MINOT, ND — No. 2 Minot State won their sixth straight game in a row with their fifth victory over the Jamestown Jimmies this season on Saturday night, followed by a Sunday evening shutout over the Williston State College Tetons. The Beavers remain undefeated on the road and improve their record to 21-2-0-0 as they prepare for their push into the postseason. 

North Dakota Hockey Game Day took place in Jamestown, ND all day on Saturday, January 22nd where team divisions ranged from youth clubs all the way up to collegiate ACHA Divison I teams. All games were played on an outdoor rink throughout the day and lead up to the 7:30p.m. puck drop where No. 9 University of Jamestown and No. 2 Minot State University took to the ice to face off for the sixth time this season. 

Both teams held strong against one another the first fifteen minutes of the game, until UJ skater Morgan Venne found his own way to get a puck past goalie Jake Anthony just before the end of the first. Although MSU defensemen would only allow this one goal the entire game, the offense initially failed to respond back in the first period, ending the first twenty minutes of play down 0-1. 

Connor Navrot and Carter Barley (asst.) headed straight for the net as soon as the puck dropped to begin the second period, tying the game up for the beavers with a shot past Jimmie goalie Tyson Brouwer just 0:12 into the second. Justin Metcalf set Jordan Robertson up to give the Beavers some more insurance on the night less than five minutes later and put MSU up on UJ 2-1. Neither the Jimmies nor the Beavers would score for the remainder of the game as each team intensely fought to protect their net, closing out the night with a 2-1 victory over Jamestown. 

They may have already played each other six times, but the matchups between two of North Dakota's top ACHA hockey teams isn't done this season just yet. Minot State will travel to Jamestown again this Wednesday, January 26th to round off this season's best-of-seven series between the top-ranked teams. Head Coach Wyatt Waselenchuk is grateful for every opportunity the Beavers get to face off against the Jimmies. 

"Jamestown always plays us so, so hard," comments Waselenchuk, "they're a good, good opponent for us. They make us work hard and they bring out the best in us." The Jimmies originally started off the year ranked at No. 11 and have since moved up in the polls to No. 9 as the season has progressed. Minot State has beaten UJ all but one time this season on Dec. 10th, where the Beavers got shut down 1-3 on their home ice. In preparation for Wednesday night's game, Coach Waselenchuk is focused on proper execution throughout. "I think we've kind of let them settle in historically," he continues, "it'd be nice to score a few early and just kind of roll with that lead." The Jimmies and Beavers will meet up one last time for a regular season game this Wednesday Jan 26th in Jamestown at 7p.m.

After a 2-1 win over the Jimmies Saturday night, Minot State put on a show for the Sunday night home crowd in The Maysa with a 6-0 shutout over the Tetons starring Justin Metcalf, Landyn Cochrane, and Jordan Robertson. Robertson and Cochrane tipped one up to Metcalf just 1:24 into the first period and allowed the Beavers an extremely early lead scoring the first goal of the game and putting MSU on top of WSC 1-0. Wayde Johannesson got in on the second goal of the first period. working with Cochrane who set Cochrane up again for his second goal of the night which put Minot State over the Tetons 2-0 as the final twenty minutes came to a close. 

The second period was a scoring frenzy for the MSU offensive lines. Jagger Thiessen, Davis Sheldon, and again, Justin Metcalf (2 goals) each found a way to get the puck past WSC goalie Austyn Melin in the second regulation period. Reid Arnold and Jay Buccholz each earned an assist a piece, while Robertson assisted in three out of the four goals that period, and Cochrane earned two more assists himself. 

The Tetons must have had enough of the scoring ambush as the final twenty minutes of the game saw no more Beaver goals fly into the WSC net. No. 2 Minot State picked up their sixth in a row for the weekend with their 6-0 shutout over Williston State as they head into the work week. 

That 6-game winning streak feeling? "It's nice, ya know," comments Waselenchuk on top-ranked MSU's success, "confidence is everything for a hockey team. Winning games regardless of who you play keeps the morale high and it makes the Monday practices a little less monotonous." 

The Beavers continue improve in different ways throughout their roster as the season progresses. "We're spreading the puck around well and it's not just one guy." Waselenchuk mentioned Metcalf as an example, "[he] had four tonight. Lots of guys have been chipping in lots of different roles so we're as deep as I've ever seen our team in my ten years of being part of this program. If one line's not clicking, we've got another three that usually are." 

"It's a luxury to have, it's something we don't take for granted." Coach Waselenchuk commends his players' dedication, "it's something these guys work hard at every day."

Following their Wednesday night trip for their game against No. 9 Jamestown, Minot State will gear up for their upcoming lineup of nationally-ranked competition. No. 21 Midland, No. 5 Liberty, and No. 16 Arizona will compete against MSU in their final six games of the regular season before a possible ACHA postseason run begins. When asked how the Beavers are going to prepare for such a hefty schedule of strong competition, Waselenchuk replies, "it's just a matter of being detail oriented and making more of our practice time." He continues, "as cliche as it sounds, we can always get better at the little things."