NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Sophomores Molly Terebayza and Solvei Berg-Messerole had four points apiece to lead the St. Olaf College women's hockey team to a 6-3 victory over the College of Saint Benedict on Saturday at St. Olaf Ice Arena.

Terebayza recorded the second hat trick of her collegiate career and added an assist, while Berg-Messerole tallied two goals and two assists to help St. Olaf (10-13-0, 4-12-0 MIAC) post its highest goal total of the season and earn a split with Saint Ben's (9-12-2, 5-9-2 MIAC). The Bennies entered the day in the hunt for a spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs but were eliminated from contention with results around the conference in games that started earlier in the day.

The game was part of St. Olaf's Ole Week of Women, in recognition of National Girls & Women in Sports Day. The Oles also raised awareness for mental health with Sophie's Squad in attendance and welcomed alumni back to campus for an alumni game prior to the game.

In addition to the four-point performances from Berg-Messerole and Terebayza, junior Iona Welsch handed out a career-high three assists in the win. Junior Rachel Wieland added goal, while sophomore Hannah Fritz picked up the first point of her collegiate career with an assist.

Coming off a 5-0 loss the night before in St. Cloud, St. Olaf fell behind just 3:10 into the game when Corrine Brown scored on a 2-on-1 rush just 3:10 into the opening period. The Bennies held onto the 1-0 lead at the first intermission after outshooting the Oles 12-9 in the opening 20 minutes.

St. Olaf flipped the game on its head with three goals in the span of 1:57 midway through the second period. Berg-Messerole started the flurry with a power-play goal at the 8:10 mark, which came after Fritz got the puck up into the neutral zone to Terebayza, who found Berg-Messerole, who weaved into the offensive zone and scored from the edge of the left circle.

Wieland netted her fifth goal of the season exactly halfway through the period off an assist from Welsch to give the Oles the lead for good. Off the ensuing faceoff, Berg-Messerole won the draw to Welsch, who drove into the offensive zone and slide the puck across for Terebayza to tap in just seven seconds later to make it a 3-1 game. Terebayza's first goal of the evening completed a stretch of three goals in 1:57 for the Oles.

Terebayza registered her second goal of the night on a one-timer after first year Julia Larson and Welsch combined behind the net to get the puck out to Terebayza at 14:59 to cap St. Olaf's four-goal middle period. Just 35 seconds later, Saint Ben's got the goal back when Aurora Opsahl walked in front from behind the net and scored on the backhand to make it a two-goal game heading into the third.

St. Olaf protected its two-goal lead until the Bennies got within one on a goal by Ava Stinnett with 5:44 to go in the third. A body-checking penalty on Saint Ben's 2:30 later gave the Oles their fifth power play of the game, and St. Olaf cashed in with its third power-play goal when Terebayza completed her hat trick with 1:19 remaining.

With time winding down, Berg-Messerole finished off her four-point game with an unassisted, empty-net goal, forcing a turnover in the neutral zone and holding off a Saint Ben's skater to throw the puck into the empty net. The four-point performance moved Berg-Messerole into the MIAC lead with 29 points this season.

Saint Ben's outshot St. Olaf by a 41-27 margin in the game but was 0-for-2 on the power play, compared to 3-for-5 for the Oles. Fritz collected her ninth win of the season by making a career-high 38 saves, in addition to the rare assist.

St. Olaf concludes its season with a series against nationally-ranked and MIAC regular-season champion Gustavus Adolphus College on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17. Puck drop for the series opener is set for 6 p.m. at St. Olaf Ice Arena on Friday evening.