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Alex’s Tale of the Tape #1,521, Date: Feb. 10, 2019

In his final bout inside the Minot State Dome, senior Jered Sublet walked off the mat victorious with a 9-6 decision over Jebben Keyes and put the Beavers up 12-0 three matches into the dual.

The Minot State wrestling team had senior day momentum on its side and placed the pressure on No. 14-ranked Augustana to respond. The Vikings recovered with five wins (two via pins) in the dual to secure a narrow 21-18 road win over the Beavers.

“I thought we had a chance at 149, 157 and 165,” MSU head coach Evan Forde said. “Those three right in the middle, we knew we had to win one of those. We didn’t quite find that win. They spotted us three bonus points, but we gave them six. That was the difference in the dual.”

MSU’s Keegan Berry battled to a 5-1 decision win at 184 to even the score at 15-15 with two matches left.

A second-round pin by Augustana’s Clayton Wahlstrom over Je-Mario Jones at 197 put heavyweight Jordan Will in a tough spot by needing a pin answer. Matt Naig was more than willing to stay on his feet and absorb Will’s consistent takedown attempts.

Will managed to secure a three-point win, 3-0, but the final dual score remained in Augustana’s favor by three points, 21-18.

Alex’s Tale of the Tape #2,022, Date: Oct. 7, 2019

The Minot High Schol boys soccer team enters the state tournament playing with house money. The No. 5-seeded Magicians had to upset No. 4 Legacy in a state qualifier game to secure their spot in the final eight.

Minot was making its 10th straight state tournament appearance.

“We are ready to compete and feel like we are going in with nothing to lose,” senior goalkeeper Braden Cochran said. “(We feel) on top of the world, especially after beating Legacy 2-0.”

The Magi had found their swagger as of late. Minot had won its last three games in shutout fashion with victories over Mandan (1-0), Williston (6-0) and aforementioned Legacy (2-0).

All six of Minot’s wins on the season came in shutout performances. Sounds simple enough, but the Magi’s winning formula has been keeping the ball out of their own net.

“We are defensive-minded, and I think that was our strength throughout the season,” Cochran said. “When we are all communicating really well, those usually turn out to be the best games for us.”

Minot ended up losing 3-0 in the first round against Fargo South.

Alex’s Tale of the Tape #1,557, Date: Jan. 12, 2019

The Minot Minotauros halted a mini slump with a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Wilderness.

Minot had lost four straight games and seven out of its last eight. To top the Wilderness, the Minotauros rallied with five goals in the third period, including a hat trick in 11 minutes by Keenan Lund.

“We were on a four-game losing streak, but I thought we were playing some decent hockey,” Minotauros head coach Marty Murray said. “We were outchancing and outshooting teams heavily. And it seemed like any mistake we made was going in our net. That’s life in the hockey world, and we were a little more desperate tonight.”

Stringing crisp passes together in the third period, the Minotauros mounted their comeback.

On the first highlight-reel goal, Lund and Andrew Kangas connected to find Wilmer Skoog waiting at the back post for a tap-in.

After collecting two assists, Lund scored the go-ahead goal. Fritz Belisle and Vince Marino freed him up with a pair of perfect passes.

And, as if that wasn’t good enough, the Minotauros completed the trifecta of well-worked goals in the third period. Lund tapped in his second goal of the game on a heads up backdoor pass by Kangas.