THIS WEEKEND
In the biggest home weekend of the year for the University of Mary men's hockey team, the #1 Marauders host #3 Montana State University for a pair of games between the top two teams in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 2 West Region and two of the top three teams in the nation. The Marauders and the Bobcats open their weekend series on Friday, January 27, before facing off again on Saturday, January 28. Game time both nights is 7 pm at the Starion Sports Complex Schwan Cadillac Rink in Mandan, ND.
 
AT STAKE
The top two teams in each region earn a berth to the ACHA M2 national tournament set for March 17-21 in Marlborough, MA. Currently the Marauders rank first in the West region and the Bobcats are second. A weekend sweep for either team would solidify their status in the top two of the region but a split or two losses may not cause much harm for two of the nation's top three teams other than perhaps seeding at nationals... A regional tournament will determine the other two teams that will advance from the West region to the national tournament.
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders are 29-5-1-1 (w-l-t-otl) this season, including a 21-3-1 mark against ACHA M2 teams with a 8-2-0-1  record against ACHA M1 foes… Montana State is 21-5.
 
MARAUDERS REMAIN #1 IN NATION IN ACHA M2 POLL #6 RELEASED JANUARY 26, 2023
Two-time defending national champion University of Mary retains its top national ranking in the first poll of 2023. The Marauders have topped the American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division II poll in five of the six rankings released for the 2022-23 season.
 
In games against current Top 25 teams, the Marauders are 12-2-1. UMary has faced #2 Lindenwood (2-0), #3 Montana State (1-1), #4 Saint Thomas (1-1), #6 Liberty (2-0-1), #13 Utah State (1-0), #17 Minnesota Crookston (1-0), #22 Marian (1-0) and #24 Minnesota (3-0).
 
The Marauders also top the ACHA M2 West Region poll.
 
ACHA M2 NATIONAL RANKINGS
1. University of Mary
2. Lindenwood
3. Montana State University
4. Saint Thomas
5. Florida Gulf Course
6. Liberty
7. Concordia (WI)
8. Trine
9. Massachusetts
10. Kentucky
11. Weber State
12. Denver
13. Utah State
14. Miami (OH)
15. Washington
16. Ohio U.
17. Minnesota Crookston
18. Indiana
19. Northeastern
20. Keene State
21. DePaul
22. Marian
23. Ohio State
24. Minnesota
25. Iowa
 
ACHA M2 WEST REGION RANKINGS
1. UMary
2. Montana State
3. Weber State
4. Denver
5. Utah State
6. Washington
7. Utah
8. Dakota College
9. UCLA
10. Grand Canyon
11 Northern Colorado
12. Cal-Berkley
13. Arizona State
14. Loyola Marymount
15. MSU Denver
16. East Texas Baptist
17. Williston State
18. Colorado
19. Boise State
20. Northern Arizona
 
100
Drew Lenertz picked up his 99^th and 100^th career assists at Jamestown on Wednesday. The UMary senior defenseman is just the 6^th Marauders skater to hit triple figures. He now has 118 points in his career.
 
BRICK WALL
Reigning ACHA M2 Player of the Year Kyle Hayden is having another exceptional season. In his fourth season at UMary, Hayden has a 19-2-0-1 record this season with a microscopic 0.99 Goals Against Average and a dominant 96.3% save percentage. He also has ten shutouts, a single season team record.
 
IRON
Drew Lenertz has played all 227 games in school history, a team record… Opening weekend of the 2022-23 season was the first time Lenertz hadn't skated aside Marshall Tschida, Defensive partners for four seasons, the duo were paired together for the first 191 games in program history.
 
SHARING THE LOAD
21 Marauders have scored a goal this season… 14 Marauders own game-winning goals… Kyle Hayden, Conan Hayton and Zach White have seen time in net. Both Hayden (10) and Hayton (2) own multiple shutouts.
 
LEADERS
Despite missing seven games, forward Isaiah Thomas leads the Marauders with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists)… Seth Cushing is tied with Thomas for the team lead in goals (16) and is 5^th in points (31)… Defenseman Johnny Witzke is second in points (12g 25a) with 37 and is tied for the team lead in assists… Thomas leads UMary in game-winning goals with five. Cushing and Garrett Freeman are close behind with three game-winning goals apiece… Close behind in scoring is Alex Flicek (9-25-34), Caleb Petrie (11-21-32), Garrett Freeman (9-14-23) and Tanner Eskro (12-13-25).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
28 | After winning their first eight games of the season, the Marauders set a program record with a 28 game win streak. UMary finished the 2021-22 season on a 20-game win streak. The winning streak was halted by a 2-2 draw at Liberty University on October 14. Originally declared a forfeit win after the Flames improperly used a skater during a shootout, the result was recently changed to a tie.
 
