Sean Arbaut – Haylie Biever (31) of Minot State looking on during a game against Midland University at the Maysa Arena earlier this year.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – With a bid to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) National Tournament championship game on the line, the Minot State women’s hockey team and the Midland University Warriors battled it out with the hopes of being one of the last two teams standing.

Entering play, the Beavers have been guided by great goaltending from Jordan Ivanco and Haylie Biever with the pair only allowing one goal through two games. Offensively, Jordan Kulbida has led the way for the Beavers by totaling four goals in tournament play.

The task at hand for Minot State brought on a familiar foe in Midland, who the Beavers have seen seven times this year where they registered one win and two ties. Hoping to avoid history repeating itself, the Beavers aim to avenge last year’s ACHA National Tournament semifinal loss to the Warriors.

Continuing to be guided by great goaltending, the Beavers got a late goal that was more than enough to secure a spot in the ACHA National Tournament championship game with a 1-0 win over the Midland Warriors.

A first period that consisted of trading shots and minimal stoppage foreshadowed the excellent game ahead between the Beavers and Warriors. With 11:53 left, Gillian Gervin of the Beavers drew a tripping penalty to give her team the first advantage of the contest.

With Hannah Stone in net for the Warriors, the Beavers wanted to capitalize on power plays when they were presented with them. The penalty kill of the Warriors came up big, however, by killing off the penalty and not letting the Beavers generate much time in the offensive zone.

Shortly after, the Beavers saw their first time on the penalty kill as they looked to keep the game scoreless. Rising to the occasion was Biever, who made a variety of saves while being tested multiple times throughout the penalty.

The Beavers went on the power play one more time during the opening period, and while they had a much more efficient two minutes of action, they were unable to cash in as the Beavers and Warriors remained knotted at 0-0 heading into the second period.

Special teams were on full display in period two with the Beavers and Warriors combining for six penalties. The Beavers nearly took advantage of a prime opportunity when Kulbida thought she broke the scoreless tie with 16:20 left, but the refs waived off the goal to keep it a 0-0 game.

The rest of the way in period two, the Beavers were the more penalized team and spent eight minutes on the penalty kill. They battled, however, to keep Midland off the board in what was sizing up to be a thrilling finish.

Heading into the final period, it was clear that goals were at a premium and the first team to score ended up being the one to move on in the ACHA Tournament.

Finally able to break free from the scoreless tie were the Beavers, who got the only score of the game off the stick of Kulbida, who would not be denied this time on a Sydney Spicer assist. The score came with 14:24 left in the period to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead.

In perhaps the biggest save of the game, Biever stopped a two-on-one rush from Midland in the final period that could have easily evened the contest. The Warriors pulled out all the cards in their deck in hopes of making one final push, but Beiver was determined to help her team move on.

After stopping all 36 shots she faced, Biever’s teammates rushed over to celebrate with her as smiles were shared knowing the Minot State Beavers were one win away from a National Championship.

The one goal proved to be more than enough for Minot State to advance to the ACHA National Tournament championship game. Another key factor in the win for Minot State was their penalty kill. The unit held Midland scoreless in 10 power play chances and 16 minutes of an advantage.

With the most important game of the season coming up this afternoon, the Beavers will take on Liberty University in the ACHA Tournament National Championship game at noon today.