MINOT, N.D. – It's an exciting weekend for the Beaver women's hockey team which gets to test its mettle against the NCAA.

Wrapping up a six-game stretch on the road Friday night, Minot State starts a home-and-home series with the Concordia College Cobbers, playing a pair of exhibition contests against the NCAA Division III team starting Friday at 7 p.m. in Minnesota, then Saturday, Oct. 30, at 4 p.m. at the friendly confines of the Maysa Arena.

Saturday at the Arena will be a special Halloween celebration with Minot State players passing out candy to kids in costumes between periods, and there will be a costume contest, as well.

"A program first that has been long overdue," Minot State coach Ryan Miner said of the first matchup with an NCAA foe. "We are excited to compete against an NCAA program as it will give us a gauge of where we line up competitively."

While an exciting first for the program, it is also a chance for the Beavers (5-2-0 overall) to right the ship after a pair of setbacks in Nebraska last week. 

"On our end, we plan to get back to our winning ways, keep things simple, and earn every goal through hard work and a bit of grit," Miner said.

Here is a look at this weekend's games:
BEAVERS LOOK TO GET BACK ON TRACK: Minot State continued an extended road trip with a 4-2 loss at Midland on Thursday, then fell 3-1 to Adrian (Mich.) on Friday in a game played at Midland's rink.

Finishing chances and penalty killing proved to be the weak spots on the weekend as Minot State gave up four power-play goals and managed just 3 goals on 52 shots.

The Beavers played well in both games as Ensley Fendelet had a pair of goals on the weekend and Haley Wickham had the other, while Haylie Biever made 28 saves in goal against the Warriors and Jordan Ivanco made 19 saves against the Bulldogs. 

Megan Norris, Denali Sigurdson, Story Navrot, Alisha O'Hara, and Aspen Cooper all added an assist each to a solid effort for Minot State.

SCOUTING CONCORDIA: As excited as the Beavers are to play an NCAA foe, the Cobbers are just excited to hit the ice after getting to play just five games last year, going 2-2-1 overall in the spring of 2021.

The majority of that team returns led by junior goalie Kiana Flaig who played all five games, recording a shutout with a 1.59 goals-against average and a save percentage of 93.7.

Offensively, the Cobbers – who are making their season debut against Minot State – outscored opponents 10-9 last season and were led by returning senior forward Libby Hinrichs and sophomore forward Jerica Friese, each of whom scored a pair of goals.