34 | Undefeated in their first 14 games of the season after closing the 2021-22 season with 20 straight wins, the Marauders set a program record with a 34 game undefeated streak.
 
12 | The Marauders have posted 12 shutouts in just 36 games this year to break the program record set last season.
 
VETERANS
Headlined by All-Americans Kyle Hayden and Johnny Witzke the Marauders bring back 16 players from their 2022 ACHA M2 championship team… Hayden, Witzke, Drew Lenertz, Riley Scanlon, Seth Cushing, Tanner Eskro, Alex Flicek, Braeden Zaste, Cyril Nagurski, Derek Dropik, Jaren Hugelen and Conan Hayton have played on both the 2021 and 2022 championship teams.
 
DAY 1
Drew Lenertz, Alex Flicek and Cyril Nagurski are starting their 5th seasons with Marauders hockey and have been with the program from season 1 in 2018-19.
 
WELCOME BACK
A Marauders hockey original, Andy Huber returns to the UMary program after a year away. The Bismarck, ND, native earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 2020 and helped lead the Marauders to the 2021 ACHA M2 title, producing a hat trick in the semifinal win. He spent the 2021-22 season in Washington, D.C., while serving in the Unites States National Guard's 816th military police unit. Huber is now pursuing a graduate degree in Business Administration.
 
MARAUDERS TO BEGIN COMPETING IN ACHA M1 AND MCH IN 2023-24
When the Marauders make the move up to compete in American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division I starting in the 2022-23 season, the Marauders will also be competing in Midwest College Hockey. The seventh member, UMary joins Illinois State University (Normal, IL), Jamestown University (Jamestown, ND), McKendree University (Lebanon, IL), Midland University (Fremont, NE), Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL), and Waldorf University (Forest City, IA) in the MCH.
 
All MCH teams are expected to play a 20-game regular season conference schedule and the MCH Regular Season Champion will be determined on a points basis. The MCH Playoff Tournament is held at the conclusion of the MCH regular season in late February/early March. The MCH Playoff Tournament format will see two games on Day 1 (3 vs 6, 4 vs 5), two games on Day 2 (1 vs lowest seeded Day 1 winner, 2 vs highest seeded Day 1 winner) and a Championship game on Day 3. Starting with the 2022-2023 season, the winner of the MCH Playoff Tournament will be awarded the MCH's autobid to the ACHA Men's Division 1 National Championships.
 
2021-22 SLAP SHOT REVIEW

• Marauders won their 2nd straight ACHA M2 championship
• Defeated Florida Gulf Coast University 3-2 in triple-overtime championship game on a goal by Seth Cushing
• Zach Garett (1st team), Seth Cushing (1st), Johnny Witzke (1st), Kyle Hayden (2nd) and Marshall Tschida (2nd) named to ACHA M2 All-Tournament team
• UMary finished 2021-22 season 38-4-1-2 overall
• Kyle Haden was named the ACHA M2 Player of the Year
• Kyle Hayden and Zach Garrett (1st team) and Johnny Witzke (2nd) earned ACHA M2 All-American honors
• The NDAPSSA named Kyle Hayden the non-school male athlete of the year and the Marauders were the 2022 non-school team of the year for a 2nd straight year
• The Marauders were 14-2 at home

 
NEXT UP
The Marauders start a four-game home stand when they host the University of Cincinnati on January 14-15 and the University of Minnesota Crookston January 16.
 
TICKETS
Game tickets for Marauders athletics are available online at www.UMaryTickets.com and at the gate for all UMary athletics. Adult tickets for hockey are $10 + fees while senior citizen and youth tickets (13-18 years old) are $5 + fees when purchased online at www.umarytickets.com. Tickets purchased at the gate are $15 (cash only) for adults and $10 for seniors and youth 13-18.
 
UMary students and faculty and staff with their MCard and youth 12 and younger are admitted free.
 
Please note that ticket sales at the gate are CASH ONLY purchases. If needed, ATMs are located by the ticket gate at the Starion Sports Complex Schwan Cadillac Rink.
 
Fans receive a discounted rate on tickets when purchased online at www.umarytickets.com than at the gate. Fans are also able to purchase tickets using credit and debit cards when ordering online while sales at the ticket booth are cash only.
 
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