MINOT, N.D. – It's finally hockey time at the Maysa Arena.

The Minot State women's hockey team hits the ice this weekend, making its home debut, as the Beavers host first-year program Arizona on Friday and Saturday in ACHA action. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and 3:45 p.m. on Saturday.

And there's plenty of excitement surrounding the weekend for the Beavers (0-2-0 overall, 0-2-0 WMCH).

"I'm excited," Minot State head coach Ryan Miner said. "First of all, obviously they're a new program, ... you can watch film and kind of prepare, but at the same time, when you have a new team, you don't know what to expect. So I like the excitement of that."

A new team that opened its season splitting a home-and-home series last weekend with Grand Canyon.

As for the Beavers, they come into the weekend with a pair of contests under their belt, as well, against a very established Midland program that scored wins of 2-0 and 3-0.

Not the results Minot State wanted, but a good learning experience to start the new season.

"It didn't go our way with that, 2-0 loss, but there were still moments in that game that we knew that we felt good about," Miner said. "But we went to the drawing board for Saturday and kind of turned things around. Obviously, another loss hurts. But at the same time, I think we controlled most of the pace of that game.

"We just couldn't find, you know, the back of the net."

That will be key for the Beavers this weekend as Minot State's goalie Haylie Biever turned aside 60 shots in the two games, giving her teammates a chance against the Warriors.

As for the brand new Wildcats (1-1-0), Savannah Allen scored a pair of goals and Lucy Verderber, and Brynn O'Neill each added one apiece on the weekend.

In goal, Lauryn Hanafin picked up a 5-4 victory making 34 saves.