FREMONT, Neb. – The Minot State men's hockey team is set to return to the ice after a long holiday break with a rare road trip that starts off the new calendar year for the No. 1-ranked Beavers.
Having played just three road games, and none outside the state, Minot State (15-1-0 overall) heads to Nebraska this weekend for the first of 6-of-7 on the road over the coming weeks as the Beavers play at Midland (3-11-0) on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The weekend series wraps up a four-game, season home-and-home battle between the two programs that started with Minot State rolling to 11-2 and 14-1 wins over the Warriors on Oct. 14 and 15 at the Maysa Arena in Minot.
Carter Barley led the way for a prolific Beaver offense that weekend as six different Minot State skaters scored multiple goals. Barley netted six goals and added three assists, including a four-goal, one assist game in Saturday's 14-1 win.
Jay Buchholz and
Landyn Cochrane each had three goals in the teams' previous meeting, while
Reid Arnold,
Jared Hamm, and
Christian Kadolph added two apiece for Minot State.
The Beavers, who have not played since Dec. 10 when they beat visiting Central Oklahoma 7-2, will look to continue that dominance on the Warriors home ice.
As for the Warriors, they also have been away from the ice for a while, last hosting Jamestown on Dec. 3. And, like the Beavers, it was a successful last outing as Midland topped the Jimmies 6-4 in that game.
Freshman Tommy Wardas, from the Czech Republic, leads the way for Midland with 10 goals and six assists in his rookie season, though he did not have a point in the Warriors weekend series at Minot State.
Zach Weber, Logan Wotton, and Kolten Wright each had a goal in the Warriors trip to the Maysa Arena earlier this season.
Following the two road games, it's a quick trip home for Minot State to host Colorado State (10-8-0) on Monday night at 7 p.m. at the Maysa Arena before the Beavers head to Edmond, Oklahoma for the University of Central Oklahoma Showcase, Jan. 13-15.
Minot State hasn't played the CSU Rams in quite a while with the last meeting a 3-2 shootout win for Colorado State back on Sept. 28, 2018.
The Rams head to North Dakota to play at Jamestown this Saturday and Sunday before taking on Minot State on Monday.
Sophomore forward Tristin Maestas leads the Rams with 15 goals and nine assists this season while junior forward Max Kleiner has eight goals and 17 assists for a balanced Rams offense featuring four players with 20 points or more.
Sophomore Sam Simon has been the Rams go-to goalie with two shutouts in 14 games, a .910 save percentage, and a 3.60 goals against average.
