MDN File Photo Minotauros' players such as defenseman Nikoli Charchenko, left, and forward Baeden Bartoo, have seen their season temporarily postponed due to concerns over the coronavirus. The Minot State men's and women's hockey programs have also made adjustments to their schedules due to COVID-19.

In local hockey news, the Minot Minotauros, as well as the Minot State Beavers men’s and women’s teams have all had to cancel future plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the Minotauros, their two-game set against the St. Cloud Norsemen on Nov. 6 and 7, as well their Tuesday, Nov. 10 contest against the Bismarck Bobcats have all been postponed. According to Ken Oda, the director of operations for the Minotauros, these change of plans have been necessitated due to multiple players testing positive for the coronavirus. “We had some players test postive over the summer, but this is the first outbreak on the team since we’ve had all the players back in town,” Oda tells the Minot Daily News via telephone. “Our last test for the virus was on Tuesday, and we are still waiting for more results on other players.”

As of Friday afternoon, Oda reveals the Minotauros plan to take the ice again on Friday, Nov. 13 in Bismarck, and no plans have been finalized to schedule makeup dates. Meanwhile, the Minot State Beavers men’s hockey team had their Nov. 5-7 three-game home series with Midland University erased from the schedule, as well as their Nov. 7 home contest with Williston State College. The Beavers were again scheduled to face Midland on the road for a two-game set on Nov. 20 and 21, but those plans have also been canceled. Due to Midland University being located in Fremont, Nebraska, Beavers’ head men’s hockey coach Wade Regier indicated it is unlikely those games can be rescheduled later this season.

According to the Beavers’ coach, no Minot State men’s players currently are infected with COVID-19. Instead, Regier cites virus-related crowd restrictions for the reasoning behind the most recent changes to the schedule. As of 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, Ward County moved from moderate coronavirus risk to high risk. “For the Williston State game, we are hopeful we can play this game next semester sometime in February since Williston is relatively close by,” Regier says. “We have such a huge fan base and draw over 1,000 fans per night, so we hope to buy ourselves a few months and eventually play in front of some meaningful crowds. All options are on the table at this point.”

Minot State’s home game against Jamestown on Friday, Nov. 13 has not yet been affected by any scheduling changes. As for the Beavers’ women’s team, head coach Ryan Miner states none of his players are currently infected with COVID-19, but MSU’s pair of three-game series against Midland on Nov. 6-8 and Nov. 20-22 have been postponed. Miner indicated these games would likely be rescheduled for later this season, but no formal plans have been announced. Currently, the MSU women’s program intends to play their next opponent, Dakota College at Bottineau, in a home-and-home series on Nov. 14 and 15.