Troy Jutting was almost surprised to hear it. Perhaps he blocked the statistic out of his mind.

But in his first eight seasons as head coach of the Minnesota State men’s hockey team, he was 0-7-1 in regular-season openers.

On Friday night, after his ninth opening night and a 5-2 victory over Bemidji State, Jutting could finally say his Mavericks were 1 and oh.

“That was good,” Jutting said.

The 18th-ranked Mavericks displayed a combination of speed and hard-nosed play before the crowd of 3,911 at Alltel Center, outshooting the Beavers 29-18.

Redshirt freshman Mike Louwerse scored his first two collegiate goals, and true freshman Justin Jokinen scored his first. The Mavericks also got goals from juniors Geoff Irwin and Trevor Bruess.

Defensemen Kurt Davis and Ben Youds each had two assists, and goaltender Mike Zacharias stopped 16 shots.

For Louwerse, the game erased a frustrating first year at Minnesota State. He played in four games before being shut down with a sports hernia and was given an extra season of eligibility for medical reasons.

“That was a weight off my shoulders,” said Louwerse, who was making his home debut. “To get that first one early in the season, in my first game, on my first shot.”

Louwerse tapped back the rebound of a Mick Berge shot during a 5-on-3 power-play goal to put Minnesota State ahead 1-0 at 4:16 of the first period and riled up the already boisterous student section that was almost full about an hour before game time.

“That atmosphere,” he said. “I haven’t played in front of that in awhile. … Every good play I make, I get more comfortable. Each day, I’m able to play better and better.”

In the second period, Louwerse blocked a shot and turned it into a 2-on-2 rush. He finished off the play by beating goalie Matt Dalton with a low shot to put the Mavericks ahead 4-2 with 67 seconds left in the period.

“(Louwerse) has a high desire to be a player,” Jutting said. “He did a lot of the things he had to do over the spring and summer to be an effective player.”

Louwerse’s first goal was the Mavericks’ only power-play goal of the game. But both teams were forced to put their special teams on the ice a lot.

With a permanent two-referee system in place, as well as a crackdown on obstruction, the game was bogged down by 26 minor penalties.