Lund’s shooting percentage (42.9%) ranks first among all skaters in the country, trailing only Minnesota Duluth’s Harper Bentz, who has four goals on nine shots in 11 games (44.4%).
“He plays the way you’re supposed to play,” Serratore said of Lund. “He’s honest as the day is long. He’s physical, he plays a heavy game, he brings pucks to the net, he reloads and gets above pucks. He’s a good, honest, tough hockey player. Quite honestly, he’s a throwback-type of guy. Most teams don’t have those throwback-type guys. When you do, they end up playing for you all the time. You put a lot of value on those guys.”
In Friday’s 5-1 loss against St. Thomas, Lund received a nice pass from Jake McLean, who’s fourth in shooting percentage among forwards who have played in at least 10 games (37.5%). Lund beat UST goaltender Carsen Musser five-hole.
“It’s not about shooting the puck,” Serratore said. “It’s about playing hard, having good habits, being the first one on the forecheck, taking the body, reloading. . . If your game away from the puck is good, eventually, your game with the puck’s going to be good and you’re going to get pucks on your stick.”
When BSU jumbled its lines in the series finale, Lund logged 12:10 time on ice, the second-most in his 21 collegiate games.
“Tory’s a guy who’s really good away from the puck,” Serratore said. “He has a high motor, and when you have a high motor, you’re always involved in the play, and that helps you and your linemates offensively. They all feed off each other. When you have one or two guys with a high motor, it’s amazing how much zone time you get and how much trust the coaches have in you.”
Zach Whitecloud, the only former Bemidji State player currently in the NHL, is headed to Calgary.
Whitecloud is a 6-foot-2, 218-pound right-shot defenseman who played for the Beavers from 2016-18, scoring seven goals and 29 assists before signing a pro contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. Whitecloud made his NHL debut in 2018.
On Sunday, Whitecloud was traded to Calgary in a deal that sent Rasmus Andersson to Vegas. North Dakota defenseman Abram Wiebe’s rights were also sent to the Flames, as were a 2027 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick that will become a first-rounder if Vegas wins the Stanley Cup this season.
“Excited is an understatement,” said Whitecloud in a release. “Growing up in Manitoba, I watched the Flames, Leafs, Oilers and Canucks and all those teams, and I never envisioned myself playing in the NHL for one. . . Really excited to join the group there and play in an atmosphere where hockey is No. 1.”
Former Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud signs autographs for fans on Thursday, July 13, 2023, at the Tavern in Bemidji.
Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer
In eight seasons with Vegas, Whitecloud played in 368 regular-season games, scoring 23 goals and 55 assists. He recorded 602 hits and 575 blocks.
In 78 playoff games, he scored five goals and 12 assists. Whitecloud scored the game-winning goal in Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, helping the Golden Knights win their first championship in franchise history.
Whitecloud called the last 24 hours a “whirlwind” in the same release.
“The team has been playing well,” he continued. “I think they have a lot of guys in place that have had really good careers, really good goaltending, good D corps, good forward groups, and playing in that atmosphere; it’s always a tough building to come in and play in Calgary throughout my career.
“I’m excited to be part of that now and make Calgary a continued spot where it’s difficult to come in and play and keep trying to push forward a winning tradition here.”
CCHA WEEKEND SCORES
Lake Superior State 1, Bowling Green 3
Minnesota State 1, Michigan Tech 3
Bemidji State 1, St. Thomas 5
Ferris State 0, Augustana 4
Lake Superior State 1, Bowling Green 0
Minnesota State 1, Michigan Tech 4
Ferris State 3, Augustana 4 (F/OT)
Bemidji State 2, St. Thomas 3
Sophomore defenseman Hudson Thornton logged 26:38 TOI on Saturday against St. Thomas in a 3-2 loss. Sophomore defenseman Isa Parekh recorded his first point on Saturday since Oct. 4 against Alaska Anchorage. Freshman Max Namestnikov leads all BSU freshmen in points with five goals and nine assists in 24 games. No other freshman has more than five points. St. Thomas’ Charlie Schoen recorded three assists in 21:34 between the two games.
CCHA STANDINGS
1-St. Thomas, 36 points, 11-3-2
2-Augustana, 35 points, 10-4-3
3-Michigan Tech, 34 points, 11-3-2
4-Bowling Green, 30 points, 9-4-3
5-Minnesota State, 28 points, 8-6-3
6-Bemidji State, 25 points, 7-6-3
7-Lake Superior State, 20 points, 6-10-0
8-Ferris State, 9 points, 3-15-0
9-Northern Michigan, 5 points, 1-15-0
*Records are CCHA games only*
Michigan Tech is 12-4 this season with freshman defenseman Luca Fasciano in the lineup. He had a goal and two assists in MTU’s home sweep of Minnesota State. Michigan Tech goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz stopped 70 of the 72 shots he faced against Minnesota State. Augutana’s Josh Kotai officially has the 23rd-longest shutout streak in NCAA history at 210:02, which included three consecutive shutouts. He also assisted on Easton Young’s OT winner on Saturday. Lake Superior State’s Rorke Applebee made 35 saves in a 1-0 shutout win over Bowling Green to earn a road split. It’s Applebee’s first shutout in 20 games this season. There were 140 penalty minutes served in Saturday’s game between Lake Superior State and Bowling Green. LSSU’s William Ahlrik, Hadley Hudak, Johnny Druskinis and Connor Milburn, and BGSU’s Jaden Grant, Ty Higgins, Tyler Hotson, Quinn Emerson and Dominik Rymon all served 10-minute misconduct penalties for a scrum as the third period ended. BGSU’s Gustav Stjernberg and LSSU’s Mike Brown were given game misconducts.
PIONEER’S TOP 20 POLL
1-Michigan
2-Michigan State
3-North Dakota
4-Western Michigan
5-Wisconsin
6-Quinnipiac
7-Penn State
8-Minnesota Duluth
9-Dartmouth
10-Providence
11-UConn
12-Augustana
13-Maine
14-Denver
15-St. Thomas
16-Cornell
17-Boston College
18-Boston
19-Michigan Tech
20-Union
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