Sean Williams/MDN The Minot State men’s hockey team looking on during their matchup against Liberty University on Friday, Oct. 7 at Maysa Arena.

Checking in at No. 2 in the first release of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) poll is the Minot State men’s hockey team, who recently wrapped up a remarkable weekend.

The Beavers (4-0-0 overall) began the year with four consecutive wins over nationally ranked opponents in No. 11 University of Jamestown and No. 5 Liberty University.

Trailing only UNLV in the rankings, the Beavers received 12 first-place votes and 728 points, while UNLV earned 743 points and received 11 first-place votes.

In addition to more matchups against Jamestown and Liberty later in the season, No. 4 University of Central Oklahoma, No. 7 Ohio University, and No. 19 Illinois State University are all teams on the Beavers schedule this year that appeared in the first ACHA ranking, making way for a stacked remaining schedule.

Being off to a roaring success like the Beavers are requires contributions on multiple levels of the game and a complete team effort. Individually, however, the team has a variety of players who have established their presence early.

Newcomer Joey Moffatt leads the Beavers in points (6) and goals (4), while also picking up two assists. Jay Buchholz leads the team in assists with four and has one goal, totaling five points on the year. Davis Sheldon, Reid Arnold, and Landyn Cochrane have netted two goals each to help with the offensive attack of the Beavers.

In the net, Jake Anthony has started every game, allowing seven goals for a 1.75 goals against average (GAA). Anthony has made 87 saves and owns a 0.926 save percentage through four games.

Through the efforts of the aforementioned players and the rest of the team, the Beavers have a lot of momentum through the first few weeks of the season, which has helped land them the No. 2 ranking where they will look to keep climbing.

Coming up next is a weekend series against Midland University, which will take place here in Minot at the Maysa Arena. Although they are not ranked, Midland did receive votes in what will be another exciting matchup for the Beavers. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday night.