MINOT, N.D. – Opening-night jitters didn't slow down the Beavers one bit as they put on a great show for the fans at Maysa Arena on Friday.
Down early to the visiting Midland University Warriors, the Minot State women's hockey team got its offense rolling with a fantastic flurry in the second period, scoring two goals in 45 seconds to lift the Beavers to a 2-1 season-opening win.
"It felt good to get that first win out of the way on home ice," Minot State coach
Ryan Miner said. "There were a lot of positives that came out of the game, but also areas that we will improve on for tomorrow."
Playing their third game of the season, the Warriors (1-1-1-0 overall) came out tough in the first period and grabbed the lead with 10 minutes, 34 seconds gone in the stanza, putting Minot State (1-0-0-0) in comeback mode.
The Beavers, making their season debut, got the comeback rolling just 2:50 into the second period as
Riley Ball scored off an assist from
Maiya Aschberg for a 1-1 score.
Mia Mckee then broke the brief tie 45 seconds later with an unassisted goal, then the Beavers hung on for the win as
Haylie Biever made 32 saves, including 12 in the third period, icing the victory.
"
Haylie Biever came up big tonight and bailed us out when we needed her," Miner said. "We fought until the end and earned the victory, something we will look to do tomorrow to bring home another win!"
The two teams face off again on Saturday at Maysa Arena, wrapping up their two-game weekend series. Puck drops at 4 p.m., and admission is free for the Saturday matinee.
