For one weekend, it was the Twin Cities metro skaters that took to I-94 in search of ice. 

The Bantam Elite League's Minor Division spent last few days dueling in Grand Forks, showcasing their talents at the hockey palace known as the Ralph Engelstad Arena on the campus of the University of North Dakota. 

Known simply as "the Ralph," the arena played host to the final weekend of regular-season games for the BEL Minor Division, where teams separated themselves into the playoff standings that determined their scheduling fate for this coming weekend in Bloomington. 

Continue reading for breakdowns on each team, featuring top performers and the best games played at the house that Ralph built.  

Bruins

Despite going 1-2 on the weekend, the Bruins hung tough with some stiff competition, losing by two to the Penguins, by three to No. 2 seed North Dakota, and slamming the No. 3 seed Kings 6-2 in their second game in Grand Forks.  The Blonde Bomber trio of Tanner Ludtke, Tyler Lafferty, and Aidan Willis combined for 11 points, with Ludtke (3-2-5) and Willis (4 assists) leading the way. Speedster Eli Miller tallied two goals and three points on the weekend.   

Kings

Explosive? Yes. Armed with playmakers on both sides of the puck? Yes. Impossible to figure out? Yes. 

The Kings began their tour of Grand Forks by scoring four times in the second half to nearly erase the 5-0 hole they dug themselves against the North Stars. The boys in purple played with urgency, attacked on offense and stood tall on defense and in goal. The Kings followed that inspired performance by allowing four goals in the first half in their next game against the Bruins en route to a 6-2 loss before downing the Sharks 6-3 on Sunday morning. 

Forwards Hayden Konik (3-1-4) and Sawyer Seidl (4 assists) stood out statistically for the Kings and will be key cogs during next weekend's playoff slate. 

Penguins

To say that the forward line of Carter Krenke, Tommy Cronin, and T.J. Gibson took their game to a new level in North Dakota would be an understatement. Krenke tallied three goals and eight points while scoring a fabulous shootout goal in the Pens' win over North Dakota. Cronin helped himself to four goals and seven points to go along with a Player of the Game honor, and Gibson ground and gutted his way to two goals and four points, marking the scoresheet in all three games. 

Behind several clutch performances, including Carter Wishart stopping 60 of 64 shots over the weekend, the Penguins took two of three games in Grand Forks, with the lone loss coming against the top-seeded North Stars.

North Dakota

Team North Dakota were less-than-hospitable hosts to their colleagues from Minnesota, defeating the Sharks and Bruins with a hard-luck shootout loss to a possessed Penguins team sandwiched between victories. Both Landon Carter and Zach Nehring finished the weekend with four points for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, while goaltender Andrew Peterson stopped 38 of 42 shots while going 1-1. Through the regular-season slate, Peterson has the best netminding numbers in the league, with a goals-against average of 1.25 and save percentage of .941.  

North Stars

Seven players on the North Stars' roster have totaled seven or more points during the BEL season, making the playoffs' No. 1 seed one the only team in the league with that distinction. Balance on offense and one of the league's top goaltenders in Zander Ziemski makes for a lethal combination, as the North Stars won two of three games in Grand Forks. Max Roby took home top-scoring honors for the team with two goals and seven points, while Wyatt Carlson and Aaron Reierson totaled six and five points respectively. For his part, Ziemski went 2-0 on the weekend while stopping 41 of 43 shots.  

Sharks

Playing without leading scorer Wyatt Olson didn't stop the Sharks from handing the North Stars their first loss of the BEL season, as Gavyn Thoreson, Beck Picconatto, and Finn Brink picking up the slack. Thoreson scored both goals in the Sharks' upset win over the North Stars and finished with four points over the weekend. Picconatto totaled four assists and Brink scored twice and added a helper while goaltender Sam Stockman stopped 53 of 57 shots.    

Sharks 2, North Stars 1 (Saturday)

Gavyn Thoreson scored the game-winning goal with just 3:59 left in regulation to lift the Sharks to the upset win over the North Stars. Louden McCoy finished with 10 saves to blank the North Stars in the second half. 

Penguins 4, Team North Dakota 3 (SO) (Saturday)

Carter Krenke tied the game with 18 seconds left to send the contest to a shootout, where Teddy Manlove scored the game-winner after six rounds of one-on-one showdowns. Goaltenders Robert Clarkowski and Carter Wishart combined to make 47 saves on 50 shots in the win. 

North Stars 5, Kings 4 (Saturday)

Cruising with a 5-0 lead after the first half, the North Stars allowed the Kings to score four times in 12 minutes to send the game into a frenzy for the final 4:20 of regulation before closing the door for good on a 5-4 win. Hayden Konik, Cooper Conway, Charlie Olsen, and Chuck Owens all scored in the comeback attempt by the Kings.