“It’s really easy actually,” MSU sophomore goalie Joshua Bykowski said. “We have one of the best defensive cores in the nation. They always play strong in front of me, so it makes my job really easy. It’s nice.”

Minot State’s three goaltenders have certainly made it look straightforward and simple this year.

The Beavers allowed just 1.28 goals per game in the regular season – second-best in the league behind No. 2-seeded Adrian College (1.19) – with the goalies making 18.5 saves on average while facing 19.8 shots per game.

At the other end of the ice, MSU’s high-powered offense directed an absurd 44.9 shots on net per game (25.1 more shots than their opponents) in the regular season and the Beavers haven’t been outshot in any game this season.

Alex Eisen/MDN Minot State sophomore goaltender Joshua Bykowski saves a shot in a practice held last Thursday afternoon at the OhioHealth Chiller Easton in Columbus, Ohio.

So, there isn’t much to do in the defensive zone when MSU is pummeling the opposing goaltender.

Friday night in Columbus, junior Holden Kurtz got the nod to start in net for the Beavers’ first game of the national tournament against the No. 16-seeded University of Arizona.

Kurtz, who entered the postseason with a .957 save percentage, 0.9 goals against per game and six shutouts, faced 20 shots and saved 19 of them on Friday. The lone goal given up by the Beavers in the 5-1 win came at the very end of killing off a five-minute major penalty.

Standout performances like that in the crease have become the norm for Minot State.

“It’s definitely a goalie’s dream,” Kurtz said. “Coming from Devils Lake, I wasn’t used to winning all the time and only getting 20-25 shots per game, if that. They do a nice job in front of us.”

Bykowski, who hasn’t been beaten this season (18-0) with a .926 save percentage and has played the most minutes in net for MSU this season, is waiting patiently for his opportunity to step in as the national tournament carries on.

Lastly, making up the trio, freshman Brey Effertz has also had a stellar first season with a flawless 9-0 record and a .926 save percentage in limited action. Effertz takes on the reserve role for this trip and all the valuable experience that comes with that.

“We have three great goaltenders that have stood tall all season for us,” MSU assistant coach and Minot Minotauros goaltender coach Wyatt Waselenchuk said. “Josh (Bykowski) and Holden (Kurtz) both played a similar style of being big guys that take up a lot of the net. They don’t get themselves out of position too often. Brey (Effertz) is a little bit of a smaller guy, but is a little quicker and has to depend on his reflexes a little more.”

Waselenchuk knows what it takes to be successful at the national tournament. The former MSU goaltender (2010-14) made 34 saves in the 2013 championship game to help the Beavers hoist their first and only Murdoch Cup trophy.

“Going through it four times myself, and it took me two years to figure it out, you just got to take it one at a time,” Waselenchuk said. “One period at a time, one shot at a time because if you think about it as having to win four games over five days it can be very daunting. Especially in a position like goalie where you feel that pressure. You feel like the game is on the line and it comes down to how you play. That’s just the unfortunate reality of being a goaltender.”

There is nowhere to hide. Good or bad, all eyes are drawn to the goalies.

“I think maybe as a kid, I liked attention a little bit too much and I noticed everybody was always looking at the goaltender. Maybe that’s why (I became a goalie),” Bykowski said. “My dad was actually a goalie, so I kind of followed his footsteps. And I like the shiny equipment, so that helps too. I probably got my first set of pads when I was six or seven years old, but I started to skate when I was four. But, I always knew I wanted to be in between in the pipes.”

The passion to perform under pressure started at a young age for Kurtz as well.

“I think I played about a week as a skater when I was six years old,” he said. “I came home and told my parents that I was going to be a goalie. They didn’t agree with it, but I didn’t give it up and they caved in.”

Persistence paid off then and still does now.

“I said this when I was a player and I say it now as a coach, these goalies face the best team in the country every day,” Waselenchuk said. “So, that’s why they have grown so much as goaltenders over the course of their career here and that’s why we feel like we have the best three goalies in the country.”

Given how few shots Kurtz, Bykowski and Effertz see during a typical game, often practices can be more physically demanding when having to face their own teammates. Mentally, however, staying sharp during a game when the shots aren’t coming your way offers a contrasting challenge.

“Games always have a different atmosphere than what a practice would be,” Bykowski said. “You don’t want to hype yourself up too much and you don’t want to get too low. You just want to find that happy medium, so you can just play every game like it’s the same game.”

Maintain that type of composure over the next three days and the Beavers will put themselves in a position to capture the program’s second national championship.

“It’s the least of our worries,” Waselenchuk said. “I know no matter who is in net for us, they are going to stand tall.”

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