BLAINE, Minn. - The Bethel men's hockey team's season has came to an end after suffering a 6-5 overtime loss to Hamline on senior night at the Super Rink.
Hamline outshot Bethel by a margin of 45-35 in this physical and back and forth matchup. Bethel dug out of a 3-1 hole to take a 5-3 in the last period only to see the Pipers score two consecutive times in the third before Sam Dabrowski scored 55 seconds into overtime ending the Royals season on a sour note.
Hamline got on the board first in this matchup with a goal when Sam Dabrowski cut to the slot and blew a shot past the blocker of Travis Allen giving the Pipers the 1-0 lead at 11:43. A Hamline penalty to Dabrowski gave the Royals a 4-on-3 power play. Tyler Braccini capitalized on the power play with a top corner snipe to even up the score at 1-1 at 15:37. Hamline struck back after Ike Taraszewski buried a centering pass from Joe Martin with 1:55 remaining in the first period. With 36 seconds left, Carson Simon added another late goal to put Hamline up 3-1 going into the break.
Bethel struck back in the second when a Tyler Braccini shot from the point slipped through the five hole of Hamline goaltender Kevin Lake and got the Royals to within one. The Royals then tied the game up when Ben Ward scored on the power play at 7:22 into the second, giving the Royals momentum going into the intermission.
The Royals took advantage of their momentum and carried it into the final frame when Adam Bricker sent a cross crease pass to Jarrett Cammarata who buried and gave the Royals a 4-3 advantage 3:57 into the third. The Royals then added to their lead when a Sam Wilhite shot found twine at 8:48 of the third to make the score 5-3 in favor of Bethel. Bethel took a delay of game penalty later in the third, which gave the Pipers a penalty shot. Joe Martin then beat the glove of Travis Allen on the penalty shot to cut the Royals lead to 5-4. The Pipers struck again shortly after at 13:19 of the third period when a point shot from Hamline found the upper portion of the net to tie the game at 5.
The overtime period did not last long as Sam Dabrowski beat bethel goaltender Travis Allen 55 second into overtime to end bethel's season.
The loss knocks the Royals out of MIAC playoff contention. Bethel finishes the season with a 10-14-1 overall and 5-10-1 in the MIAC.
