Last-minute goal sends Beavers past Warriors 3-2

MINOT, N.D. – In need of a win to remain relevant in the pool play standings following their Thursday loss to Adrian College, the Beavers met a familiar foe in the tournament’s second day. Minot State had faced off against the Warriors six times during the regular season, emerging victorious in all six and outscoring Midland by an 18-9 aggregate score over the course of the season series.

Not unlike their previous contest, the Beavers again got off to a fast start following the opening puck drop. Minot State benefitted from an early roughing penalty called on Midland’s Ally Conybear, giving the Beavers a power play chance four minutes and 40 seconds into the game.

Their scoring opportunity came less than 30 seconds into their time with the extra attacker. With the puck sliding across the crease’s blue paint, Minot State crashed the net to prevent Warriors goaltender McKenna Gehner from locating the puck amongst the scrum.

Despite being credited with the goal by the Maysa Arena public address announcer and in the official box score, Beavers captain Sami Jo Henry confirmed postgame that she did not record the game’s first tally. Rather, it was Haley Wickham who chipped the puck past Gehner on the right side of the crease with 14 minutes and 52 seconds to play in the opening frame, giving the Beavers another quick 1-0 advantage.

“We had a really good look in front of the net and we were all around the goalie on that. She had no idea where the puck was, so that’s the key to getting pucks in the net,” Henry said of the scoring play.

The Beavers continued to dominate the first half of the initial period following the game’s first score, leading 5-1 in the shot column to accompany their one-goal lead when a timeout was called with 12 minutes and 35 seconds left in the frame.

The momentum shifted back toward the Warriors’ bench just before the halfway point of the period, when Midland evened the score with just under 12 minutes on the clock. With help from Allison Rakowski, Kayla Flanigan beat Minot State netminder Jordan Ivanco to tie the game at one goal apiece. Both teams would receive another chance on the man advantage, but neither cashed in and the first intermission’s buzzer sounded with the game even.

The similarities to Thursday’s loss continued throughout the second period and into the third. Both defenses were impenetrable, and the two goaltenders stood on their heads as neither team could find twine in the middle stanza. After 40 minutes of play, the Beavers held a slight edge in the shot column 18-14 entering a crucial third period.

The Beavers’ penalty kill was put to the test twice in the final 20 minutes. It succeeded the first time, but allowed what figured to be the dagger the second time it hit the ice. Alicia Williams scored right off a faceoff with seven minutes and 34 seconds remaining in the contest, giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead.

Minot State dug even deeper following Midland’s second tally, desperately trying to avoid falling to 0-2 in the tournament’s first-round pool play. The Beavers kept the pressure on the Warriors and put together an impressive offensive zone possession.

They soon reaped the benefits from their toils. Just over a minute after Midland’s goal, Denali Sigurdson let loose a slapshot from just inside the blue line. The puck found its way past Gehner, and the Beavers had new life as the score was again tied with six and a half minutes left.

The contest appeared destined for overtime, but with under a minute left in the game, the Beavers had had enough.

“We knew we had to crash and bang in front of the net, that’s how we’re going to get through goalies,” Henry said. “These goalies are too good, they’re going to save every first shot they see. I got in front of the net, Jessica Walker took a great shot from the point, and I just happened to tip it in.”

The Beavers’ third goal of the game, and Henry’s eighth of the year, found the back of the net with 35 seconds left, and the Beavers swarmed Ivanco in a massive group celebration once the final second ticked off the clock.

“You can’t give up. The game wasn’t over and there was lots of time left, so they just had to bear down and believe that they could come back and put a goal in the net,” head coach Ryan Miner said. “But you focus on one goal at a time, get that first one, then we’ll chip away at the next one. They worked their butts off, and they got rewarded for it.”

The Beavers will conclude the round robin segment Saturday afternoon against McKendree University, which dropped its Friday matchup against Liberty University 3-1, with puck drop again scheduled for 1 p.m.

Midland, meanwhile, will look to rebound against Lindenwood University Saturday morning at 10 a.m., while Liberty University will square off against Adrian at 4 p.m.

Last-minute goal sends Beavers past Warriors 3-2

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Last-minute goal sends Beavers past Warriors 3-2

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