The Minot State and Maryville University men’s hockey teams combined for 24 penalties totaling 171 minutes and 14 power play opportunities with tensions coming to a boil in the final minutes on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Maysa Arena. The Beavers turned Maryville’s penalties into goals, scoring three with the man advantage in a 5-2 victory over the Saints to complete the weekend sweep.

“Emotions are a good thing, but it’s a fine line,” MSU coach Wyatt Waselenchuk said. “We let our emotions get the best of us for a good chunk of that hockey game and against a good team like that, you have to control your emotions. You have to control your discipline. On both sides of it tonight it got a little out of hand in terms of penalties, but for us it’s good for one another to stand up for your teammates. I like that, but at the end of the day you can’t be taking eight or 10 minor penalties against a good hockey team.”

The Saints (5-4-0) were whistled for the first three penalties of the contest, with two coming 39 seconds apart early in the contest, giving the Beavers an extended 5-on-3 power play. They weren’t able to capitalize with the two extra skaters on the ice, but they did light the lamp before the final penalty expired. Jaxon Grosdidier netted his second goal in as many nights with a shot past Maryville goaltender Parker Sawka from above the left faceoff circle to give Minot State a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period.

Minot State (3-0-1) would add two more power-play goals as part of a four-goal second period. With the Beavers leading 2-1 and Maryville’s Vito Biondo in the box serving a holding penalty, Sheldin Howard knocked home a rebound in front off a shot from Reece Henry with just a second remaining in the man advantage to extend the Beavers’ lead.

Mike Kraft/MDN Minot State’s Colby Joseph carries the puck into the offensive zone as Maryville’s Ethan Chesney defends during a game on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Maysa Arena.

The Beavers scored again on their next opportunity on the power play, with Henry getting the goal to cap a two-point night and three-point weekend. Henry’s goal came following a slashing penalty to Campbell Mclean that also resulted in Maryville’s Jack Henderson receiving both a 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct for abuse of an official. Christian Kadolph set up Henry’s goal with a pass from behind the net to Henry in front, who beat Sawka to give the Beavers a 4-1 lead with four minutes remaining in the second period. Kadolph had three assists on the night.

Waselenchuk said the power play is still a work in progress despite going 3-for-8 with the extra skater. The penalty kill unit continued to perform well, killing off the first five of Maryville’s six power plays.

“Our power play is still struggling, but it was nice to pop a couple,” Waselenchuk said. “Our penalty kill was fantastic to say the least. It’s just guys buying in. Structure wise we were pretty good, but you can’t teach fortitude. Guys are blocking shots and willing to put their bodies on the line. We earned that one tonight, especially through our penalty kill.”

Minot State goaltender Will Dyke played a big part in the penalty kill as he faced more shots as the penalties continued to mount. The Beavers outshot the Saints 16-5 in the opening frame, but managed just 11 shots on goal the remainder of the contest, including just two in the third period. The Saints put 27 shots on Dyke over the final 40 minutes, with the Beaver netminder stopping 25 during that stretch. Dyke finished with 30 saves.

“He’s amazing,” MSU sophomore forward Slade Stanick said. “He’s the core of our team. We can rely on him every night. He’s unbelievable for us.”

Not only were special teams on display for the Beavers on Saturday night, but also their depth. Minot State received goal contributions from five different players and point contributions from 10 skaters. Howard wasn’t the only Beaver to net his first goal of the season. Both Matthew Yakubowski and Jeremy Dewar did the same. Dewar’s goal in which he stuffed home a rebound off a shot from Stanick was his first in a Beaver uniform. Dewar transferred from Division III Anna Maria in the offseason.

“You can’t be a one-line team,” Waselenchuk said. “Top-end teams have four great lines and come March, you need everyone contributing. You need to rely and trust on everyone in the lineup and it’s huge. Aside from that, it’s motivating for those guys to get rewarded and I was proud of our effort all week for the most part in terms of fresh faces that aren’t used to scoring big goals.”

Through four games this season, 16 of the 20 Beaver forwards and defensemen have registered at least one point.

“Our depth is our best part of our game for sure,” Stanick said. “We have four lines that go out and work and can score goals and play the D zone and that’s what makes us the great team that we are. It’s awesome having all those great guys here.”

Friday night’s series opener was mild compared to Saturday’s slugfest, with 12 total penalties – all minors. The end result was the same, with the Beavers coming away with a 3-1 victory.

The Beavers finished 0-for-5 on the man advantage, electing to score their goals the traditional way at 5-on-5. Grosdidier opened the scoring at 17:01 of the first period and Henry made it 2-0 early in the third period.

The Saints lone goal came on the power play at 15:57 of the second period to trim MSU’s lead in half. Sidney Mcnelli netted the goal with Maxwell Wagener earning the assist.

Joey Moffatt iced the game for the Beavers with an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left in regulation.

Both teams finished with 28 shots on goal. Dyke earned the win in net for the Beavers with 27 saves, while Lucas Bain suffered the loss for Maryville in a 25-save performance.

The Beavers hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Fremont, Neb., for a weekend series with Midland University beginning on Friday, Oct. 24. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.