MINOT, N.D. – It's rivalry night for the Minot State men's hockey team.

After a month off for the holiday break, the 2^nd-ranked Beavers return to the ice this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. to host the 10^th-ranked Mary Marauders at the All Seasons Arena at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds.

The match-up is the third meeting this season between the two national powerhouses, who split the earlier two contests with the home team winning both nights. Minot State claimed a 5-1 victory on Halloween at the Maysa Arena, and the Marauders skating to a 2-1 win on November 8 in Mandan.

Overall, Minot State has dominated the head-to-head series, which dates back to the 2018-19 season, as the Beavers hold a 25-3-2 series record. But the Marauders only started skating at the ACHA Division I level in the 2023-24 season, and two of their 3 wins against Minot State have come in that time.

That includes the teams' previous meeting this season, as sophomore Davis Loahr and senior Amraj Gill each scored to erase a 1-0 deficit for the Marauders, who were outshot 39-27 on the night.

Freshman Isaac Flatley had the lone goal for Mary in the teams' first meeting, dominated by the Beavers, who saw Sheldin Howard, Logan Cyca, Jay Buchholz, Colby Joseph, and Matthew Yakubowski each score. Buchholz scored the lone goal for Minot State in November's road setback.

Loahr and Flatley have been two of the offensive leaders for Mary (18-7-0 overall, 4-2-0 MCH) this season with 11 and 10 goals, respectively, while sophomore Alex Senf leads the Marauders with 16 goals, and senior Dain Sardelli has netted 14.

The Marauders come into Friday night's game with the benefit of having played twice since the holiday break, as well, scoring 4-1 and 6-3 home wins over North Carolina State over the past weekend.

Minot State (14-1-1-1 overall, 6-1-1-1 MCH) last competed on December 10 at Jamestown in a shootout loss to the Jimmies, one of two extra-session setbacks for the Beavers, who have only lost once in regulation, that being the 2-1 game at Mary.

Joseph has led the way offensively with 13 goals this season for Minot State, while Yakubowski has been a key playmaker with 15 assists for the Beavers, who also have gotten stellar play in goal from William Dyke, who has 11 wins, a 1.77 goals against average, and 1 shutout this season.