MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – The wait is over for the Minot State women, who hit the ice to begin pool play at the ACHA National Tournament on Wednesday against a very familiar foe.

The 3^rd-ranked Beavers will meet in-state rival and 10^th-ranked Jamestown for the third straight game and the 7^th time this season, but the first time at nationals, as both teams open pool play head-to-head at 2 p.m. at the Centene Community Ice Center in Missouri on Wednesday afternoon.

History has been on Minot State's side in this rivalry, now in its fourth season, with the Beavers holding a 29-0-0 all-time series advantage.

But anything can happen this time of year, so the Beavers (18-7-7 overall) will overlook no opponent, especially a Jamestown team that's twice played one-goal games against Minot State, 3-2 and 2-1 wins in Minot for the Beavers in January.

In the teams' most recent meetings, at the end of February in Jamestown, the Beavers scored back-to-back 5-1 victories in "stay-sharp" games for both teams between the WMCH Tournament and the ACHA National Tournament.

Journey Miller had a goal and 2 assists in the first win, while Payton Lang, Kaitlyn Snyder, Erica Fijala, and Kinley Brassard each added a goal, and Jillian Ackerman made 29 saves in the Minot State victory.

The first collegiate goals for Makayla Peters and Maggie Nicol highlighted the Beavers' second-day win, while Brassard, Snyder, and Krissy Rink each also scored, and Bailey Grunewald made 32 saves in net.

Freshman Emma Durand and senior Gabriella Schroder scored the two goals for the Jimmies (9-18-1) in the weekend series, and have been the team leaders all season as Durand has a team-best 10 goals and 9 assists, while Schroder has 8 goals and 2 assists.

Senior Bethany Wielgosh is the other top scorer for Jamestown with 8 goals and a team-high 11 assists.

The Jimmies trio of goalies each have picked up 3 wins, but are led by freshman Madelynne Sylvestre, who has 1 shutout, a 2.73 goals against average, and a 90.7 save percentage. She's played in four games against the Beavers this season, allowing 15 goals and making 104 saves.

The other opponent in the Beavers' pool is No 6-ranked Michigan-Dearborn (29-2-1), which Minot State plays on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the ACHA National opener for the Wolverines.

The meeting will be the first between Dearborn and Minot State, though the teams were scheduled to play in November of 2021 in Michigan until bad winter weather forced the cancellation of the two-game series.

The Wolverines have played several similar opponents as Minot State this season, including WMCH foes Lindenwood, Maryville, and McKendree. Michigan-Dearborn swept a pair of games with the Lions, and split a two-game series with both the Saints and Bearcats.

Minot State beat Lindenwood 6-0 in their only meeting, took 2-of-3 from Maryville, which included a 10-2 Beaver victory, and went 1-1-1 with McKendree this season.
Senior goalie Kenna Borso leads the Wolverines in goal with 20 wins, 12 shutouts, a 1.34 GAA, and a 94.0 save percentage.

The offense has been powered by the trio of senior Cadence Pero, freshman Pallavi Hari, and senior Andi Evers. Pero has team-bests of 26 goals and 33 assists, and her 59 points leads all of ACHA Division I women's hockey, while Hari has added 23 goals and 19 assists, and Evers has 16 goals and 18 assists.

Michigan-Dearborn wraps up pool play Friday against Jamestown, which will be off Thursday.

The winner of the Beavers' pool advances to the ACHA national semifinals on Saturday, with game times set for 4 and 7 p.m.

Leading the way for Minot State this season has been Ackerman, a sophomore goalie who earned ACHA All-American honors last year. This season, the Minot native has 12 wins, 7 shutouts, a 1.55 GAA, and a 94.4 save percentage, and was named to the All-WMCH Team earlier this month.

Offensively, Miller has led the way with 17 goals and 8 assists, which includes a 5-goal game in mid-January for the Beavers' graduate student. Miller was also named to the All-WMCH Team earlier this month.

She's helped out offensively by Rink, a senior who is second on the team with 9 goals and 7 assists, senior Olivia Opheim, who leads the team with 13 assists and has 3 goals, and seniors Cameron Schmidt, who has 8 goals and 11 assists, and Abby Tallman, who has 6 goals and 11 assists.