THIS WEEK
The University of Mary takes on Highway 83 rival Minot State University for the 5^th time this season when the #10 Marauders host the #1 Beavers in a midweek matchup. Face off between the two nationally ranked squads is 7 pm at the Starion Sports Complex Schwan Cadillac Rink in Mandan, ND.
 
The Marauders then visit Waldorf University for a pair of Midwest College Hockey games on Friday and Saturday, January 26-27. Friday's game time is 7 pm. The weekend series between the Marauders and the Warriors concluded Saturday at 7:30 pm. The two games will be played at the Albert Lea City Arena in Albert Lea, MN.
 
FIRESIDE OFFICE SOLUTIONS SPONSORS JANUARY 24 MARAUDERS-BEAVERS MEETING
Fireside Office Solutions is the game sponsor for the Marauders hockey game against Minot State University on Wednesday, January 24, 2024. A limited number of complimentary tickets are available for fans at Fireside Office Solutions located at 1713 E Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders are 18-9-0-0-1 (W-L-OTL-SOW-SOL) overall and 11-2-0-0-1 in MCH play. UMary leads the MCH with 40 points… Minot State is 22-4-0.
 
BEK SPORTS BROADCASTING MARAUDERS-BEAVERS GAME STATEWIDE
The latest meeting between the nationally-ranked and Highway 83 rivals #10 University of Mary and #1 Minot State University will air live on BEK TV throughout North Dakota on Wednesday, January 24. Pregame starts at 6:45 pm. Visit www.bek.tv for how to watch the game in your location.                                                                                                                                                
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders split a weekend series against Midwest College Hockey rival #16 Illinois State University. UMary won the opener 7-1 on Saturday behind six goals in the second period. ISU scored three straight goals to force a weekend split on Sunday, tallying once in the second and twice in the third.
 
MARAUDERS TOP MIDWEST COLLEGE HOCKEY STANDINGS
The University of Mary climbed to the top of the Midwest College Hockey standings with a pair of wins at Northern Illinois University December 8-9. With 16 games in the books and four league games remaining for UMary, the Marauders have compiled a league-high 40 points, two points ahead of the University of Jamestown.
 
UMary has remaining MCH games against Waldorf (2) and Jamestown (2).
 
Each MCH victory earns a team three points. A team earns two points for a win in overtime or in a shootout. A team suffering a loss in overtime or a shootout picks up one point.
 
The top six teams in the league standings will qualify for the MCH tournament on February 16-18 in Mandan, ND. The MCH tournament champion earns an automatic berth to the American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division I national tournament.
 

Team Name	W	OTW/ SOW	L	OTL/ SOL	Points	GF	GA
UMary *	13	0	2	1	40	64	31
Jamestown *	12	1	3	0	38	91	20
Midland *	8	0	4	2	26	52	40
McKendree *	8	0	8	0	24	46	53
Illinois State *	6	1	7	0	20	49	61
Waldorf	2	1	11	0	8	21	62
Northern Illinois	0	0	14	0	0	24	80

* Clinched playoff spot (top 6 teams qualify) | Standings through January 19, 2024
 
MARAUDERS TO HOST MIDWEST COLLEGE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT FEBRUARY 16-18
Despite this being the Marauders inaugural season in Midwest College Hockey, the University of Mary will host the 2023-24 MCH conference playoff at the Starion Sports Complex Schwan Cadillac Rink in Mandan, ND, on February 16-18, 2024. The top six teams in the regular season league standings qualify for the MCH Conference Playoffs and will compete for the chance to hoist the Lindsay Cup and receive the MCH's autobid to the 2024 ACHA Men's Division 1 National Championships presented by FloHockey, held March 7-12 at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, MO.
 
