The Bethel University women's hockey team defeated St. Olaf College by a 6-1 score at home on Friday night before settling for a 4-4 tie at St. Olaf on Saturday, despite racking up a season high with 52 shots on goal. For the series Bethel outshot the winless Oles 100-37. The Royals improve to 3-9-4 in the MIAC and 6-12-4 overall while St. Olaf drops to 0-20-3 overall and 0-13-3 in MIAC play.
Friday: Bethel 6, St. Olaf 1
The Royals waited nine minutes and 22 seconds before scoring their first goal of the game and never slowed down, scoring three times in the first period, twice in the second and once in the third. Five different Royals scored the six goals with
Courtney Johnston scoring once in the first period and once in the second. Bethel goal scorers where Johnston,
Cali Pearcy,
Bri Stafne,
Emma Ness, and
Payton Olson. Stafne's score was short-handed while Johnston's second goal was on a Bethel power play.
Mallory Tidona tended the first two periods in net for Bethel making eight saves with one goal allowed, while
Claire Belkholm made six saves in the third period.
Saturday: Bethel 4, St. Olaf 4 (OT)
The series finale in Northfield on Saturday was a back-and-forth affair from the beginning. The Royals scored first just 1:06 into the game and the Oles responded immediately with a goal 40 seconds later.
Sarina Goos scored the Bethel goal with an assist from
Payton Olson. The Royals took the lead back again shortly after with a
Courtney Johnston goal, her third of the series, at 3:26 in the first. But the lead was once again short-lived as the Oles scored at 7:17 in the first to make it 2-2 with four goals scored by the two teams in just over seven minutes.
The scoring would slow to a single goal each per period over the second and third frames. Goos scored her second goal of the game, again with an assist from Olson, midway through the second but once again the Oles responded quickly. St. Olaf scored just over two minutes later to draw back even at 3-3. Midway through the third period St. Olaf was able to break the back-and-forth string and took their first lead of the game with a power play goal at 11:08. Bethel was able to get the equalizer though as
Bailey Thompson scored with just 3:27 remaining, the second time in the last three weeks Thompson scored a late goal to tie the game and send it to overtime. Neither team was able to score in the extra five minutes however and the game ended in a 4-4 tie. Bethel outshot St. Olaf 52-22 in the game.
