MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn.—The stage was set for a storybook ending Saturday afternoon, as the Bethel University women's hockey team met the University of St. Thomas in the championship game of the 2016 MIAC Playoffs.

The meeting between the Royals (15-10-2) and Tommies (20-5-2) was the second consecutive title contest featuring these two opponents and the grudge match between the two regular-season co-champions. But unfortunately for BU the storybook finish favored UST, as the No. 9-ranked and No. 1-seeded Tommies outlasted Bethel by a final score of 2-1.
 
The Saturday matinee started completely different than a year ago. Bethel led 1-0 in and then 2-1 in 2015 before falling 3-2 in the third period.
 
But this year the Royals trailed St. Thomas 1-0 early before Lauren Kolak went coast-to-coast near the end of the first period to knot the game at 1-1.  After neither squad scored in the second frame, UST scored the go-ahead goal 3:31 into the third. Despite the scoring in Saturday's tilt being totally opposite of 2015, the result remained the same, as the Tommies held on to win by one goal.
 
Bethel goalie Michelle Klimstra stopped 33 shots throughout the 60 minutes of play, while her counterpart across the ice, Mackenzie Torpey, recorded 21 saves.
 
Wendy Roberts led the team in shots fired, finishing the day with five. Caroline Kivisto tallied four, while Kolak and Briita Nelson each had three.
 
Neither team converted on their power play opportunities, as UST finished 0-3 and Bethel finished 0-4 while playing with an extra skater.
 
The result of Saturday's contest was not what the Royals hoped for, but Bethel's squad has much to be proud of this season. They became the first team in program history to be crowned MIAC Champions with 26 points against conference opponents. Unfortunately, they'll say goodbye to seven players graduating at the end of the year, who not only helped BU reach consecutive MIAC Championship games, but also led them to 62-37-9 record (44-21-7 MIAC) over the past four seasons.