NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The No. 10-seeded St. Olaf College women's hockey team begins the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs with a trip to No. 7-seeded Bethel University in the opening round on Wednesday evening.

St. Olaf (9-16, 3-15 MIAC) opens the tournament as the No. 10 seed and takes on Bethel (7-10-2, 5-6-2 MIAC) in one of two first-round games in the all-comers tournament. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Bethel University Arena at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

Fans are permitted to attend the game but must be properly masked per MIAC policy. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for students/children six and over. Children five and under get in free. MIAC passes will be honored but no other passes will be accepted. Fans unable to attend the game in-person can follow along via live video and live stats.

The winner of Wednesday night's quarterfinal will advanced to take on second-seeded Hamline in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. Wednesday's other quarterfinal matchup sees ninth-seeded St. Kate's visit eighth-seeded Concordia-Moorhead for a 5 p.m. start in Moorhead.

St. Olaf is making its ninth appearance in the MIAC Playoffs since the tournament began in 2000 and is in the field for the first time since 2012. All 10 teams in the conference qualified for the tournament this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic altering the number of games teams have played. The Oles are 3-8 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs, winning games in 2006, 2009, and 2010 to advance to the semifinals.

Bethel won a pair of low-scoring games when the two teams met in the regular season on Jan. 21-22. The Royals got goals from Lindsay Albers and Emily Wiltse and a 22-save shutout from Mallory Tidona to post a 2-0 win in Blaine in the opener. An early goal from Brynn Swenson and Tidona's second-straight shutout – a 25-save performance – was enough to give Bethel a 1-0 win the following afternoon in Northfield.

The Oles and Royals are meeting for just the second time in the MIAC Playoffs. The one previous meeting came in St. Olaf's last game in the MIAC Playoffs, a 5-4 overtime loss to Bethel in the 4/5 game in the quarterfinals on Feb. 28, 2012.

Junior Annika Patterson is St. Olaf's leading scorer this season with 17 points on nine goals and eight assists. Her nine goals and 17 points are both the most by an Ole in a season since Jane Vezina '18 had 15 goals and 22 points in 2017-18. First years have scored 21 of St. Olaf's 40 goals this season, as Sophie McBane and Iona Welsch have netted five goals apiece.

Senior Ivy Shonka has been the Oles' primary goaltender this season, starting 16 of her 18 appearance between the pipes, and owns a 5-10-0 record with a 3.17 goals-against average and .900 save percentage. Classmate Grace Boswell-Healey is 4-5-0 with a 2.65 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in 12 appearances (eight starts).