BLAINE, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's hockey team secured the No. 5 seed in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs with a 3-0 shutout of Bethel University on the final day of the regular season on Saturday evening at the National Sports Center.
After entering the day with a two-point lead over the College of Saint Benedict for the fifth and final playoff spot, St. Olaf (12-12-1, 9-8-1 MIAC) took care of its own business by shutting out Bethel (11-13-1, 6-12-0 MIAC) behind a hat trick from junior
Molly Terebayza and another shutout from first year
Baylyn Shankman. The victory punched the Oles' ticket to the MIAC Playoffs for the 11th time (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2022, 2023, 2025).
With the win, St. Olaf will travel to fourth-seeded Saint Mary's University for the lone quarterfinal on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. at SMU Ice Arena in Winona. The two teams split their weekend series last weekend, with both teams winning on their home ice.
Terebayza scored all three of St. Olaf's goals, tallying one midway through the second period, another early in the third, and an empty-netter in the final minute for the third hat trick of her collegiate career. The junior has scored a hat trick in each of her three seasons as an Ole.
Shankman and the St. Olaf defense took care of the rest, as the first-year goaltender stopped all 27 shots that came her way for her fifth shutout in as many collegiate starts. Shankman has saved all 146 shots she has faced over seven collegiate appearances spanning 361:31 between the pipes. Shankman's five shutouts are tied for the single-season program record with
Hannah Fritz's total of five from 2022-23.
Terebayza gave the Oles the only goal they would need at 11:41 of the second period off assists from senior
Sophie McBane and junior
Solvei Berg-Messerole. The two juniors connected again 2:16 into the third period to double St. Olaf's lead before Terebayza tacked on an empty-netter with 51 seconds remaining to finish off the hat trick.
Shankman made nine saves in the first period, seven in the second, and 11 more in the third to match her season high with 27 stops. Anna Hanson had 18 saves in the loss for the Royals, who held a 27-21 advantage in shots on goal in the game.
McBane helped St. Olaf to a 31-18 advantage at the faceoff dots by winning 17 of her 19 faceoffs. Bethel failed to convert on power plays in the second and third period, while the Oles got their lone chance on the power play late in the third and could not convert.
