MINOT, N.D. – It's been a little more than a month, but this weekend the Minot State women's hockey team returns to action as the Beavers host in-state rival Jamestown.

Minot State hosts Jamestown this Friday and Saturday at the All Seasons Arena at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds, with puck-drop scheduled for 3:45 p.m. each day.

The 5^th-ranked Beavers (7-6-5 overall, 5-6-1 WMCH) went into the holiday break splitting a pair of games at No. 2-ranked Midland, and look to build off that moving into the new year.

Offensively, balance has been key for the Beavers as Abby Tallman and Krissy Rink both have a team-high 4 goals, while Cameron Schmidt, Paige Kozak, Journey Miller, and Olivia Kirwan each have lit the lamp 3 times this season.

Defense has been equally important for Minot State, an effort led by All-American goalie Jillian Ackerman, who has 5 shutouts so far this season and a stellar 94.7 save percentage. Minot State has allowed just 31 goals as a team this season.

One of Ackerman's shutouts came against the 10^th-ranked Jimmies (4-9-1, 3-9-1), who Minot State beat 3-0 and 5-3 in mid-November in the teams' only other meeting this season.

That pair of wins stretched the Beavers' all-time record to 25-0 against Jamestown, which began its program in the 2022-23 season.

Wins have been tough to come by for the Jimmies this season, but one big victory came on November 23 when Jamestown handed No. 1 Liberty its lone loss this season, a 4-3 victory in overtime for the Jimmies.

Freshmen forwards Emma Durand and Rebekah Nickisch lead the way for the Jimmies with 6 and 5 goals, respectively, this season, and Durand had one of the three goals for Jamestown against the Beavers in the teams' previous meeting. Sophomore Maddison Andrew had the other two goals for the Jimmies against Minot State.

While Beavers look to extend their win streak against Jamestown and start the new year off strong, the weekend is also a big one in the milestone watch as Minot State's 9^th-year head coach Ryan Miner sits at 197 career wins headed into Friday afternoon's game.