FREMONT, Neb. – The Minot State women's hockey team made a determined charge but, in the end, came up short for the first time this season.
A pair of power-play goals in the second period put host Midland in control late Thursday night and the Warriors held on from there, beating the visiting Beavers, 4-2.
After a scoreless first period, Midland broke on top with 6 minutes, 20 seconds left in the second period with Minot State shorthanded.
Another power-play goal for the Warriors led to a 2-0 lead as Midland scored with 1:35 left in the second period, putting Minot State (5-1-0 overall) into comeback mode for the third period.
Ensley Fendelet started the comeback, scoring her second goal of the season just 1:03 into the final session off a
Story Navrot assist, but the host Warriors answered with 8:43 gone in the period, re-establishing a two-goal lead.
Haley Wickham kept Minot State's comeback hopes alive, though, scoring her second of the season with 6:48 remaining in regulation, assisted by
Alisha O'Hara and
Aspen Cooper, making it a 3-2 contest.
Battling to even the score, Minot State pulled goalie
Haylie Biever for the final 80 seconds of play, putting an extra attacker onto the ice, but to no avail as the Warriors (2-2-1) iced the win with an empty-net goal with 36 seconds left for the final 4-2 score.
Biever finished with 28 saves on the night for the Beavers, who now look to bounce back against Adrian College (Mich.), which Minot State will play Friday at 5 p.m. at the rink in Fremont, Neb.
