Two action-packed games highlighted day one of the Cactus Cup

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) - Day one of the second annual Cactus Cup featured two great games on Friday at Acrisure Arena.

The defending Cactus Cup champions, UMass Lowell, played Minnesota State in game one.

The River Hawks never missed a beat. Dillian Bentley scored the opening goal in the first period for a 1-0 lead.

In the middle frame, both squads traded back and forth. Jack Smith allowed the Mavericks to even the game at one, but UMass Lowell regained the one-goal lead with Bentley's second goal of the game.

In the final seconds of the third, Jay Ahearn shot toward the empty and delivered to seal a 3-1 final over the Minnesota State Mavericks.

The second game featured Yale vs St. Cloud State.

The huskies went on a two goal run in the span of the first two periods. Austin Burnevik and Noah Urness were the two goal scorers in that span.

The bulldogs cut the deficit to one with a goal from James Shannon.

St. Cloud State scored two more unanswered in the final frame of play. Finn Loftus and Burnevik made it 4-1 with nine minutes and 17 seconds left to go.

David Andreychuk scored the second goal for Yale, but the red and black continued to score.

Verner Miettinen and Joseph Belisle buried the final two goals to seal a 6-2 final.

On day two, Yale will play Minnesota State at 3:30 PM for third place, and UMass Lowell will look to defend their title and play Saint Cloud State at 7 PM.

Stay with News Channel for continuing coverage of the 2026 Cactus Cup.