BLAINE, Minn. - The Bethel University Men's Hockey team concluded its season Saturday afternoon by defeating the Concordia College Cobber's by a score of 4-3. To go along with the unusual warm temperatures in February, fans in attendance were treated to a heated affair that came down to the final seconds with the Royals coming out with the victory.
 
The Royals started out flying, scoring just two minutes into the game on a redirection goal by Dylan Webster with the assists going to Taylor Brown and senior Andrew Bjorklund. Concordia would fight back however, scoring two goals to take the lead going into the first intermission.
 
The second period again proved to be a back and forth contest with only one goal being scored by the Cobbers. Royals goalie Aaron Furlano made his second start in net in his first season with the team and was great once again finishing with 23 saves.
 
Down 3-1 going into the final period of the year, the Royals were not content sending their seniors off without one final hard-fought period. Webster once again found the back of the net after Kurtis Redding fought to get possession of the puck behind the net and proceeded to find Webster alone out in front of the net to get the game within one goal. With about three minutes left in the final period it was senior Al Nejmeh's goal in his final game for the Royals that tied the game up with the assists going to Senior Michael Bond and Justin Bonanno, setting up the final three minutes of the year to be the perfect ending for the three seniors playing in their final game. With 1:09 left in the third period after the Royals pressured Concordia with countless opportunities to score, Brown was on the side wall and passed back to find Lincoln Eiter at the blue line. Eiter's shot at the net and was able to get a redirection from Tucker Gran in front of the net attempting to screen the Cobber's netminder, putting the Royals up 4-3 and eventually for good. With minimal time left in the game, the Cobbers were not able to find the equalizer and the Royals found a way to close out the game in dramatic fashion.
 
The Royals also honored three seniors following the season finale. Mike Bond, Andrew Bjorklund and Al Nejmeh played their final games of their collegiate careers in the Navy and Gold Saturday.
 
The victory for the Royals ends their season on a high note finishing with a record of 3-20-2. With a lot of youth and depth still on the roster, the Royals look to the off season to get back to work and get healthy in the hopes of getting back on track next season.