International Falls’ own Ryan Cramer, Drew Fisher and Bill Mason contributed to a rousing and memorable opening weekend to the Bemidji Regional Event Center.
“It was fun,” said Cramer, who etched his name in the history books by assisting the first goal ever at the BREC. “Obviously there were a lot of people. It was loud. It was nice.”
Drew Fisher was on the ice for that first goal, along with Bill Mason, who was a referee.
“It was awesome,” Fisher said. “It was packed both nights and it got pretty loud in that place.”
Mason’s been officiating BSU games since the late 80s, and he was really impressed.
“It’s a pretty sweet building for Bemidji,” he said, noting an impressive home locker room, a nice official’s room and a great concourse.
Cramer also had another first — the first Beaver penalty in the new building. He got called for high sticking at the 6:29 mark of the first period. He wasn’t 100 percent sure on who whistled him to the box, but it was either Mason or Jon Campion.
“Mase calls me for one every time he refs me,” Cramer said.
The Beavers lost both Friday and Saturday to the second-ranked Fighting Sioux, but Fisher liked the improvement on the second night. North Dakota came in with two games played already and weren’t battling emotions from a new arena.
“It just makes it fun when everyone in the arena is wearing green and white,” Fisher said. “Just gives you that extra energy.”
The capacity at the BREC is 4,700.
The Journal also made an appearance in the pre-game coverage.
From Bethany Wesley’s story Friday in the Bemidji Pioneer:
The game certainly has changed for people like Brad Folkestad, director of athletic media relations for Bemidji State.
“In the John Glas Fieldhouse we had room for 13 or 14 members of the media,” Folkestad said. “Our new press box is equipped to hold between 30 and 40, and surprisingly we’ve had to turn some outlets away because of the volume of requests we’ve had for this weekend.”
Folkestad said among the outlets on hand for the North Dakota series will be the International Falls Journal newspaper, a photographer from U.S. College Hockey Online and a reporter for MinnPost, a Twin Cities-based online news site.”
There were also numerous I. Falls residents who attended the game as fans or as alumni (see Emily Gedde’s column).
The Beavers dropped a few spots in the current Division I rankings, but expect a solid first season in the WCHA and in the BREC.
Alaska-Anchorage visits the Beavers next at the BREC on Nov. 12-13 before Northern Michigan comes to town Nov. 26-27. Dean Blais and Nebraska Omaha visit Dec. 3-4.
Going deeper ...
• Drew’s older brother, Derek Fisher, is currently playing for the Huntsville (Ala.) Havoc of the SPHL. Derek was the final cut on the Tulsa Oilers of the CHL last week, but could get called back with an injury to a defensemen. Tulsa is only carrying six blue-liners, Fisher said.
• Jordan Christianson (FHS ’10) has eight points (6 goals, 2 assists) in 12 games for the OCN Blizzard of the MJHL. He’s tied for eighth in the league in scoring for rookies and got off to a good start to the season when he was voted the hardest working player of the game in the opener.
• The was THE Jim Thome of the Minnesota Twins cruising around International Falls last week. Thome flew in Tuesday afternoon and fished Rainy Lake all day Wednesday with Mike “One Doggie” Lessard. He also fished a little Thursday before leaving. He stayed at Thunderbird Lodge and was reportedly seen at Rainy Lake One Stop and at Ronnings.
“We had a great time. Caught some big fish,” Lessard said. “Everybody had a good time. Real nice guy.”
Thome has a reputation around Major League Baseball as being one of the nicest teammates around. He had 25 home runs and 59 RBIs for the Twins this year, plus one trophy northern pike from Rainy Lake. Lessard said Thome’s biggest catch was a 40-inch pike over 20 pounds. The home run giant plans to have the fish mounted.
“He absolutely enjoyed the lake,” Lessard said.
He also admitted what many Twins fans would love to hear.
“Jim is really down to earth and a great guy, and he’s hoping to play for the Twins next year,” Lessard said. “He said he really enjoyed his time here.”
