Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Tonight's game between Bethel and St. Olaf featured 12 goals by 11 different players, three goals scored with an extra skater advantage, two power play goals, two empty net goals, and a shorthanded goal for good measure.  Fortunately, the Royals emerged victorious 7-5 to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Bethel's all-time leading scorer, Bethany Murphy-Aultman (Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.), earned four points on a goal, while four others earned three points.

The Royals went ahead 2-0 by scoring a pair of goals in rapid succession.  Sandra Felten (Jr., Cashton, Wis.) struck first by scoring a goal assisted by Murphy-Aultman and Kassy Sullivan (Fr., Roseville, Minn.) with 7:08 remaining in the first period.  Less than 40 seconds later, Anna Baumgarten (Jr., Elmhurst, Ill.) scored with the help of captain Amy Beitzel (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.).

St. Olaf cut Bethel's lead in half early in second period when Katie Bennett scored a goal assisted by Elizabeth Dunlap. 

Bethel went on to score the next three goals of the period to balloon their lead to 5-1.  Beitzel and Baumgarten connected again with the help of Mary Foster (So., St. Paul, Minn.) with nearly nine minutes remaining in the period.  Little more than three minutes later, Julien Olson (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.) scored, assisted by Sullivan and Murphy-Aultman. 

Sullivan scored a goal of her own 2:12 later with Murphy-Aultman and Felten earning assists, making the score 5-1 heading into the raucous third period.

St. Olaf played the first 1:17 of the period without a goalie in the net, and it cost them as Murphy-Aultman scored her ninth goal of the season, and what proved to be her first game-winning goal of the season. 

The Oles then started to creep back into the game, as Katie Iraci scored a power play goal with two Royals in the penalty box.  St. Olaf's Melissa Sailor then scored back to back goals to make it a 6-4 game with 5:44 left to play.  Both Sailor's goals were scored with an extra skater advantage, as St. Olaf had pulled their goalie for the third time in the period.  The Oles played almost the last eight minutes of the game without a goaltender.

Once again, however, Bethel made St. Olaf pay for the empty net when Jenna Bullock (So., Buffalo, Minn.) scored her second season goal in a Royal uniform, assisted by Beitzel and Baumgarten.

The Oles managed to score once more with 1:37 remaining, as  Meghan Stumpf netted her fifth goal of the season to round out St. Olaf's scoring.

The win helps Bethel slide into a tie with Hamline for the fifth and final MIAC playoff spot at 14 points, thanks to a 7-8 conference record and 10-10-1 overall record.  This season marks just the second in the team's nine year history they have earned 10 or more wins.  The loss drops St. Olaf to 4-10-1 in the MIAC and 7-14-1 record overall.  The Royals return home to face off against the Oles once more beginning at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Bethel University Arena in Blaine, Minn.