MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State men's hockey team dominated in front of the hometown crowd, as they were the superior squad in a victory over Midland to extend their winning streak to three games.
The 2
nd-ranked Beavers (15-4-0) controlled the game from the start and played a full 60-minute effort to hand Midland University (9-11-1) a 7-2 loss at Maysa Arena on Thursday night. Minot State wasted no time getting on the board early, as they broke through twice in the first five minutes of regulation. Even with Midland getting puck luck to go their way at times, it did not deter the Beavers from adding four more goals in the second period and one more for good measure in the third.
Minot State opened the game with two goals at 3:35 and 4:55 of the first period. The middle frame brought in the most action, with five goals combined including three Beaver tallies all within the final two minutes of the period. Each team traded a single goal in the third to wrap up the scoring.
Both teams will meet again at Maysa Arena at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Beavers chose to spread the wealth, as there were seven different goal scorers on the night.
Reid Arnold's 11
th of the season was the ice breaker, followed by
Troy Hamilton getting his ninth goal.
Eric Krywy also got his first helper of the year on Arnold's goal. Despite Midland cutting the lead in half early in the second, it was all Beavers after that.
Brayden Pawluk would tip in his fourth goal on the power play. Later,
Walker Jerome,
Trenton Curtis, and
Carter Barley would all score in a span of 1:13 in the waning minutes of the second period.
Logan Cyca would add one more at the three-minute mark of the third before the Warriors racked up another of their own to make it 7-2.
Christian Kadolph continues to play excellent on the defensive side with another two assists on the night.
Although he did not face a lot of shots,
Riley Wallace had a solid display with 10 saves as the starter.
The Beavers made things look easy as they won the first match of a two-game series with the Warriors. It is also Minot State's ninth win versus Midland since MSU Athletics affiliation.
