Box Score

BLAINE, Minn.—Four first period goals were all the Royals needed Friday evening, as they celebrated senior night in fashion by defeating Saint Mary's University at home 6-2. Junior forward Cristina Masten (Fergus Falls, Minn.) played a critical role in the victory, as she continued her bid to become the 2012-13 MIAC leader in scoring with a hat trick against SMU.

The victory over the Cardinals (6-14-2, 4-11-2 MIAC) marked the sixth straight win for Bethel (14-8-2, 11-4-2 MIAC) and the ninth time in the last ten outings that the Royals haven't lost. 

Masten helped Bethel jump out to an early lead, as she tallied her 18th goal of the season at the 1:36 mark in the first period. Freshman Caroline Kivisto (Fr., Dassel, Minn.) recorded her 11th assist on the play.
 
Lindsay Burman (Jr., Stanchfield, Minn.) added to the Royals lead 1:35 later when she fired the puck past Cardinal goalie Tori Herrmann on a Biz Huss (Sr., Beaver Bay, Minn.) and Kelsey Johnston (Fr., Rogers, Minn.) assist.
 
Cristina Masten continued her special night by scoring her second goal of the game at the 7:50-mark—placing the puck between the pipes off a Kalie Johnson (So., Richfield, Minn.) assist.

Mara Raymond (Fr., St. Paul, Minn.) gave Bethel the 4-0 advantage with 4:11 left in the opening frame, when she scored her first collegiate goal on an assist by Molly Eagles (Sr., Falcon Heights, Minn.) and Masten.
 
The Royals heightened its lead to five in the third period when Jessica Gapinski (Fr., Hackensack, Minn.) punched the puck past the SMU goaltender unassisted. The Cardinals scored two goals in the next four minutes—both on the power play—to shrink Bethel's lead to three.
 
Masten cleared any remaining doubt at the 18:26-mark, however, as Huss set up Masten near the crease and the Fergus Falls, Minn., native slid the puck just off the goalies right skate for her third goal of the competition. The hat trick for Masten is the third of her career, as she began both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons with a hat trick against UW-Eau Claire.
 
Jess Newstrom (Sr., Cambridge, Minn.) had a solid performance on senior night, allowing just two power play goals, while shutting down 28 other Cardinal attempts. Newstrom has recorded a .927 save percentage, while allowing a 2.07 goals against average.
 
The Royals will travel to Winona, Minn., Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. matinee at the SMU Ice Arena. Live stats and webcast will both be available here. Should Bethel win and St. Thomas lose or tie against Hamline, the Royals would be the No. 2 seed going into the playoffs and would host the No. 3 seed (likely St. Thomas) next Thursday evening. If all standings remain the same, Bethel will travel to St. Thomas Thursday night for the MIAC semifinals.