CUSHING ALL-TIME UMARY LEADER IN GOALS
Seth Cushing became the UMary career leader in goals on December 1, 2023, when he scored the 138th goal with the Marauders. Alex Flicek formerly held the record with 137. Cushing now has 143 goals in his UMary career… Additionally Cushing moved past Zach Garrett (237 points) on the career points list the next game on December 2, 2023. Cushing now has 244 points in his UMary career. Flicek is the all-time team record-holder in points with 292.
 
RANKINGS – UMARY #10 IN 11TH ACHA MD1 POLL OF 2023-24
The Marauders rank 10th nationally in the 11th American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men's Division 1 poll of the 2023-24 season. A new poll should be releases Wednesday, January 24.
 
UMARY WEEK BY WEEK ACHA MD1 RANKINGS
Preseason – 23^rd | Poll 1 – 21^st | Poll 2 – 20^th | Poll 3 – 19^th | Poll #4 – 4^th | Poll 5 – 3^rd | Poll 6 – 5^th | Poll 7 – 5^th | Poll 8 – 6^th | Poll 9 – 7^th | poll 10 - #10 | Poll 11 - #10
 
UMARY VS. TEAMS CURRENTLY NATIONALLY RANKED

• 0-4 vs. #1 Minot State
• 1-1 at #3 University of Central Oklahoma
• 1-1 vs #4 University of Jamestown
• 2-1-0-0-1 at #16 Illinois State
• 2-0 vs. #18 Missouri State
• 0-2 at #24 Colorado State

 

2023-2024 ACHA Men's Division I Ranking #11
Rank	School Name	M1 Record	Previous	Conference
1	Minot State	20-4-0	1	INDEP
2	Adrian	18-2-0	2	GLCHL
3	Central Oklahoma	19-3-0	3	WCHL
4	Jamestown	16-6-0	4	MCH
5	Nevada-Las Vegas	15-5-1	5	WCHL
6	Maryville	16-8-1	8	INDEP
7	Ohio	17-6-2	6	INDEP
8	Liberty	11-6-1	7	INDEP
9	Niagara	13-6-1	9	ESCHL
10	Mary	15-8-1	10	MCH
11	Purdue Northwest	16-5-0	11	GLCHL
12	Calvin	17-4-2	12	GLCHL
13	Utah	10-6-1	15	WCHL
14	Pittsburgh	15-9-1	16	ESCHL
15	Arizona	8-8-1	14	WCHL
16	Illinois State	17-9-1	17	MCH
17	Grand Valley State	13-6-2	13	GLCHL
18	Missouri State	9-10-2	19	WCHL
19	Indiana Tech	14-8-1	18	WHAC
20	Delaware	10-6-2	20	ESCHL
21	Iowa State	6-4-0	22	INDEP
22	Oklahoma	9-8-2	24	WCHL
23	Colorado	7-7-2	NR	WCHL
24	Colorado State	14-7-1	23	WCHL
25	Michigan-Dearborn	15-4-1	NR	WHAC

 
200
The Marauders program reached 200 wins on November 11, 2023, in a 6-2 victory over Waldorf. Led by Head Coach Dan Huntley, the Marauders first took the ice in September 2018 and is in its sixth season (scroll down for year-by-year results)
 
POWER PLAY
The Marauders specialty teams have had a strong season. UMary scores on 27% (26 of 96) of its chances skating with a man advantage. The Marauders penalty kill is holding foes to an 18% (19 of 103) success rate with an extra skater.  
 
99 AND COUNTING
The University of Mary is 99-14-2-3-0-0 (W-L-OTL-T-SOW-SOL) all-time at home.
 
ON THE CUSP

• Garrett Freeman (99 points) needs one more point to reach 100
• Andrew Huber (147 points) needs three more points to become the 5th UMary player to reach 150 career points
• Seth Cushing (247) needs three more points to join Alex Flicek (292) as the only UMary skaters with 250 career points  

 
HEITKAMP POWERS UP
Defenseman Michael Heitkamp had a tremendous game in the Marauders 7-1 win over Illinois State. The defensemen had a goal and three assists for four points. The goal and two assists came on the power play.
 
