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Minot High hockey notebook: Down to two

Alex Eisen/MDN Majettes sophomore Olivia Weisberg (3) skates through center ice against Williston on Dec. 13 at Maysa Arena in Minot. The Majettes won 10-1.

Blizzard conditions on Dec. 6 forced the Minot High School girls hockey team to postpone its contest against the two-time defending champions Bismarck Blizzard for a couple weeks.

Since then, the standings have cleared up a little a bit with the Majettes (5-0-0, 5-0-0 North Dakota League) and the Blizzard (6-0-0, 4-0-0 NDL) coming out unscathed as the last two unbeaten girls Class A hockey programs in North Dakota.

That said, Fargo North/South currently sits atop of the standings with 18 points by having a 4-1-0 record in league play because of a six-point win over Mandan, 4-1, on Dec. 2.

But, regardless, that doesn’t diminish how significant the showdown in Bismarck at the Schaumberg Ice Arena between the second-place Majettes and the third-place Blizzard will be on Tuesday.

For Bismarck, it’s a chance to prove they rightfully deserve to be the favorites to capture another state title and maintain its powerhouse status. The Blizzard haven’t lost a game on home ice since Feb. 9, 2013 and, since that defeat, have won 59 straight North Dakota regular season league games.

For Minot, it’s a chance to see how they stack up against the defending champions and possibly pull the upset to end a brutal nine-game losing streak to the Blizzard. The Majettes last victory over Bismarck came on Feb. 4, 2012.

Freshmen firepower

A trio of forwards leads the Majettes in scoring this season with seven goals each.

One of them is the experienced senior, Bryanna Bergeron, who also lead the team in scoring last year (23 goals) and the season before that as a sophomore (25 goals). The other two are freshmen: Dessa Flom and Kaya Shaw.

The freshmen duo put on show five days ago against Williston, as they both netted hat tricks.

Flom, who scored 15 goals and added nine assists as an eighth grader last season, knocked in two out of her three goals the hard way – short-handed and unassisted – late in the third period against Williston.

Shaw, in her first season with the team, also scored a hat trick in the Majettes’ first competitive game this season against Devils Lake on Dec. 2.

Hovering

around .500

The Minot High School boys hockey team has had the definition of an up-and-down season so far.

The Magi have rotated between wins and losses through their first five games – losing three road games and winning a pair of games at Maysa Arena.

In the midst of a nine-day layoff between games due to harsh temperatures causing a rescheduling of a home game against Jamestown on Saturday being moved to Dec. 27, Minot will finally get an opportunity on Thursday to catapult up the West Region standings (2-3-0, 2-2-0 WDA).

The Magi head to Hazen for their only regular season meeting against the North Stars, which means there are six points on the line.

Hazen-Beulah is winless on the season (0-4-0, 0-4-0 WDA) and have been drastically outscored through four games, 56-1. All of the North Stars’ losses have been by nine goals or more.

Home ice advantage

Loud music blasting in the Minot High locker rooms at the new Pepsi Rink at Maysa Arena is starting to become a common occurrence.

So far, nobody has been able to silence the post-game celebrations at home with the Majettes (3-0) and Magi (2-0) bolstered unblemished records at their new venue.

Minot High’s success isn’t isolated. The No. 1-ranked Minot State men’s hockey team is 4-0 at the Pepsi Rink and the Minot Minotauros, who lost the first-ever game at the new rink, have recovered to at least have a winning record (3-2) at their new home.

Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

Alex Eisen/MDN Majettes sophomore Olivia Weisberg (3) skates through center ice against Williston on Dec. 13 at Maysa Arena in Minot. The Majettes won 10-1. Alex Eisen/MDN Magi sophomore Mason Diehl (24) embraces to block a shot from a Dickinson skater on Dec. 10 in a West Region game played at Maysa Arena. The Magi won 7-4.

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