Weekend rewind: Max Namestnikov picks up where he left off; Yan Shostak makes history
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 5—BEMIDJI — Tom Serratore was left wanting more from the Bemidji State men's hockey team's 4-on-3 power play in overtime.
Tied 2-2 against St. Cloud State in the season opener at the Sanford Center, Jake Southgate went to the box two and a half minutes into the 3-on-3 session. Southgate slashed BSU freshman Brayden Dube on a breakaway to put the Beavers on the power play.
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Serratore then took his timeout, and the quadrant of Oliver Peer, Max Namestnikov, Carter Rapalke and Hudson Thornton readied for the must-convert advantage.
Fifty seconds later, Thornton's one-time shot beat SCSU goaltender Yan Shostak five-hole. It sealed Bemidji State's first win over the Huskies since Oct. 28, 2022, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
However, Serratore noted the top 4-on-3 unit is a work in progress.
"We were very pedestrian," he said. "We wanted to get some rolling going, but the guys didn't roll. ... This game is an interesting game, but guys have to make a play at the right time. Max Namestnikov made a play at the right time."
At the goal line, Namestnikov stayed patient. He waited for Thornton to enter a seam at the high slot before dishing the game-winning pass.
"He's a good hockey player," Serratore said. "He's got a lot of poise — he's got great feel for the game. He's a hockey player."
Namestnikov scored the Beavers' first goal a little over four minutes into the 2026-27 season. He finished his rookie season with five goals and 10 assists in 34 games. However, his teammates believe he has another gear offensively.
"He's a super skilled hockey player," senior forward Jake McLean said. "He's super fast, has good hands, has a good shot. For him, it's just a year of being comfortable. He had it all last year, but this year he looks great. He looked great tonight. He's another guy that's going to be big for us coming down the stretch."
Five of Namestnikov's 15 points last season came in nonconference play. The Beavers continue their season with a home-and-home series against No. 4 North Dakota, starting with a 7:07 p.m. game at the Sanford Center on Friday.
Midway through the third period on Saturday, Dube took a holding penalty to put the Huskies on the power play. Forty seconds later, it turned into a historic 4-on-4.
In the defensive zone, Vig forced a turnover and cleared the puck into the Huskies' end. Shostak played the puck in the corner, then slowly looked to the rafters after the play was blown dead for a delay-of-game penalty.
New to the 2026-27 men's college hockey season is the trapezoid behind the net. Goaltenders are not allowed to play the puck behind the goal line outside of the trapezoid. It's a rule that was introduced ahead of the 2005-06 NHL season, and 21 years later, the NCAA followed suit.
Shotak's infraction was the first of any kind for a goaltender in college hockey. It's one of
10 rule changes to men's college hockey this season.
It was also the second delay of game on Saturday at the Sanford Center. In the second period, BSU junior center Jaksen Panzer played the puck with his hand on a neutral-zone faceoff.
There was only one other delay of game infraction over the weekend — Colorado College was whistled for a bench minor at home against UMass on Friday night.
* Northern Michigan played one of the toughest nonconference schedules last season against UMass, Ohio State, Colorado College and Michigan State. The Wildcats' 3-0 win over Miami on Friday snapped a 13-game nonconference losing streak.
* NMU goaltender Oliver Auteung-Ashton stopped all 30 shots he faced in the 3-0 shutout win.
* Michigan Tech's season opener against Minnesota was postponed due to unsafe ice conditions. The game was pushed to Sunday afternoon.
* Matthew Van Blaricom scored three goals and had an assist in Michigan Tech's sweep of Minnesota.
* Michigan Tech's Owen Bartoszkiwicz stopped 58 of the 61 shots he faced against the Gophers.
* Four of Ferris State's five goals in its 5-5 tie against Canisius on Friday came from incoming players — Zach Bade (Western Michigan transfer), Owen Melenbacher (UMass transfer), Hudson Darby (freshman) and Justin Stupka (Miami transfer).
* Ferris State freshman goalie Alan Lendak made his first college start, stopping 30 of the 35 shots he faced. Former Augustana goalie Kolby Hay made the start for Canisius.
* Michigan's Jayden Perron and Michael Hage each scored three goals and recorded four assists in a home-and-home sweep of Bowling Green. BGSU's Jeremy Minville had a goal in each game.