ST. PETER, Minn. – The third-seeded St. Olaf College men's hockey team fell, 2-1, to top-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College in the championship game of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Saturday evening at Don Roberts Ice Rink.

In its third appearance in the title game in the last four seasons, St. Olaf (14-10-3) took a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the second period on a goal by sophomore Tyler Green, but Riku Brown scored both goals for Gustavus (16-9-2) to lift the Gusties to their first MIAC Playoff title since 2012 and the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hock Championship. Brown tied the game less than four minutes after Green's goal and tallied the game-winner 2:10 into the third period for the hosts.

Saturday marked St. Olaf's fifth appearance in the championship game of the MIAC Playoffs (2006, 2012, 2022, 2024, 2025), as the Oles were in search of their fourth playoff crown and third in the last four seasons. St. Olaf finished the season with its third consecutive 14-win season after not having won that many games since 2008-09.

The loss brought an end to the careers of St. Olaf's nine seniors: Ben Luscko, Sean Walsh, Jonathan Young, Eric Brown, Matthew Pointer, Connor Kalthoff, Cody Sherman, Tyler Cooper, and Thomas Lalonde. The class has helped the Oles to 53 wins, four MIAC Playoff appearances, two MIAC Playoff titles, and two NCAA Tournament appearances in their careers.

After a scoreless first period that saw St. Olaf outshoot Gustavus by an 8-3 margin in shots on goal, the Oles made the breakthrough 8:02 into the second period on Green's sixth goal of the season. Sophomore Tony Leahy set up the goal, getting the puck off the left boards, getting by a Gustie, and picking out Green in the slot for the opening goal.

Gustavus struck back just 3:49 later, however, as Brown weaved from right to left in the offensive zone and scored from the left circle to tie the game. The score remained 1-1 until Brown collected a pass while driving towards the net and netted the game-winner at 2:10 of the third.

St. Olaf got first year Matthew Malin off the ice with 1:04 left for the extra skater and got three shots on goal, but Colin Androlewicz stopped all three to help the Gusties hang on. Androlewicz made 12 of his 26 saves in the third period for Gustavus, while Malin had 11 of his 20 in the final period for St. Olaf.

In a game that included just five penalties, St. Olaf was 0-for-2 on the power play, while Gustavus was 0-for-1. Both teams' power plays in the first period were limited to nine seconds after the Gusties took a cross-checking penalty shortly after the Oles were assessed a penalty for too many players on the ice.