From University of Jamestown Athletics
By Joey Roiger
Jamestown, N.D. – The University of Jamestown ACHA Division-I women’s hockey team will begin their 2026-27 season with two games at John L. Wilson Arena against the Minot State Beavers on Friday and Saturday.
Game Information
- 7:00 p.m. CDT, Friday, September 25 and 3:00 p.m. CDT, Saturday, September 26
- John L. Wilson Arena; Jamestown, N.D.
- Live Stats (Friday’s Game)
- Live Stats (Saturday’s Game)
- Live Video ($)
The Teams
Jamestown went 7-21-1 and 5-15-1 in the WMCH last season in their second season under head coach Hannah Griffin and fourth as an ACHA Division-I program. The Jimmies were ranked in and around the top 10 for the entire season, finishing as the No. 10 team in the country and qualifying for the ACHA National Tournament for the first time in the D-I era.
Maddison Andrew will be the highlight of the returners with the Alberta native notching 11 points (6G, 5A) in the 2025-26 season. Mikaela Nimetz also played a key role for the Jimmies last season after scoring 11 points (1G, 10A). Maddie Sylvestre will be the lead returning goaltender after a very solid freshman season. The Manitoba native ended last season with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage across 18 games played, posting one shutout as well.
The Jimmies will welcome a young squad which includes 11 freshmen to supplement their five sophomores, two juniors, and three seniors.
Minot State has been a premier program in the ACHA for quite some time now. After back-to-back seasons where they were the Division-II National runners-up, the Beavers made the transition to Division-I beginning in the 2019-20 season. The Beavers wasted no time being competitive at the higher level, making the National Semifinals in 2021 and 2022, then the National Championship in 2023 and 2024. Last season, Minot State finished with an overall record of 19-7-7, finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the country, but falling in ACHA Pool Play just like Jamestown.
It will a new era for the program with Minot State hiring a new bench boss, Blake Zabinski, ahead of the 2026-27 season. The Beavers lose four of the six leading scorers from last season, but Abby Tallman (17 points in 2025-26) and Paige Kozak (15 points) are big time performers back in Minot. Erica Fijala (12 points) and Abby Pineau (11 points) were the two leading scorers among defensemen and both will be on the 2026-27 team for next season. The Beavers also bring back netminder Jillian Ackerman who had a fantastic season with a .944 save percentage and a 1.55 goals-against average across 26 games.
Historical Matchups
Jamestown will look for their first ever win against the Beavers this upcoming weekend with the Jimmies sitting at 0-28-1. Four of those 29 games have gone to overtime, including the most recent matchup in the ACHA National Tournament last season in which the Beavers nipped the Jimmies 5-4 in overtime.
Team Stats (2025 Season)
| Jamestown | Minot State | |
| Record | 7-21-1, 5-15-1 WMCH | 19-7-7, 13-5-3 WMCH |
| Postseason Results | Lost in ACHA Pool Play | Lost in ACHA Pool Play |
| Goals / Game | 3.6 | 3 |
| Goals-Against Average | 4 | 1.6 |
| Power Play % | 10.1% | 17% |
| Shorthanded Goals | 3 | 6 |
Following the two home games against Minot State, the Jimmies will embark to Nebraska to play at the reigning National Champions, Midland University, on Thursday, October 8 at 8:30 p.m.
(Originally published at https://jimmiepride.com/news/2026/9/24/acha-division-1-womens-hockey-womens-hockey-weekend-opener-jimmies-open-2026-27-season-with-in-state-rivalry-against-minot-state.aspx)
