Nothing came easy for Bethel Saturday night. Not that it was expected to. Up against a tough and talented St. Scholastica squad, the second-seeded Royals knew if they were going to punch a ticket to the MIAC tourney final, they’d have to earn it.
And they did. It just took a couple of overtime periods to finish the job.
In the end, the final glory moment of the night belonged to Jack Brown, who found the puck amid a little chaos in front of the net and punched it home 11 seconds into the second OT period.
That goal gave Bethel a 2-1 win and the opportunity to now host a conference title game for the first time since 2007.
The Royals (18-5-3) led 1-0 after one period thanks to a goal by Justin Kelley a little over 11 minutes in.
The Saints (15-10-1) answered in the third, scoring off a power play goal from Kieran Chung at the 13:50 mark of the third.
Neither team scored the rest of the way or in the first OT session. But the Royals, thanks to 40 saves from Austin Ryman and a clutch goal by Brown, survived this playoff thriller and tied the record for wins in a season.
Oles headed to MIAC final
Never bet against St. Olaf come MIAC tournament time.
Seeded fifth in the tournament, the Oles stunned top-seed Augsburg on the road with a 4-0 win Saturday and are headed back to the championship game for the second time in three seasons.
Thomas Lalonde made 32 saves, helping to fuel the shutout win over an Auggies team that had not been blanked on the scoreboard on their own ice since December of 2017.
St. Olaf was also a heavy underdog the last time it made it to the conference final and ended up beating Augsburg for the crown. And its success is a testament to the way it handles life away from home. Saturday’s victory was the sixth on the road in the postseason in the last three years.
Four different players scored for the Oles (13-11-3), with Sean Walsh, Gunnar Johnson, Ben Luscko and Eric Brown all finding the back of the net against Augsburg (15-9-2).
Lalonde took care of the rest recording his second consecutive shutout win of the year and the fifth of his career, giving him the most in program history.
St. Olaf has won its last three games and will be playing in the MIAC tourney for the fourth time in program history. The Oles have scored three or more goals in each of their last three wins.
Bulldogs are playing for the title again
Reigning NCHA tourney champion Adrian will get its chance to keep the trophy after beating Aurora 4-0 Saturday in a semifinal showdown.
Ranked third in the USCHO.com poll, the top-seeded Bulldogs dominated the action, getting a couple of goals from Zachary Heintz and another two from Ryan Pitoscia.
They also got another solid outing from Dershahn Stewart, who made 19 saves and helped Adrian keep hope alive of hoisting another Harris Cup. Bradley Somers contributed in a big way as well, dishing out two assists.
Adrian (22-5-1) set the tone early against the Spartans (15-12-1), scoring twice in the first period and ended up outshooting its opponent 42-19.
It’s the fifth consecutive win for the Bulldogs, who also improved to 14-1 at home. They’ve outscored the opposition 24-3 in the tournament and haven’t scored less than four goals in a game since Feb. 3 when they lost 6-2 to rival St. Norbert.
Green Knights punch ticket to final
Just call Liam Fraser clutch. And call St. Norbert a winner.
Fraser delivered an overtime goal against Trine in a battle of nationally ranked teams Saturday, helping the second-seeded Green Knights prevail 4-3 and advance to the NCHA tournament title game.
Fraser scored at the 2:57 mark of OT, getting the puck from Dayton Deics on a 2-on-1 opportunity before cashing in for 10th-ranked St. Norbert (21-6).
No. 11 Trine (20-8) trailed 1-0 after T.J. Koufis scored at the 8:54 mark of the opening period.
The Thunder answered 33 seconds into period No. 2, with Sam Antenucci scoring to tie the game. Trine then surged in front 2-1 when Thad Marcola scored five minutes later.
St. Norbert eventually tied the game on a goal by Braden Lindstrom and they led 3-2 less than a minute into the third on a goal by Logan Dombrowsky.
But that lead didn’t last. Bobby Price scored off a rebound at the 8:59 mark, tying the game one final time at 3-3.
Winners of six in a row, St. Norbert is now seeking its first NCHA tourney title since 2019.
Perfect 10 for the Pointers
It’s late February and we all know where UW-Stevens Point is headed. Yep. The WIAC championship game for the 10th consecutive season.
The top-seeded Pointers punched their ticket this time with a 4-2 win over UW-River Falls Saturday to close out a series sweep of the Falcons.
The game was tied twice. First at 1-1 and then 2-2. Then, with under eight minutes to play in regulation, Cody Moline tipped in the eventual game winner. David Hill added an empty net goal in the final 26 seconds.
The seventh-ranked Pointers (20-5-2) scored three of their four goals in the third period. Alex Proctor did his part in goal, stopping 21 shots. Dysen Skinner racked up 30 saves.
Conor Witherspoon and Fletcher Anderson also scored scored goals for UW-Stevens Point, which is hosting the Commissioner’s Cup final for the eighth consecutive year. The Pointers are 12-1-2 at home.
The Falcons (16-10-3) got goals from Matt Clark and Burke Simpson.
Friday’s series opener was close as well as the two teams tied at 4-4. Proctor stopped 34 shots. Dean Buchholz and Skinner combined for 35 saves for UW-River Falls.
Blugolds bounce back and advance
UW-Stout stole game one from second-seeded UW-Eau Claire in their WIAC semifinal series Friday as the Blue Devils scored twice in the second period and never looked back in a 2-1 win.
Saturday was a different story for the Blugolds (17-8-2), who won the second game by a 5-2 score and then took the decisive mini game 2-1 over the Blue Devils (13-14-2).
