MINOT, N.D. – After falling 3-1 in yesterday's contest, the Beavers looked to salvage a challenging weekend series against the No. 1 Midland Warriors.
Costly penalties hurt the Beavers as Midland struck first and again on multiple power play opportunities. Down 2-0, Minot State was able to cut the lead in half. Only for the Warriors to storm right back and re-take the momentum on an insurance goal that made it 3-1 late in the first.
After a scoreless second period, the Beavers would have life as they made it 3-2 on a power play of their own with 49 seconds remaining in regulation. With the extra attacker, the sense of urgency for Minot was lost after a cleared puck escaped the zone for Midland to walk in and deposit into the empty net.
Midland goes a perfect 2-for-2 on the weekend after defeating the Beavers 4-2 on the Maysa ice. The same two teams will meet again in mid-January for another series that is set to take place in Minot.
The Beavers (5-9-0 overall) faced an early deficit, giving up two power play goals in the first 13 minutes of the game. They would battle back to make it a one-score game on multiple instances, but ultimately fell short.
Minot State's first goal made it 2-1 as
Cameron Schmidt netted her second goal of the year as the puck was laying in the crease. The goal was assisted by
Riley Ball, who tipped the shot by
Makenna Beard from the blue line. Beard got her name on the scoresheet by recording her first assist of the year on that shot. Then, it was third period crunch time where the Beavers fought back.
Kaitlyn Snyder kept it close with a power play goal, her first of the year, from
Paige Kozak and
Anna German.
Haylie Biever made eight saves on 11 shots until she left the game in the first period and did not return because of injury.
Morgan Baker registered 14 saves in relief for Minot.
Unfortunately, it was too little too late for the Beavers. The Warriors ran away as Midland (15-0-1) secured the win on an empty netter with 23 seconds left in regulation.
Another hard-fought battle yet again between the two ACHA National Semifinal contestants.
Through four games against each other, Midland now carries a perfect 4-0-0 record against the Beavers this season.
