This week on WCHA RinkRap, an ancient proverb comes to life in Bemidji, a hockey revenge story that was two years in the making, and the snarl is back in Wildcat country.

Heraclitus & Bemidji State

Bemidji State's Brian Schultz is a broadcast pro. In preparation for the last Friday’s showdown between his Beavers and powerhouse rival Minnesota State, he prepared a lengthy sceneset, a written piece titled “The Only Constants in Life are Change,” documenting the myriad of alterations to Bemidji’s schedule this year to get them to Friday’s game. It took him over a full minute to deliver, a small lifetime in radio and television. It was pre-recorded and played at the top of the pregame, and it took him three takes.

“I kept screwing it up, and I had it written down!” said Schultz. 

And no wonder. Four different series were postponed just to get the Beavers to a second game in mid-December. Twice Lake Superior couldn’t make the slate, trips to Fairbanks became opportunities to host Bowling Green, and with Huntsville ailing this past weekend, “Why not make up the game from November 23d?” asked Schultz at the conclusion of his witty piece.

Bemidji is just one program in the eight-team WCHA. Commissioner Bill Robertson’s hive in Bloomington has been buzzing constantly since last summer, trying to piece together a functional schedule. That task is akin to carrying water with bare hands due to the ever-changing scenarios. Schultz nailed his assignment Friday night, proving the axiom from ancient philosopher Heraclitus: the only constant in life is change, especially in the WCHA.

Friday‘s game between the league’s dominant powers from a year ago proved to be anti-climactic: the anticipated Clemens-Martinez pitching duel between elite goalies Dryden McKay of MSU and Zach Driscoll of BSU will have to wait until the end of the month, as the Mavericks started transfer Ryan Edquist in place of McKay. Edquist had the goaltending nightmare of getting no work except for the rare crisis or screened blast. He gave up three goals on nine shots (not a misprint), as Bemidji won a game in which they were outshot 36-10.

In the case of an irresistible force (MSU’s PP) meeting an immovable object (BSU’s PK), the immovable object prevailed. The Beavers held the nation’s leading power play to six shots and zero goals in five attempts. Bemidji’s vaunted penalty killers, known for harassing enemy puck carriers to deny clean zone entries, lead the nation with a stingy 94.1% kill ratio. 

Conventional hockey wisdom states that a team’s most important penalty killer is its goalie, and Bemidji senior Driscoll was just that on Friday. Out of 36 shots faced in 60 minutes of work, Driscoll kicked out 35 pucks. Friday night’s performance boosted his save percentage five points to .927, methodically marching towards the magic .930 mark.

The Wait Is Over

Bowling Green senior Gavin Gould hadn’t seen the Michigan Tech Huskies since his controversial departure nearly two years ago. Told he no longer fit the culture up in Houghton, Gould hauled his gear to northern Ohio, becoming a Bowling Green practice player for a full year until the NCAA granted him his eligibility. 

On his very first shift against his former school Friday night, Gould made them pay. His mad dash down the right wing barely a minute into the contest resulted in the opening goal of the series, a series that has been marked on his calendar since the schedule came out. 

“Wellsy (Justin Wells) screamed pretty loud and I saw him,” said Gould, who fired a pass onto Wells’ tape just as he arrived at the crease for the slam dunk goal. “To get that on the first shift against my old team was pretty special,” said Gould, whose assist sparked a three-goal outburst, one that chased Tech netminder Mark Sinclair halfway through the opening stanza. 

But Gould had even more impact the next night.

Trailing 2-1 late in the second period, Gould crashed the net on a Bowling Green power play, driving a rebound into the back of the net. It was his third goal of the season, but by far his sweetest. The celebration spoke volumes.

.@BGFalconHockey Gavin Gould scores tying goal Saturday vs former team Michigan Tech #Payback pic.twitter.com/YfAqkLln2q

— Tim Rappleye (@teeraps) February 1, 2021

“It was more heat of the moment,” said Gould of his celly, “more just a tribute to the coaches, fans and teammates and how much they mean to me. It’s almost a second chance that I got, it just showed how happy I am to be here . . . that I kind of bleed orange and brown.”

Thanks to Gould and his veteran teammates, Bowling Green swept one of the hottest clubs in college hockey, ending Tech’s seven-game win streak. Twenty-four-year-old Gould has been hardened and humbled by life’s rocky road, and he gave props to his former school. 

“Hats off to Michigan Tech. They’re a really good team this year.” 

It’s as if Gould is preparing for one last Karmic showdown in the WCHA playoffs.

The Little Ball of Hate Returns to Marquette

Love him or hate him, Northern Michigan can’t win without Griffin Loughran. The 5-foot-6 pepperpot, who led the WCHA in both goals and penalties last season, returned to action for the first time since January 2, leading the Wildcats to their first two wins of the new year with a pair of goals and five points in Northern’s sweep of Ferris State. 

“He makes the other people around him better,” said a visibly relieved Grant Potulny. “That’s the sign of a guy that is really important to his team.”

Loughran and linemates Andre Ghantous and Joe Nardi riddled Bulldog goaltending for a combined 13 points in the sweep. A closer look at the scoresheet reveals no penalties for the mercurial Loughran. Having spent nearly a month in street clothes may have given the junior some new perspective.

“Maybe it’s the old line, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone,’” said Potulny. “Maybe that played in a little bit.”

Loughran’s post-game comments revealed a veteran charged up to return to the fray.

“It felt great to be back,” said Loughran, who has averaged over a point per game in each of the last two seasons. “Everyone’s happy to see me, I’m happy to see everyone, the locker room’s been great all week. To get two wins here, kick-start us, it was huge.”

Finally unshackled, it would be folly to consider Northern Michigan a WCHA stepping stone. Thanks to the return of their feisty leader, Northern has transitioned from a frustrated club struggling to find its way, to a dangerous floater eager to upend the league’s new status quo.

Tim Rappleye is the author of two books: Jack Parker's Wiseguys and Hobey Baker, Upon Further Review. You can find him on Twitter.