Christian Kadolph and the Minot State men’s ice hockey team are the No. 1 seed in the ACHA National Tournament and are seeking the program’s fourth national championship. The Beavers have a first-round bye and play the winner of Purdue Northwest and Missouri State on Friday, March 13, in Maryland Heights, Mo. Mike Kraft/MDN

It’s already been a banner year for the Minot State men’s hockey team heading into the final week of the postseason.

Over the course of their first 30 games, the Beavers posted 25 wins against teams that finished ranked in the top 25, set a program record for fewest losses in regulation during the regular season (1), captured their second straight MCH conference regular season and tournament championship in as many attempts and earned the No. 1 overall seed at the ACHA National Tournament for a fourth consecutive year.

Now, the Beavers are looking to make it a literal banner year as they begin their quest for a fourth national title at the National Tournament on Friday, March 13, against either No. 16 Purdue Northwest or No. 17 Missouri State at 8 p.m. at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.

“It’s kind of hard to prepare for it,” Minot State senior captain Jay Buchholz said. “You don’t really know who your opponent is until you win that prior game and move on, but you treat it like any other game this year, especially playing top 25 teams almost every game. It’s a win-or-go-home situation and you have to bring your A game every game.”

Minot State (27-1-2) has become a mainstay in the National Tournament field, qualifying for the tournament every year since 2009-10 in the final year under coach Sheldon Schneider. Since winning their first title in 2012-13, the Beavers are 26-9 at nationals, advancing to the championship game four times and reaching the semifinal round eight times. They are 3-1 in title games and 4-4 in the semifinals. They have won the title as the No. 1 seed in 2023, the No. 6 seed in 2019 and the No. 3 seed in 2013.

“We’re going to get the best from everybody,” MSU coach Wyatt Waselenchuk said. “It’s been that way for four years now since we’ve been in that spot more often than not. We have talked a little bit more this year about trusting in ourselves and playing with a little bit more swagger and confidence. That’s not to say you don’t do things the right way, but being confident in us as a group. At this time of year, there’s 24 really good teams at that tournament and on any given day anything can happen, but we know we’re going to get the best out of everybody and it’s going to be a tough test.”

Last year’s run ended at the hands of Adrian College (Mich.) in the semifinals. Of all the teams Minot State has faced in the National Tournament, Adrian and Ohio University have given the Beavers the most trouble. Their last four losses in the tournament came against one of those two programs. Ohio upset the Beavers in their opening round game in 2022. It’s just the second time the Beavers have lost their first game of the tournament. The other occurrence came in 2011. Adrian is the No. 9 seed, while the Bobcats are the No. 2 seed.

Waselenchuk is 7-3 at the National Tournament since taking over at the helm to begin the 2021-22 season. Waselenchuk has been either a player or a member of the coaching staff for all three of Minot State’s titles, winning one as the head coach in 2023.

Having experienced both a first-round exit and a championship run, Waselenchuk pointed out four key factors that make the difference in making a deep run through the tournament.

“You have to stay healthy, you need a hot goaltender, you need depth, which I love this time of year with our team, and you need a little luck on your side,” Waselenchuk said. “The stars have to align and you never know what’s going to get thrown at you. It’s that fine line of a little bit of luck, but at the same time I truly feel like you get that luck through preparation and your mindset and doing things the right way.”

While the luck factor is a wait-and-see, they have had some good fortune in the past. During their title run in 2023, Minot State needed overtime to get past Indiana Tech in the quarterfinals and was trailing 2-0 with 11 minutes to go in the semifinals against Liberty before forcing overtime and winning to advance to the title game.

The Beavers do currently possess the other three factors heading into the tournament. According to Waselenchuk, outside of a couple guys being a little banged up, they are as healthy as any team can be after 30 games.

Sophomore Will Dyke has been the hot goalie all season for the Beavers. In his first full season as the No. 1 goaltender, Dyke went 20-1-2 with a 1.56 goals allowed average and a .939 save percentage, shutting out four opponents. He logged 1,387 minutes.

