High school athletics presents opportunities to create lifetime memories, and the Bemidji boys hockey team has already generated a scrapbook that the players will never forget.

Saturday night at the Bemidji Community Arena the Lumberjacks added to their treasure chest as they raced past Brainerd 3-1 in the semifinals of the Section 8AA tournament.

Wednesday night BHS will have another opportunity to create a lasting memory as it tangles with Moorhead for the section championship. That game likely will be played at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls at 7 p.m.

“We knew that it would be a close game but we weren’t going to be denied,” said Bemidji co-captain Max Hazelton, who scored a key insurance goal early in the third period Saturday.

“The keys to this win started this week in practice. We had a great week (of preparation) and we told ourselves that we want to do something special this year and we were not about to let Brainerd get in the way.”

During the regular season BHS posted a 5-3 victory over the Warriors, but Brainerd held an edge in play and owned a 2-1 lead after the first period. The Jacks were not about to let that happen on Saturday night.

“We all know what we can do this year and we are not going to let a bad game or a bad period ruin it for us,” Hazelton said. “We came out playing with our heart and our soul.”

Bemidji flew around the rink in the opening 18 minutes and also gave notice that anyone wearing a Brainerd uniform had to be prepared to protect himself.

Less than a minute into the play Bemidji was called for icing, but Steven Heller raced to the end of the rink in an effort to touch the puck before it crossed the line.

Brainerd’s Josh Archibald trailed Heller and tried to give the Jacks senior a nudge at the end of the play but Heller responded with a shoulder that sent Archibald flying.

By the end of the period Bemidji had a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard and a wide edge in hits.

Jake White opened the scoring 1:46 into the game when he worked into an open spot at the lower left circle and zipped a rebound of Tyler Tatro’s shot from the blue line past Warrior goalie Jared Stearns.

“We kicked it to the point and I just sat on the post waiting for a rebound,” White said. “The rebound came and I was lucky enough to put it home.”

Brainerd evened the score at 10:09 when Archibald connected on a power play but the home team regained a 2-1 advantage when Hazelton drew a faceoff to Matt Serratore and the sophomore blistered a shot through a screen and past Stearns.

The 2-1 score stood through the second stanza but 4:33 into the final period Hazelton collected the insurance goal when he outraced the Brainerd defense to the puck, came in solo on Stearns and flipped a backhander over the goalie’s stick.

“Matt had the puck and passed it to John (Forseth) and he hounded the defender enough for me to get the shot off and do something with it,” Hazelton said.

Both teams had chances in the final minutes but BHS goalie Jeremiah Graves and Stearns both were stingy in the net.

Graves finished with 33 saves and Stearns had 35.

Bemidji will take a 23-2-2 record into Wednesday’s championship game.

Brainerd 1 0 0 - 1

Bemidji 2 0 1 - 3

First period: 1. Bem, White (Tatro, Hazelton) 1:46; 2. Bra, Archibald (McLain, Rich) 10:09 PP; 3. Bem, Serratore (Forseth, Hazelton) 11:02

Second period: No scoring

Third period: 4. Bem, Hazelton (Forseth, Serratore) 4:33

Penalties: Brainerd – 5 for 18 minutes; Bemidji – 5 for 10 minutes

Saves: Stearns (Bra) 14-10-11-38; Graves (Bem) 8-11-14-33