GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- For North Dakota, playing hockey against Bemidji State is like knocking a nest or angry hornets off the underside of your home's eaves.

The buzzing creatures will soon be all over you, and perhaps leave a sting or two to remember them by.

That held true before a Ralph Engelstad Arena Saturday night as the hornets -- er, Beavers -- spoiled UND's home opener by rallying to tie the Fighting Hawks 1-1 in overtime and skate off with a win and a tie in the home-and-home weekend series.

UND limited the Beavers to just 16 shots on goal after allowing just 18 in a 2-1 loss in Bemidji, but a sputtering power play and struggling offense doomed UND to an unsuccessful opening weekend.

UND was 0-for-4 on the power play in both games and, despite outshooting the Beavers 29-18 Friday and 27-16 tonight, produced just two goals all weekend.

Sophomore wing Charlie Combs, coming off the BSU bench on a line change, took a pass at the right point from linemate Brendan Harris and fired his shot past screened rookie goalie Adam Scheel, making his college debut, at 15:46 of the third period to create the tie. Two years ago, Harris and Combs finished 1-3 in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCHL) in scoring as teammates -- and they found the magic again at the right time for coach Tom Serratore's Beavers.

Sophomore wing Grant Mismash had given UND a 1-0 lead just 2:31 into the game, scooping up a rebound from a Nick Jones shot and beating BSU goalie Zach Driscoll (26 saves).

The final score didn't sit well for UND players and coaches.

"As a whole, taking in mind both games, unacceptable,'' Jones said. "Disappointing. Can't have that. Come out and get a loss an a tie. Embarrassing, is the only word I got.''

But in recent years, BSU has played UND as tough and competitive as any team on its schedule, displaying a buzzing checking game (like hornets) and a strong work ethic.

The struggling UND power play  --- now 2-for-17 counting a 2-for-9 effort in an exhibition win over the University of Manitoba -- symbolizes UND's frustrated offense.

"The last few times I've come in here I've been pretty optimistic about it,'' Jones said of the power play. "Tonight, there was noting to be optimistic about. Couldn't get set up. It was dreadful, to be honest with you. We let our team down, as a power-play unit.''

A bright spot for UND was the play of Scheel, the 6-foot-3 rookie from Lakewood, Ohio, in goal. He showed a strong talent of making clearing passes to his teammates with his stick work, a skill that will energize the offensive flow once UND gets it going.

"For him to come into this environment as a freshman goaltender, he played awesome,'' Jones said. "He made some key saves for us at the end there. We let him down tonight.''

Said Mismash, the lone goal scorer: "Not enough,'' he said. "We need more from the whole team in general, just bearing down on our chances.''

UND did have a faceoff edge of 38-25, led by Rhett Gardner (19 of 24), but lost key faceoffs on power plays time and again, not allowing the specialty team to set up its offense.

"I thought we started very well, but then momentum took over on the other bench because of turnovers and a few different things,'' UND coach Brad Berry said. "I thought we got unnerved a little bit, our focus. It's a tough thing to get back. It's a tough game to play. There's not a lot of ice out there.''

As for the ailing power play, Berry said this: "We didn't start with the puck a lot,'' he said. "They won draws, they cleared the puck, probably 90-95 percent of the time, they won the draw, and it (puck) went down. Now we have to try to get in the zone. You saw 5-on-5 how tough it was to get it into their zone. Well, it was tough on the power play You've to start with the puck, and give yourself a chance, and then it goes from there.''

And on this night, not much went the way of UND's struggling offense.

The road ahead doesn't get any easier. UND stays at home next weekend to face defending WCHA champion Minnesota State, coming off an impressive home sweep of traditional power Boston University.

UND is now 0-1-1 on the season, the Beavers the opposite at 1-0-1.

Game notes: On its four power plays, UND did put seven shots on goal ... Freshman center Jasper Weatherby and sophomore defenseman Gabe Bast led UND in shots on goal with four apiece ... Berry changed up all four of his forward lines from Friday night's loss at Bemidji  ... Combs and Adam Brady had three shots on net each to lead the Beavers  ... Scheel finished with 15 saves  ... Named the game's three stars, in order, were Mismash, Combs and Scheel.

Virg 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 FightingHawks.com. This marks his 50th season since he began covering UND hockey in 1969.