It took a period, but the second-ranked Minot State men’s ice hockey team shook off the rust from a month away from game action and took down its in-state rival U-Mary, 4-0, on Friday, Jan. 9, at All Seasons Arena.

Joey Moffatt had a goal and an assist and Colby Joseph recorded a pair of assists as the Beavers avenged their lone regulation loss of the season. It’s the third time over the course of the rivalry that the Beavers have shut out the Marauders (18-8-0), the last coming on Feb. 22, 2024.

Following a scoreless first period, Matthew Yaubowski netted Minot State’s first goal of 2026 at 2:09 of the middle stanza with assists from Sheldin Howard and Joseph.

The Beavers (15-1-2) took control of the game over the final 20 minutes, netting three goals to pull away. Jay Buchholz gave Minot State a two-goal advantage at 3:26 of the period and Moffatt netted his ninth of the season at 8:23. The Beavers tacked on a power-play goal at 12:35 off the stick of Logan Rands with U-Mary’s Amraj Gill serving a roughing penalty.

Minot State outshot U-Mary 12-6 in the final period and 38-27 for the game.

Minot State goaltender Will Dyke recorded 27 saves for his second shutout performance of the season.

U-Mary’s Caleb Cross suffered the loss in net, finishing with 34 saves.

The Beavers improved to 2-1 against U-Mary this season with two more games remaining on the schedule in early February.

Up next for Minot State is a weekend series against Midland University beginning on Friday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Maysa Arena.