With a roster including Oak Lake’s Riley Wallace and former Virden Oil Capitals, the Minot State University men’s hockey team won the 2023 American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I men’s championship.
The North Dakota squad entered the national tournament as the No. 1 seed. It shut out No. 3 Adrian (Mich.), 10, in the championship game in Marlborough, Mass on March 21. It is MSU’s third ACHA championship. The Beavers’ route to the title included beating No. 17 University of Michigan-Dearborn, 8-0; No. 8 Indiana Tech, 4-3 in overtime, and No. 5 Liberty (Va.) University, 3-2 in overtime.
A goaltender, Wallace did not play in the national tournament but helped the Beavers compile 35 wins, the second most in program history. Former Oil Capital Landyn Cochrane, a forward in his fifth and final season at MSU, had a goal and two assists at nationals. Defenceman Brayden Pawluk, another ex-Oil Cap, had a goal and an assist in the tournament. Former Oil Caps captain Logan Rands played all four tournament games on the blue line.
