LINK TO ACHA MEN'S POLL

MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State hockey teams hit the ice for another busy weekend as the Beaver women host a pair of games against national runner-up champion Maryville, while the Minot State men open their season in earnest with a home-and-home series against Jamestown.

Friday night, the Minot State women (1-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 WMCH) take central stage at the Pepsi Rink at the Maysa Arena, playing Maryville (2-0-0, 0-0-0) in primetime with puck drop at 7:30 p.m.

The Saints come in after a hot start against Adrian (Mich.), having swept the Bulldogs last weekend, winning 1-0 and 4-1 at the Maryville University Ice Hockey Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Sophomore winger Haley Beckett led the way with a pair of goals last weekend while defender and graduate student Emma Gerwitz added three assists for the Saints. Hannah Tresek played in goal in both games, stopping 42 of 43 shots for both wins while recording a shutout.

This will be the 12^th and 13^th meetings between the Saints and Beavers. Minot State holds a 9-2 edge in the all-time series and has won the last 5 head-to-head meetings.

This season, Abby Tallman, Olivia Kirwan, Journey Miller, and Olivia Opheim have netted a goal apiece for the Beavers, while sophomore goalie Jillian Ackerman is 1-1 and has stopped 48 of the 51 shots she faced last weekend.

The women play game two of their weekend series on Saturday at 3:45 p.m., the first half of a Beaver hockey doubleheader with the men. The Minot State men will host Jamestown on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

Prior to that, the Minot State men hit the ice Friday night at Jamestown at 7 p.m., opening regular-season play after skating to three exhibition wins over the past two weekends.

Balance was key for Minot State in the trio of exhibitions as Sheldin Howard, Walker Jerome, Jay Buchholz, and Slade Stanick each netted a pair of goals while Matt Egan, Trenton Curtis, Jaxon Grosdidier, Brett Tataryn, Colby Joseph, and Logan Cyca all added one apiece.

As for the Jimmies, they have played Briercrest in a pair of exhibitions with a 4-3 win over the Clippers and a 4-4 tie. In regular-season play, the Jimmies also have a 6-1 win over Colorado, 5-0 and 4-1 wins over Midland, and a 5-2 win over Arizona State.

The Jimmies (4-0-0 overall, 2-0-0 MCH) have been led offensively by freshman winger Carson Brown with three goals, while senior wingers Jordan Baranesky and Brad Fortin each have a pair of goals, as do sophomore wingers Matthew McIntyre and James Hooton, and freshman winger Marcus Fritel. Senior goalie Brandon Weare has played every minute so far this season with four wins, 92 saves, and 1 shutout.

Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., the home-and-home series moves north to Minot and the Maysa Arena where the 3^rd-ranked Beavers will host the 6^th-ranked Jimmies.
 
Minot State men remain 3^rd in first ACHA poll of regular season
MINOT, N.D. – The ACHA announced its first Division I men's hockey poll of the season this week, and the Minot State men remained No. 3 in the nation.

The Beavers open the regular season Friday at Jamestown.

The top 7 teams in the preseason poll retained their position in the first ranking, with defending national champion UNLV at No. 1 with 28 first-place votes and 768 points, followed by Adrian (Mich.) at No. 2 with 5 first-place votes and 732 points.

Minot State was third with 1 first-place vote and 715 points, and Liberty (Va.) was 4^th with 1 first-place vote and 684 points.

Ohio was 5^th with 655 points, Minot State's opponent this weekend, Jamestown, was 6^th with 621, and Maryville (Mo.) was 7^th with 587 points.
In-state rival Mary was 14^th in the poll with 369 points.