ST. PETER, Minn. - The Bethel University women's hockey team racked up six more goals Saturday, less than 48 hours after scoring seven against Saint Mary's, and took down No. 5 ranked Gustavus 6-3 to head to the MIAC Championship next Saturday. After suffering a midseason scoring slump that nearly kept the Royals from making the MIAC Playoffs, the Bethel offense has erupted, scoring 13 goals in the first two playoff games against a pair of teams that were giving up less than two goals per game entering the contests. Those two games have come on the heels of a total of six goals in their series split with the MIAC regular season champion Golden Gusties in the last regular season weekend of the year. The scoring explosion, a trademark for Bethel women's hockey in recent years, has propelled Bethel into its second MIAC Championship game appearance in program history.   

courtesy of the MIAC

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- For the first time in the 12-year history of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Women's Hockey Playoffs, the tournament championship game won't include Gustavus. No. 5-seeded Bethel continued its amazing postseason run by knocking off the No. 1-seeded and No. 5-ranked Gusties in one of Saturday's semifinals, and No. 2 St. Thomas won a thrilling one-goal game over No. 3 Concordia to join the Royals in the title game.

Bethel's offense continued to amaze with six goals in a 6-3 win over the Gusties, less than 48 hours after putting up seven in a quarterfinal win. The Tommies scored in the opening minutes, built a two-goal lead, and held off a Concordia comeback attempt to earn a 3-2 victory and a return trip to the title game and a chance to defend their title.

| PLAYOFF HOME PAGE | BRACKET |

Gustavus won each of the first 10 MIAC Playoff titles before falling to the Tommies in last year's championship game, and this will be the first time that the Gusties won't be represented in the title game. St. Thomas is seeking its second tournament title in its fourth championship appearance since 2008, and Bethel is making its second trip to the MIAC Playoff finals, as it aims for its first title.
 

NO. 5 BETHEL 6, NO. 1 GUSTAVUS  3 | Box Score |
Gustavus got on the board first when Katie Aney scored on an assist from Allie Lewis just 4:46 into the game, but Bethel erased that momentum with a remarkable one-minute stretch. Lindsay Burman tied things up at 12:33, Lauren Kolak gave the Royals their first lead 50 seconds late, and Kathryn Larson made it three goals in 1:10 when she scored at 13:43. Burman netted her second goal of the game just 17 seconds before halftime to give Bethel a commanding 4-1 lead after one. After scoring five in the third period in Thursday's quarterfinal win over Saint Mary's, the Royals had  now scored nine goals in their last two periods of Playoff hockey. 

The Gusties wouldn't go down without a fight. Lewis got her second point of the game when she scored 7:23 into the second to cut the Bethel lead to 4-2. However, the regular-season champions couldn't make up any more ground in the second and the Royals responded with a huge goal in the third to regain a three-goal lead. Kolak joined Burman in the two-goal club when she scored off an assist from Larson 7:32 into the third to make it 5-2 Bethel.

Gustavus pulled its goalie with a little more than three minutes remaining in a last-ditch effort to get back in the game. The early returns were good, as Erica Power scored with 2:56 to play to make it a 5-3 game. The Gusties re-inserted their goalie, but took a costly penality and Bethel slammed the door on its semifinal win with a Kalie Johnson goal with just 34 seconds left to make it a 6-3 final, and a championship-game appearance for the Royals.

Bethel has now scored 13 goals in two MIAC Playoff games, with four different players netting a goal in the semifinal win. Burman and Kolak each had two, and Burman added an assist for a three-point game. Johnson and Larson each added a goal and an assist and Megan O'Brian and Caroline Kivisto had assists as well. Michelle Klimstra made 26 saves and allowed three goals to earn the win in goal.

Power, Aney and Lewis scored the three Gustavus goals, with Lewis adding an assist for a multi-point performance. Courtney Boucher, Katy Fuller and Kaitlyn Klein also had assist in the loss. Lindsey Hibbard made 31 saves and allowed five of the six goals in the loss.

 

TOMMIES MEET ROYALS FOR TITLE
St. Thomas is back in familiar territory, as it will host the MIAC Playoff championship game at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for the second season in a row. Bethel makes its first title-game appearance since 2011, and the Royals are seeking their first MIAC Playoff title. The game will be played next Saturday, March 7, with start time to be announced. The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Tournament.
 
The MIAC has a home page dedicated to the 2014-15 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs, containing schedules, links and information on each of the five teams in the field. Throughout the tournament, the page will be updated with scores, stats, updated schedules and more. The MIAC also has an interactive bracket that help fans follow the action in bracket format as the Playoffs progress.
 
Fans can also track the MIAC Playoff action on the MIAC Scoreboard or the MIAC mobile app, which is a free download for both Apple and Android devices. Connect throughout the tournament on social media through the MIAC's Facebook page or Twitter and Instagram accounts, using the hashtags MIACWH and MIACPlayoffs.

2014-15 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs - Schedule

| Interactive Bracket |

Quarterfinal: Thursday, Feb. 26 - 7 p.m.
No. 5 Bethel 7, No. 4 Saint Mary's 1 | Box Score |


Semifinals: Saturday, Feb. 28 - 2 p.m.
No. 5 Bethel 6, No. 1 Gustavus 3 | Box Score |
No. 2 St. Thomas 3, No. 2 Concordia 2 | Box Score | 

Championship: Saturday, March 7 - Time: TBA
No. 5 Bethel at No. 2 St. Thomas | Mendota Heights, Minn. | 2014-15 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs Home Page