Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – Taking the ice one more time at home, No. 3-ranked Midland University hosted No. 2-ranked Minot State University this weekend. The Warriors earned a 6-2 victory on Saturday as they honored their 2023 seniors. On Sunday, the teams played to a 65-minute, 1-1 tie in the regular-season finale for both squads.
SATURDAY: Midland 6, Minot State 2
Emotions were high as the teams opened up their series inside Sidner Ice Arena on Saturday evening. Prior to the game, the Warriors honored their five seniors. Karenna Grothmann, Jadine Hallowell, Maggie Marcotte, Andrea Schreiber, and Hannah Stone were honored alongside their families at center ice.
In the opening period, the emotions ramped up for Midland as they scored three goals, setting the tone for the game. Just over six minutes in, Ally Rakowski opened the scoring off a feed from Kamryn Hayhurst. The goal set off a stream of stuffed animals onto the ice with the Warriors partnering with the Pinky Swear Foundation to collect donations for children at local hospitals battling cancer.
After the nearly 100 stuffed animals were put into bins and carted off the ice, the Warriors continued their scoring barrage on the Beavers. At the 9:24 mark, Kayla Flanigan found the back of the net off a feed from Hayhurst.
Rylee Martin scored the third goal of the period minutes later as Grothmann picked up her first assist of the night.
Coming out of the dressing rooms, Midland’s offensive output in the second period matched that of its first. Grothmann found Flanigan for the score just over two minutes into the frame. Then at the midway point, it was Callie Maguire depositing the puck in the back of the net off a feed from Rakowski to make it a 5-0 game.
Before the end of the period, Flanigan scored off a feed from Rakowski for the Warriors’ sixth goal. That brought on a second stoppage to clear the ice as the fans tossed hats onto the ice in honor of Flanigan’s fourth hat trick of the season.
Midland would skate a 6-0 lead into the second intermission, firmly in control of the game.
In the third, Minot State avoided the shutout as they created a short-handed chance off the opening faceoff. With the ice still fresh from the resurfacing, they slid the puck into the net for their first goal. They would add a second one later in the period with under three minutes to go to close out the scoring columns on the box score.
Hannah Stone earned the Senior Day victory in net for MU. She had 17 saves on 19 shots. MSU’s goalies combined for 30 saves on 36 shots on goal.
SUNDAY: Midland 1, Minot State 1 (OT)
In the weekend finale, things were much more physical between the two teams than the night before. A day after a combined 10 penalties, the officials whistled the teams for 23 total infractions on Sunday.
All of the stoppages led to a more fractured feeling with little flow to the game for both sides. That translated to the scoreboard as the two sides couldn’t get their offenses going.
Minot State scored a power-play goal at the 11:42 mark of the first and they held that lead most of the game. In the third, just past the midway point, Midland found the equalizer.
With the Beavers serving one of their 11th penalty of the day, Brynn Tosh scored off a feed from Davanna Ditto at the 10:32 mark.
After that, the defenses tightened up once more and the teams skated to a 1-1 tie after 60 minutes, forcing a five-minute sudden-victory overtime period.
In the extra session, Midland had its chances with Minot State taking a dangerous penalty during the 3-on-3 action. The hooking call gave the Warriors a 4-on-3 chance less than a minute in but were unable to capitalize on the latest miscue from the Beavers.
With 22 seconds to go, the Warriors won a faceoff in their defensive zone and quickly transitioned to the attack. Kayla Flanigan worked up the right side and then cut through the slot across the face of the last defender. She got past the Beavers’ defense but the puck had just a little too much speed on it and she was unable to get a solid shot on net. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, their second tie this season in three overtime games.
Midland finishes the regular season with a 23-5-4 record and took the season series against Minot State, going 3-1-2 in the six games they played. The two could very likely meet again in the WMCH Tournament next weekend or the ACHA National Tournament next month.
The WMCH Tournament gets underway on Thursday in St. Louis, Missouri. Midland will learn its seed and the corresponding game time when the final ACHA Poll is released on Monday. The conference uses computer-based polls to determine seedings.
