ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's hockey stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to claim its first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since 2012 with a 5-3 win over No. 13-ranked Hamline University in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) series opener on Thursday night at TRIA Rink.

In its first game in 40 days, St. Olaf (5-8-1, 2-4-1 MIAC) trailed Hamline (10-4-0, 5-2-0 MIAC) by a 3-1 margin before scoring twice late in the second period and twice more in the third to knock off the Pipers, who entered the night in a three-way tie for first place in the MIAC standings. Hamline was part of a two-way tie for No. 13 in this week's USCHO.com weekly poll and was ranked No. 12 in this week's DIIIHockeyNews Top 15.

The win snapped St. Olaf's 40-game losing streak against nationally-ranked teams that dated back to a 2-2 tie at the then-ninth-ranked University of St. Thomas on Feb. 19, 2016. The Oles began the night winless in their last 58 games (0-56-2) against nationally-ranked teams since a 5-2 victory at then-fourth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College on Nov. 20, 2012. The win was the fourth in 87 games (4-80-3) for St. Olaf against top-15 teams in the USCHO.com poll archives since 2006-07.

First year Bella LaMere and junior Solvei Berg-Messerole led 11 Oles with at least one point in the game with a goal and an assist apiece. First year Gianna Kowalkoski, sophomore Andi Huselid, and first year Brynn Etzell also scored in the win, as first years tallied three of St. Olaf's five goals in the victory.

Junior Hannah Fritz stopped the final 18 shots on goal Hamline mustered after the Pipers took a 3-1 lead 6:20 into the second period and finished with 35 saves. Kendra Nordick, who entered the game with the 15th-best goals-against average in the country (1.27), had 24 saves in the loss for the hosts, who were playing their fifth game of 2025.

Hamline tallied the lone goal of the opening period at the 12:03 mark when Annika Lindgren fired the puck in up high from the right side after toe-dragging to the front of the net and initially losing control of the puck. Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power play in the period, with St. Olaf's opportunity expiring seconds before the end of the period.

In the second, the Oles tied the game just 1:33 in on Kowaloski's first collegiate goal, as the first year scored on a rush from the left side after getting the puck from LaMere and her own blue line. First year Reece Swanson also collected her first collegiate assist on the goal. Hamline answered just nine seconds later, however, as Ashlyn Abraamson scored in a 3-on-1 rush right off the ensuing faceoff.

After Isla Ryskamp scored on a rebound 6:20 into the second to push the Pipers' lead to 3-1, the Oles had consecutive power plays near the midpoint of the period but could not find a goal. Fritz kept St. Olaf's deficit at two by denying Nikki Olund on a breakaway in the final eight minutes after the period after the Oles were caught on a change.

Late in the second, Huselid and Berg-Messerole scored goals 55 seconds apart to tie the game at 3-3 after two. Huselid netted her second goal of the season by tucking in the rebound after a shot by senior Kate Carfagnini before Berg-Messerole flipped in a rebound off a shot by classmate Molly Terebayza to tie it up with her team-leading fifth goal of the season.

Like the second period, St. Olaf struck early in the third when LaMere scored from just outside the crease after Berg-Messerole picked out the first year in front from just inside the blue line. Hamline nearly tied the game on the power play with less than seven minutes to go, but Olund's shot rang off the post and stayed out. Etzell sealed the win with a shot through traffic from the right point with 2:49 remaining.

St. Olaf will look for the sweep in the series finale on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. at St. Olaf Ice Arena.