CUSHING CHARGING FORWARD
Seth Cushing is putting together another outstanding season. The Marauders all-time leader in goals has found the net a team-high 21 times this season. He also has 14 assists and leads UMary with 35 points. Cushing leads the squad with seven game-winning goals.
 
 
NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Isaiah Thomas has dished out a team-high 24 assists this season, including three in a game three times. He has seven games with multiple assists and has had either a goal or an assist in 16 games out of 26 overall. With four goals in addition to his 23 assists he has 28 points on the season.
 
NAGURSKI FINDS HIS NICHE
Defenseman Cyril Nagurski, UMary's lone 6th year player and the only skater besides Andrew Huber who played in the Marauders inaugural season, has scored a career-high eight goals this season and added 11 assists. He is 3rd on the team in goals and 4th in points (19). His previous high for goals was seven last year. Nagurski leads the team with five power play goals.
 
ESKRO ROLLING
Tanner Eskro has scored 11 goals to trail only Seth Cushing (21) for the team lead. He tallied in each of the first five UMary games this season, including two in the first game against Missouri State. He is third on the team in points with 26.
 
ROCKET START
Johnny Witzke is off to an incredible start. The Marauders All-American defender has five goals and 14 assists in 15 games. He is 4th on the team in points with 19. Four of his goals have come on the power play.
  
MINDING THE NET
Conan Hayton and Kyle Hayden have been tremendous between the pipes for the Marauders this season. Hayton owns eight wins – including a shutout – with a 2.61 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. All-American Kyle Hayden has four wins and two shutouts with a 2.21 GAA and a .936 save percentage in 13 games. Including two shutouts by Cameron Milewski, the Marauders goalies allow 2.22 goals/game with a .929 save percentage.
 
TESTED TOUGH
The Marauders return 19 skaters from last season… Playing his 6th season is D Cyril Nagurski… Playing in their 5th seasons are D Johnny Witzke, F Seth Cushing, G Kyle Hayden and F Andy Huber, Players in their 4th season are F Derek Dropik, F Tanner Eskro, G Conan Hayton, F Jaren Hugelen, F Riley Scanlon and F Braden Zaste… Entering season 3 is F Garrett Freeman, D Teddy Lillico, F Isaiah Thomas and D Ryan Wolf… Returning for year 2 is F Tucker Kruse, F Liam Massie, D Lucas Medeiros and F Jake Murray.
 
NEW NEW NEW
The Marauders have five scholar-athletes in their first season with the program: F Nick Bradshaw, D Michael Heitkamp, G Cameron Milewski, D Lukas Robinson and F Luke Schleusner… Two players have played previously for ACHA programs. Heitkamp, a Bismarck, ND, native, played the last three seasons in ACHA M1 at Waldorf… Robinson joins UMary after two seasons playing ACHA M3 at Lawrence Tech University.
 
MARAUDERS TIED FOR 2ND IN MCH PRESEASON POLL
Defending Midwest College Hockey regular-season and conference playoff champion University of Jamestown is the 2023-24 MCH Hockey coaches preseason favorite to win the conference in the upcoming 2023-24 season. While the Jimmies were the unanimous choice after earning all seven 1st place votes and 49 total points, the Marauders tied with Illinois State University for second in the MCH coaches' poll with both teams earning 37 points. Midland (26 points) is projected to place 4th, followed by McKendree (24), Waldorf (14) and Northern Illinois (9).
 
