Micah Friez: FRIEZ COLUMN: Making 6 predictions for local sports in 2023

Dec. 17—In January, as the calendar flipped to 2022, a question popped into my head: What's going to happen this year?

It's a fairly common thought as we reflect on the year that was and the year to come, but it evolved into a pretty fun exercise by combining it with the local sports scene.

I took my best stab at

predicting six local sports happenings for 2022,

and I'm proud to report that I nailed two of them. (But I give myself credit for 2.5 correct guesses since I got another one half right.) (And thank you Abbie Kelm for making me look smart.)

As we prepare for another turn of the calendar, I wanted to give it another go. So here's what I think is going to happen around town in 2023.

The Lumberjacks have been the talk of the town for much of the winter, and their 8-1 record is justification for that. They've already surpassed their win total from the past two seasons combined, and they've shot up the Section 8AA standings.

Bemidji is currently neck-and-neck with Moorhead for the top spot, and the two are on a collision course for the championship game on Feb. 15. Not only will it be the first section title game appearance for BHS since 2010, this year will mark the program's first playoff win of any kind since 2015.

I'm not confident enough just yet to say that the Jacks will reach the state tournament this season, but with that promising and highly touted young core, I'll bet a new banner is coming within a few years.

Speaking of successful hockey, a return to the NCAA Tournament for Bemidji State would certainly get the town talking.

As of this writing, the Beavers are currently tied at No. 21 in the Pairwise and have largely flown under the radar on the national scene this year. But they lead the CCHA standings and could even sneak in as an automatic qualifier.

And if you're willing to count last year as an anomaly, this is a second-half program. That's how they made it in 2021 — and even knocked off Wisconsin — and despite a down year last season, they'll make up for it with a push back into the Big Dance this year.

For the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Bemidji High School has endured challenging class realignments for most every sport. The Lumberjacks

have faced higher competitive and logistical challenges

because the MSHSL bumped them up to the highest class for every sport other than football due to the school's enrollment numbers.

That move — with BHS teetering right on the cutoff line and with its appeals denied — was not a welcome one in Bemidji.

But the new reclassification process, which happens once every two years, will be much kinder to the Jacks this time around. I'm betting BHS returns to its typical class for those uprooted sports, which allows the kids a fairer chance to compete for a section championship without needing to drive down to the Cities and back on a school night. Expect that news to come in April.

Most years, it feels like the Bemidji baseball team has what it takes to capture another section crown. But since their last state berth in 2012, the Lumberjacks have been left with the section runner-up trophy in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

With a senior-laden core gearing up for 2023, this feels like the year that BHS finally breaks through yet again. At least six players — Hunter Brodina, Dan Clusiau, Ben Corradi, Cam Justice, Ty Lundeen and Will Zellmann — have already committed to play baseball collegiately, and that group will be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.

The program faced heartbreak in 2012 when it lost 1-0 in the state championship game, and the ensuing drought has been torturous, but all of that will melt away with the snow this spring.

This is my boldest prediction of the bunch. But Bemidji's amateur baseball team has been one of the best in the state year in and year out.

The Blue Ox have won the Region 10C title three out of the past four summers, and they've been to the state tournament six of the past seven years. They're 9-6 in state tournament games during that span, which included a run to the state semifinals in 2017 and to the state quarterfinals in 2019 and 2020.

The Blue Ox lost their first state tournament game in 2022, which won't sit well with them over the winter. They'll be back with a vengeance come summertime and will have all the firepower they need to capture their first state championship in 2023.

It will be no small feat for Bemidji State football to return to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season. NSIC Offensive Player of the Year Brandon Alt will be quarterbacking the team again, but the Beavers will lose a lot of playmakers on defense and play with a big target on their back.

Still, these Beavers have proven that it's not wise to bet against them.

BSU may take a lump or two early in the year, but that didn't stop them in 2021 or 2022. Bemidji State will again find a way to sneak back into the playoffs as a low seed, where they'll have a shot to play spoiler against a national contender.