NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The third-seeded St. Olaf College men's hockey team will take on top-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College in the championship game of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Saturday evening.
After a 3-1 semifinal victory over second-seeded Bethel University, St. Olaf (14-9-3) will face regular-season champion Gustavus (15-9-2) at 6 p.m. at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter on Saturday, March 8. The winner will earn the MIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championships, as well as the postseason conference title.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's championship game and must be purchased online through
HomeTown Ticketing. Tickets are $12 for general admission, $3 for students with ID, and children five and under are free of charge. MIAC passes will be accepted. The St. Olaf Athletic Department and the Office of Student Activities are sponsoring a fan bus for St. Olaf students (must bring ID). The $10 fee covers transportation to and from St. Peter and a ticket to the game. Spots on the bus remain
available here.
St. Olaf returned to the championship game of the MIAC Playoffs for the third time in four seasons by scoring three third-period goals to down Bethel by a
3-1 score at a sold-out Bethel University Arena on Saturday evening. After trailing 1-0 after two, the Oles got goals from first year
Nicholas Sewecke, senior
Ben Luscko, and junior
Jonathan Panisa to improve to 8-1 in MIAC Playoff games – all on the road – in the last four seasons.
The semifinal victory moved St. Olaf to 16-13-0 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs, as the Oles are in the midst of their 16th appearance in the tournament. Saturday night will mark the fifth appearance for St. Olaf in the championship game (2006, 2012, 2022, 2024, 2025). The Oles have won three of their previous four MIAC title games, as they seek to defend their title and win the tournament for the third time in four seasons.
Gustavus is in the MIAC Playoffs for the 27th time – the most of any current MIAC members – and is 24-26-1 all-time in the tournament after its 6-2 victory over Concordia-Moorhead in the semifinals. The Gusties are in the championship game for the first time since 2018 and the 12th time overall, as Gustavus seeks its sixth MIAC Playoff title.
Saturday's game will mark the fifth meeting between St. Olaf and Gustavus in the MIAC Playoffs and the second encounter in the championship game. The second-seeded Gusties topped the fourth-seeded Oles, 4-2, in the title game in 2012. Each of the other three postseason meetings have all come in the quarterfinals, as the teams have each won two of the previous four playoff matchups.
