LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 1-ranked Minot State hockey team heads East this weekend to take on No. 6-ranked Liberty, renewing the teams' head-to-head season series.

The Beavers (28-2-0 overall) beat Liberty (15-12) 4-2 and 2-1 back in October in Minot, N.D., the first two losses of the season for the Flames.
Minot State plays at Liberty on Friday at 9 p.m. (CT), then Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT).

That matches the total of losses this season for Minot State, which lost a close contest at Mary in December, and fell 5-3 at Ohio earlier this month.

Key to Minot State's success has been Jake Anthony in goal who made a total of 43 saves in the two wins over the Flames in October. Anthony is 19-2-0 this season with four shutouts and a 1.58 goals against average.

While he has been a stalwart for the Beavers in goal, he's gotten a ton of offensive help as 10 different Minot State players have 10 or more goals this season.

Freshman Joey Moffatt leads that onslaught with 19 goals and 26 assists, while Carter Barley has 18 goals and 35 assists, and Landyn Cochrane, Sheldin Howard, and Drew Carter have 16 goals each for the Beavers.

As for Liberty, which will hold its senior night when the Beavers visit, they come in having taken some lumps, losing 6-of-8 recently which includes dropping a pair of games at Ohio, two losses at UNLV, and recent home splits with Adrian (Mich.) and the Bobcats.

Jacob Kalandyk leads the Flames with 15 goals and 15 assists, while Jason Foltz has 14 goals and 13 assists, Daniel Schwenke had 13 goals and five assists, and Jackson Vercellono has 10 goals and 15 assists.

Foltz had one of the three goals Liberty scored when the Flames fell 4-2 and 2-1 in North Dakota.

The games are the regular-season finale for the Flames prior to the ACHA National Tournament, while the Beavers will return home to play a home-and-home series on March 8-9 with Jamestown prior to the ACHA tournament.