Box Score

BLAINE, Minn. - Don't count the Royals out just yet. That's the message the Bethel women's hockey team sent tonight with a 5-1 win at home over the Augsburg Auggies.

With just three games now remaining, the Royals are still mathematically very alive in their quest for a fourth conference playoff berth in the last five seasons. Bethel dominated the game from the opening faceoff until the final buzzer, scoring twice in the first period, once in the second, and then twice again in the third. Hillary Hartwig (Fr., Elk River, Minn.) put Bethel on the scoreboard with the help of Allison Papko (Jr., Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Missy Vavra (Fr., Minnetonka, Minn.) 11:24 into the first period. Papko then teamed with Rachael Geng (So., South St. Paul, Minn.) to put Bethel up 2-0 just two minutes later.

In the second period, Biz Huss (Fr., Beaver Bay, Minn.) scored her second goal of the season, aided by Geng and Anna Carlson (So., Roseville, Minn.), and in essence, put the game out of reach for good. Papko and Hartwig united again to put Bethel up 4-0 just 1:21 into the third period, and then Hartwig flew solo - and shorthanded, at that - to score her second goal of the game a mere 1:18 later to give Bethel its five goals.

Augsburg spoiled Jess Newstrom's (Fr., Cambridge, Minn.) shutout bid by scoring at 8:18 into the third period, but the reigning MIAC Co-Athlete of the Week made sure nothing else got by her to win her seventh game of the season.

The Royals outshot the Auggies 38-26 and capitalized on one of their six power play opportunities.

The win helps Bethel keep pace with Concordia in the MIAC standings at 14 points with a 7-8 conference record (7-14 overall), while Augsburg drops to 2-17-3 overall and 2-10-3 in the conference. The same two teams are scheduled to face off against each other again on Saturday night in Minneapolis beginning at 7 p.m.