News

By: Blake Friars- Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations

MINOT, ND- It was Senior Night in the Magic City for the Minot State University Beavers program. Seven players were honored in the second intermission. Johl Sweldo, Dylan Johnson, Alex Bechtold, Kent Walchuk, Blake Fournier, goaltenders Holden Kurtz, and Josh Bykowski were the seven individuals honored

In the first period, the Beavers came flying out of the gate. They peppered the Buff’s goaltender Grant Payne who was busy in the opening frame stopping all 23 shots he faced. The best chance of the game came off the stick of sophomore forward Jordan Robertson as he let a slap shot go from the top of the circle and Payne went down in the splits and flashed the leather. Both teams had chances on the man advantage, the Buff’s went 0/1, while the Beavers were 0/2. Senior goaltender Holden Kurtz got the call in net for the Beavers and stopped all six shots he faced in the period. The Beavers outshot the Buff’s 23-6.

The second period was a carbon copy of the first one. Lots of Beaver shots on net, this time there was a pair of goals for both sides. First, it was the Beavers drawing first blood when captain Blake Fournier spun and fired home his 8th of the year. Moments later the Buff’s drew even. After Kurtz couldn’t handle a Brenden Hansen sharp angle shot, it was Thomas Kleinman with his second goal in as many nights to tie it up at 1-1. The Beavers again peppered Payne with 28 shots in the frame, the Buffs could only muster four. After 40 minutes the shots were 51-10. The Beavers went 0/2 in the frame on the man advantage.

In the third period, the Beavers kept the shot coming and finally broke through when sophomore forward Drew Carter spotted pinching freshman defenceman Wayde Johannesson backdoor and he made no mistake for his 5th of the season giving the Beavers a 2-1 lead.

“I saw Carter come down the wall with the puck and I figured I would sneak back door and he made a nice pass across,” said Johannesson on his game-winning goal.

 The Beavers' third goal of the night was a carbon copy of the second one. This time it was Jordan Robertson jamming home his 15th of the season. The Beavers came close to making it 4-1 but Payne made unbelievable diving save with his paddle to keep the Buffs in the game. Payne made 58 saves on the night, while Kurtz stopped 13/14 to improve to 12-2-1 on season

Head Coach Wade Regier was pleased his team stuck with it all game long and dug in for the win.

“It was a battle all night long,” said Regier. “Got to give their goaltender a lot of credit for keeping them in the game. Our guys found a way to win in front of a big crowd tonight”

With the win the Beavers improve to 25-4-3 on the season, the fifth-ranked Beavers will be back in action next weekend for Rivalry weekend against U Mary.