MINOT, N.D. – They made it more dramatic than they wanted, but in the end, a win is a win.

The Minot State women's hockey team dominated play until a frantic final four-minute comeback by visiting Lake Superior State sent the game into overtime where the Beavers eventually prevailed, 4-3 on Friday at the Maysa Arena.

The same two teams face off again Saturday with puck-drop scheduled for 3:45 p.m.

It looked like Minot State (2-3-0 overall) might skate off with an easy victory as Aspen Cooper scored just 1 minute, 59 seconds into the action off assists by Gillian Gervin and Paige Ackerman.

But despite peppering the Lakers net with a 19-3 advantage in shots in the opening stanza, the Beavers held just that 1-0 edge at the end of the first period.

And Lake Superior State (0-5-0) eventually tied it with a power-play goal 5:24 into the second, igniting a fire in Minot State as Abby Tallman scored with 7:24 left in the second, snapping the tie, then 3:07 later Anna German scored a power-play goal for a bit more comfortable 3-1 lead.

Ackerman and Olivia Opheim set up Tallman's goal, while Cooper and Riley Ball had assists on German's.

Seemingly content with the two-goal lead, neither team mounted much of an attack in the third period until the Lakes made a late charge sparked by a Beaver penalty.

With the man advantage, Lake Superior State found the spark to fight back into the game with a power-play goal with 3:47 left, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
A finish that went into overtime when Haley Howe scored unassisted with 41 seconds left for the Lakers, tying it 3-3.

Once into the extra session, Minot State took control and, helped by a penalty against the visitors, Krissy Rink put the game-winner in the back of the net 1:51 into the extra session off assists from Paige Kozak and German for the dramatic victory.

Morgan Baker, making her first start of the season, earned the win in goal with 13 saves for Minot State.