BLAINE, Minn. – After earning a four-goal lead in the first period, the Bethel men's hockey team skated to a narrow 6-5 victory over the Hamline Pipers Friday evening. The win helps them secure a top two seed in the MIAC playoffs for the first time since 2007 and guarantees a home game in the semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Bethel is now 10-3-2 in MIAC play and 16-5-3 overall. They sit three points behind the conference leaders in Augsburg. BU would need a regulation win and an Augsburg loss to share the MIAC regular season crown with the Auggies.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Tyler Braccini kickstarted the Royals' four-goal opening period with two goals. The first, at 4:08, saw Braccini finish a shot off of an assist from
Tyler Kostelecky, and at 15:30, he walked the puck in himself and lobbed it into the upper left corner.
• Kostelecky added a goal of his own just thirty seconds later, taking the Piper goalie out to the right and finishing on the left to give the Royals a 3-0 lead.
• The Royals weren't finished with their first-period rampage as
Sam Wilhite received a pass from
Luke Posner and sniped the puck into the lower left corner of the goal at 18:05.
• The second period started strongly for the Royals as
Caydon Meyer battled through the offensive zone and found a wraparound goal putting the Royals up, 5-0, at 8:26.
• The Pipers managed to get onto the scoreboard at 15:44, but BU kept a dominant lead.
• Hamline shook things up in the third period, shocking the Royals with three goals in the opening four and a half minutes. One of those goals came with HU on the power play.
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Sam Wilhite managed to increase the goal score to a 6-4 Royal lead at 7:19, slinging the puck into the lower left-hand corner of the net just as he had before.
• Still, the Pipers answered back at 17:51 scoring just after pulling their goaltender and adding an extra skater.
UP NEXT
The Royals head to Hamline University's home ice at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul for an early 5 p.m. puck drop tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 17 in the regular season finale.
