MOORHEAD, Minn. – First year Sean Walsh netted the game-winning goal with 1:01 remaining in the third period to give the No. 7 seed St. Olaf College men's hockey team a 3-2 victory over No. 2 seed Concordia-Moorhead in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Saturday afternoon at Moorhead Sports Center.

After forcing a turnover deep in the Concordia-Moorhead (13-10-3) defensive zone, Walsh slid the puck to junior Ashton Altmann in front and Altmann got it right back to Walsh for his 11th goal of the season to send St. Olaf (9-14-3) into the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs. The victory sent the Oles to the semifinals for the 11th time in program history in the program's first playoff game since 2014.

In the semifinals, St. Olaf will face the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 6 seed Saint Mary's and No. 3 seed Saint John's on the road at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. The Cardinals and Johnnies square off on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. in St. Cloud.

After taking five of a possible six points from the Cobbers during the regular season, St. Olaf grabbed the game's first goal midway through the opening period, as first year Jonathan Young turned the puck home in front off a feed from classmate Matthew Pointer. The goal was Young's fourth of the season and his first since Jan. 18.

Concordia-Moorhead struck back with 28 seconds remaining in the first period to tie the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes, as Kevin Ness jammed the puck home after Tyler Bossert threw the puck at the net from near the goal line on the left side. Early in the second period, the Cobbers took a 2-1 lead when Keaton Leininger fired a shot on the turn from the right circle over the shoulder of sophomore Lukas Haugen at the 4:28 mark.

The hosts held the 2-1 lead for nearly 14 minutes before sophomore Noah Heisler blasted home a one-timer off a feed from first year Troy Bowditch from behind the net to tie the game at 2-2. The goal was Heisler's first in 22 games since netting his first collegiate goal in a 6-3 loss to UW-Superior on Nov. 6.

St. Olaf was whistled for a minor penalty with five seconds remaining in the second period and another 1:37 into the third but killed off both penalties – including 18 seconds of 5-on-3 time – to keep the game tied at 2-2 and set up Walsh's heroics. The Cobbers called timeout immediately after Walsh's goal and pulled their goalie with 33 seconds to go, but Haugen made a save on Cole O'Connell with five seconds to go to preserve the win.

Haugen picked up the win by stopping 29 of the 31 shots he faced, including making double-digit saves in both the second and third periods. Jackson Nelson had 19 saves in the loss for Concordia-Moorhead.

The victory improved the Oles' all-time record in the MIAC Playoffs to 9-12-0. St. Olaf will seek its first appearance in the championship game of the MIAC Playoffs since 2012 on Wednesday night.