ST. PAUL, Minn. – Three unanswered goals through the final two periods lifted the Bethel University men's hockey team to a season opening 5-2 win over Hamline at TRIA Arena Saturday evening.

Bethel's (1-0) special teams had plenty of work to do tonight going 1-for-3 on the power play and killing off all five of Hamline's (0-1) power plays.

Sophomore Luke Posner scored both of BU's first period goals. The first coming 33 seconds after Hamline's first goal 1:28 into the period. Senior captain Michael Piehler began his three-point night picking up the primary assists on both goals. Sophomore Blake Nelson picked up an assist on Posner's first goal while freshman Ben Ward tallied his first collegiate assist on the second.

An early penalty called against Bethel's Jacob Papesh in the second led Hamline to tie it up 2-2 with 10 seconds left on the power play. Freshman Carter Wagner gave the advantage right back to Bethel for the remainder of the game as his first collegiate goal at the 9:01 mark in the second stood as the game winner. Piehler expanded Bethel's lead to 4-2 before the intermission.

Newcomer Colin Mehren got in on the scoring with his first collegiate goal 3:55 into the third period. From there it was the Ridge Gerads show in the crease. The junior netminder tallied 12 of his 30 saves in the final 20 minutes. It was highlighted by five saves during the Pipers final power play.

In the faceoff circle, Bethel held the advantage 44-28 with Ward winning 17 of those and Jarrett Cammarata 12.

The Royals continue their non-conference stretch Tuesday, Feb. 2 when they host Saint Mary's at Bethel University Arena. With no fan attendance allowed this winter, catch the action live on the BU Royal Sports Network.