PROGRAM HISTORY LESSON

• Under the direction of head coach Dan Huntley, a 2-time coach of the year, the University of Mary was a dominant force in ACHA M2 for all five years the program has existed.
• 2018-19 | 39-5-1-2 (not eligible for postseason as 1st year program)
• 2019-20 | 39-9-2-0 (#1 West Region seed | MWCHL tourney runner-up | #2 nationally in final poll | ACHA M2 tourney cancelled for pandemic)
• 2020-21 | 38-4-1-6 (ACHA M2 national champion | Ranked #1 in final ACHA M2 poll | #1 seed at ACHA M2 championships)
• 2021-22 | 38-4-1-2 (ACHA M2 national champion | Ranked #1 in final ACHA M2 rating | #1 seed from West region)
• 2022-23 | 38-6-3-1 (Ranked #1 in final ACHA M2 rating | #1 seed from West region | was 2-0-1-0 at ACHA M2 championships)

TOTAL | 192-28-8-11 (W-L-OTL-T)
 
GOLDEN GOALTENDERS
The Marauders have featured an All-Athletic Team goaltender all five seasons UMary has had a hockey program. Aaron Nelson was a 1st team selection in 2018-19, the Marauders inaugural season, followed by Lance Knutson (2020) and Kyle Hayden (2021-2022-2023).
 
2022-23 HIGHLIGHTS

• ACHA M2 All-Athletic Team | Johnny Witzke and Kyle Hayden continue making program history for the University of Mary as the duo become the Marauders first 3-time American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 2 All-Athletic Team selections. Witzke earned 2022-23 1st team ACHA M2 All-Athletic Team honors while Hayden was voted to the second team. Witzke was previously named to the ACHA M2 All-Athletic Team in 2021 (1st team) and 2022 (2nd team). Hayden, the reigning ACHA M2 Player of the Year, earned 2nd team recognition in 2021 and 1st team honors in 2022.
• Witzke named ACHA M2 West Region Player of the Year | Johnny Witzke is the American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 2 West Region Player of the Year, the third straight Marauder to earn the honor. Witzke played a key role in the Marauders holding opponents to only 74 goals in 54 games. The Marauders team captain, Witzke joins Zach Garret (2020-21) and Kyle Hayden (2021-22) in earning West Region Player of the Year honors for UMary.
• Witzke, Hayden and Thomas named to 2023 ACHA M2 All-West Region Team | Kyle Hayden, Johnny Witzke and Isaiah Thomas are 2022-23 ACHA M2 All-West Region team selections. Hayden and Witzke are 1st team honorees with Thomas earning 2nd team recognition. This is the third time claiming regional honors for Hayden and Witzke while Thomas recognized for the first time.
• Witzke named 2022-23 NDAPSSSA Non-Schol Male Athlete of the Year
• 239 | Drew Lenertz played all 239 games in school history from game one in 2018 through the final game of 2022-23.
• 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.
• 15 | The Marauders posted a school-record 15 shutouts last season
• 291 | All-time UMary leading scorer finished his 5-year career with the Marauders with 291 points, 137 goals and 154 assists.
• 13 | Kyle Hayden shattered the school record for shutouts in a single season with 13 in 2022-23.

 
MARAUDERS 2023-24 TICKETING FAQs

• Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online at www.umarytickets.com or via the HomeTown Fan App for iOS and Android mobile devices
• Save money by purchasing tickets online
• $5 discount (minus fees) on tickets purchased online vs. purchases at the gate
• Tickets purchased at the gate are CASH ONLY transactions
• ATMs are located near the main ticketing gates for Marauders home game
• Debit and credit card purchases are online only at www.umarytickets.com or via the HomeTown Fan App
• UMary students and faculty and staff with their MCard are admitted FREE
• Youth 12 and younger with an adult are admitted FREE
• Any youth 12 and under unaccompanied by an adult are charged a $5 admission fee at the gate (cash only)
• All ticket sales are FINAL at time of purchase, whether online or at the gate

 
MARAUDERS HOME GAME TICKET PRICES | Soccer, basketball, hockey, track & field, volleyball and wrestling tickets

• Adults | $10 + fees online and $15 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
• Seniors (65+) and youth 13-18 | $5 + fees online and $10 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
• Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult | Free
• Children 12 and under with no adult present| $5

 
#marauders#