MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO. – Absolute pandemonium in St. Louis! A one-second difference from facing a must-win in the loser-out turns into a first-round victory for Minot State women's hockey. The Beavers made their first appearance of the 2024 ACHA National Tournament in a wild debut versus the University of Michigan.

It was do or die for the 4^th-seeded Minot State Beavers, who laid it all out on the ice in a 3-2 overtime win over 9^th-seeded Michigan. Before the chaos began, it was Minot who got the ice breaker at 6:23 in the first period. That lead would hold for over nine minutes until the Wolverines tied things up at 15:35. Going into the first intermission, the score was even at one.

The second period featured a single goal as Michigan took their first lead of the game at the 7:50 mark. Down 2-1 heading into the third, the Beavers had some work to do to avoid being sent to the loser-out round.

Period three is when the stakes get high, and Michigan held on for dear life. The Wolverines kept the lead for all of 19:59. Until that little sliver of time and effort for Minot State to capitalize on a scoring chance, they do just that to shock all that were in attendance at the Centene Community Ice Center.

2-2…that is what the scoreboard read just before it hit all zeroes. One more faceoff to officially send it to overtime.

In the sudden death frame, a good amount of time would pass for both teams to catch their composure yet still maintain high focus on the task at hand. That was until at 33 seconds of the 16^th minute, the Beavers set up a shot and rebound in the slot for the game-winning goal that sent the whole team into a frenzy and into the quarterfinals. Ball game, Beavers win 3-2.

Makena Welby was the hero for Minot State as she not only garnered the last-second goal to tie it in regulation, but also the winner in overtime for her first two goals of the 2024 National Tournament. Continuing to build off a good regular season into the postseason was defenseman Aspen Cooper as she scored her first of the tournament early in the opening period.

Haylie Biever opened the tournament as the number one option in net for the Beavers. She did her part in giving the team a chance to win with 24 saves on 26 shots.

The Beavers picked up their first win over the Michigan Wolverines under MSU Athletics affiliation, counting for both regular and postseason. They advance to the ACHA quarterfinals and will await their next opponent following the results of the loser-out round tomorrow.