“He’s a freak,” Waselenchuk said. “He’s been everything for us. He’s been our backbone. He’s been the best goalie I’ve ever seen at this level and it’s just his mental makeup. He’s as easy-going of a young man that you’ll ever find. He just doesn’t get bothered. When you have a goaltender that’s confident in his abilities, it’s everything and I know that our guys depend upon him and work very hard in front of him.”

Dyke was named First-Team All-MCH.

Lastly, they have depth. All 21 of their non-goalies registered at least four points and 20 scored at least one goal. Colby Joseph led the team in points this season with 39 points. He tallied a team-best 23 goals and added 16 assists. Joey Moffatt was second on the team in scoring with 35 points (16 goals, 19 assists) and Buchholz third with 32 points (18g, 14a). Matthew Yakubowski led the team in assists with 25.

Joseph, Moffatt, Buchholz and Yakubowski have all contributed on the scoresheet in their careers at the National Tournament. Buchholz has registered four goals and four assists in the tournament and Moffatt and Joseph netted three goals along with Reece Henry. Moffatt has also assisted on six goals. In total, the current roster has provided 17 goals and 27 assists in the National Tournament.

The Beavers enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and the target that comes with it. But they also come battle-tested, having played a gauntlet of a regular season schedule. All but one of their games this season was against a team that finished in the Top 25.

“On one hand, it’s comforting knowing we can compete with anybody,” Waselenchuk said. “We know that, but at the same time, single-elimination brings a whole new set of emotions and the past is the past and it’s time to move forward, but at the same time we can lean on what we’ve done this season as a team and know we can make a good run at it here.”

Minot State will see plenty of familiar faces at the tournament, as it matched up against eight of the teams in the field. The Beavers were 22-1-2 against this year’s field and haven’t lost to an opponent outside of North Dakota. Their only losses have come against U-Mary and Jamestown. The Jimmies would be their quarterfinal round opponent if both were to win on Friday.

In program history, the Beavers have won a collective 123 games against the field and lost 18. Ohio has had the most success against the Beavers, boasting a 4-4 record.

The Beavers are 1-0 lifetime against both of their potential first opponents. They defeated Missouri State 5-3 in 2023 and met Purdue Northwest for the first time in last year’s tournament in one of the more bizarre happenings in program history. The Beavers won the game, 4-1, but that wasn’t the headline. The game was delayed halfway through due to a tornado warning and was delayed until the following day.

The Beavers have plenty of veteran leadership to help keep the newcomers to the postseason competition poised. They remember they were freshmen once and the nerves that the National Tournament can bring out.

“It’s the same game we’ve been playing since we were kids,” Joseph said. “I know when I went in there as a freshman, it was kind of a holy moment. It’s a different stage. That single knockout adds an extra pressure, but we have to make sure they know to play the same game, mistakes are going to be made and no matter what happens, we have to keep the same mentality and stay even keel.”

Minot State began the roughly 1,000-mile bus ride to Maryland Heights on Tuesday following a morning state and spent the night in Omaha, Neb. They practiced in Omaha on Wednesday and finished the remaining six hours to the St. Louis area in the evening.

This year’s field features five former champions – Minot State, Adrian, Ohio, UNLV and Rhode Island. UNLV is the defending national champion and is the No. 4 seed. Niagara is the No. 3 seed and Liberty is the No. 5 seed. In-state rivals Jamestown and U-Mary represent the No. 8 and No. 10 seeds, respectively.

There are six players on the active roster with rings from the 2022-23 team. Four were freshmen and two were sophomores. While they want a second ring for themselves, getting their teammates their first would mean even more.

“It would mean everything,” Buchholz said. “In past years, our past captain Davis Sheldon told me he won two, but he was more excited for the second one to see the other guys win their first one. It would mean everything, but more importantly for the guys in the locker room who haven’t won one yet.”