MINOT, N.D. – A new era begins on the ice for the Minot State women's hockey team this weekend.

After nine years and more than 200 career wins, coach Ryan Miner stepped aside in the spring, opening the door for the Beavers' new head coach, Blake Zabinski, who makes his debut on the bench when Minot State opens the season with games at Jamestown on Friday and Saturday.

An ironic twist, as Zabinski's head-coaching career started at Jamestown where he spent three seasons as the head coach for the Jimmies' ACHA Division II men's team before taking over as coach for the Marian Sabres' men's ACHA Division II team for the past two seasons.

"Obviously, when I accepted the job, I didn't know the schedule," Zabinski joked. "…But it's super exciting. The last three weeks you skate, you practice, do all the lifting, all the things that we do here, and then there's no game. So to be able to play this week, play some games this week, it's awesome."

Friday night's season-opener for both teams, at 7 p.m., will be the 30^th meeting in the series, with Minot State having won every previous contest.

And while Coach Zabinski and the Beavers hope to continue that trend, these first few weeks of the season are equally about playing as a team and continuing to improve.

"A lot of people focus on the wins and losses," Minot State's new coach said. "For me, it's kind of just making sure we do things right, the little things right.

"I think the big thing for us right now is just understanding that we're a team, and that's the biggest thing," Zabinski added.

A team led by experienced, talented returners, starting with 2024-25 All-American goalie Jillian Ackerman.

Now a junior, the Minot High product has 25 career wins, 11 career shutouts, and a 1.47 career goals against average, which ranks No. 2 all-time for the Beavers.

She's helped by a senior leadership core that includes team captain and defenseman Erica Fijala, who has 6 goals and 16 assists in 99 games for Minot State, and assistant captains Paige Kozak, Olivia Kirwan, and Abby Tallman.

A senior forward, Kozak has 30 goals and 30 assists in 103 games at Minot State, while Kirwan, a senior forward, has 8 goals and 13 assists in 103 games, and Tallman, a 5^th-year senior forward, has 19 goals and 22 assists in 135 games.

While that leadership core looks to lead the way, the Beavers also will benefit from the addition of four freshmen in forwards Sydney Sass, Jade Olszewski, and Taylor Terin, and defenseman Claire Hudson.

"She's super tall, has got a long stick," Zabinski said of the 5-foot-8 Hudson.

"They're fast," Minot State's new coach added of Sass, Olszewski, and Terin. "They're starting to buy into what I want and what we're trying to preach.

"Anytime you have speed, you can kind of teach everything else, so it's awesome."

Speed on the ice will be one of the keys for the Beavers this season, who will still play the hard-nosed, hard-work style of hockey they've been known for, as well.

"I think we're going to hopefully play a little - play some North, South hockey," Zabinski said, adding, "but we did a battle drill the other day and I said to myself, 'We're either going to be the most penalized team in the league or we're going to be the hardest working team.'

"I think that those roots of just kind of blue-collar, pick your lunch pail up and go to work are going to be there, but I think if we can play and utilize our speed, we're going to be a hard team to defend against."

The Beavers will see how that combination of speed and hard work pays off against some tough foes, starting with Jamestown this weekend, then at Regina on Oct. 2 and 3, before Minot State makes its home debut hosting Sault College, last year's ACHA Division II National Champions who moved up to ACHA Division I play this season. The Beavers' home debut at the Masya Arena's Pepsi Rink will be Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17, at 3:30 p.m. each day.

The start to what Minot State and the Beavers' new coach hopes will be a championship run throughout the season.

"Obviously you want to be playing in the final game in March, but it's one game at a time for us," he said. "If we focus on that, and we'll be improving every day, it'll be awesome."