BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Considering Bemidji State had beaten the University of North Dakota men's hockey team just one time in 13 previous meetings in Bemidji (1-10-2), who can blame the Beavers for being excited when they pulled off the upset Friday night at the Sanford Center in the season opener for both teams?

Freshman center Owen Sillinger tipped in a centering pass from the corner from linemate Jay Dickman at 7:13 of the third period to give the Beavers a 2-1 victory over the Fighting Hawks in front of 4,107 fans.

When the Beavers held off a big push from UND in the closing minutes to secure the victory, the public address system blared the Queen song "We Are The Champions'' in celebration.

Never mind that it was the first game of the season for both teams, no titles were at stake, and the two teams meet in a rematch Saturday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. Any Beaver win over UND is cause for celebration the land of Paul Bunyan.

The Beavers battled hard as usual, and got a stout 28-save performance from sophomore goalie Henry Johnson, who won the battle in his first varsity start from fellow Minneapolis native Peter Thome, who stopped 16 shots for UND.

BSU, outshot 13-2 in the second period when UND sophomore defenseman Gabe Bast slipped in from the point to knock in a backhander after Johnson had stopped UND's Jordan Kawaguchi on a breakaway, came to life in the third period and got the winner from Sillinger.

BSU had 9 shots on goal to open the final period to just 3 for UND, including the shot from Sillinger to win the game.

UND outshot BSU 29-18 for the game, but uneven play from one period to the next proved costly.

That didn't sit well with UND coach Brad Berry, who promised some lineup changes for Saturday's rematch. "Absolutely,'' he said. "In order to win a game, you have to have everyone going. I thought we didn't have enough guys play at the level that they should. We need to be better tomorrow, and making sure that there's no passengers.''

BSU had taken a 1-0 lead at 14:40 of the opening period on just its second shot of the game. On a Beaver power play off an interference penalty on UND's Jeff Bowen, junior wing Adam Brady buried a high wrist shot from the slot over the shoulder of Thome.

That one-goal difference proved itself at the end as UND's Bast and Bemidji's Sillinger traded goals over the final two periods.

UND's power played a role in defeat as well, going 0-for-4 after connecting on just 2-of-9 in a 3-2 win over the University of Manitoba last weekend in an exhibition game in Grand Forks.

Berry had praise for Johnson's goaltending. "First collegiate game, he had some big saves at some key times,''Berry said. "We had some back-door plays and some Grade A opportunities tonight that we didn't bury. He played a helluva game. We've got to be better.''

That storyline was carried over by center Nick Jones and Kawaguchi, who came out to meet with the media after the game.

"I thought we played not too great in the first, dominated the second, and back to mediocre in the third,'' Jones said. "If we can keep it going for 60 minutes, we'll be able to get a few bounces. When you only play 25 minutes, you're not going to get any bounces, and you don't deserve them. It's disappointing for sure.''

It was fifth straight season that coach Tom Serratore's Beavers opened the year with a win, including 2014, when the Beavers beat a UND team 5-1 i Grand Forks, a UND team that went on to the NCAA Frozen Four.

"We didn't play great,'' Jones said, "but we did outshoot them 29-18 and we can take that as a positive.''

"We played well in the second,'' Kawaguchi said. "You can't play one period and expect to win the game. We've got to come back tomorrow and play a full 60 (minutes).''

UND holds a 31-4-5 series edge on Bemidji State. Ten of the last 16 games have been decided by one goal or less, and the Beavers are now 3-3-4 in those games.

Saturday's rematch has a 7:07 p.m. start time at The Ralph.

Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald, including 5 NCAA title teams, before his retirement. Since his retirement, he's reported on UND hockey games exclusively for the FightingHawks.com website.