BLAINE, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's hockey team's push for a playoff spot will come down to the final day of the regular season after a 5-2 series-opening loss to Bethel University on Friday night at Bethel University Arena.

Bethel (13-9-2, 7-8-2 MIAC) took a 2-0 lead inside the first eight minutes, but St. Olaf (10-13-1, 7-9-1 MIAC) got the next two goals to tie the game midway through the second period. The Royals broke the tie with two goals in the span of 1:09 late in the second and added a power-play goal midway through the third to become just the second team to score five goals against the Oles.

With the loss, St. Olaf fell three points behind Bethel for the fifth and final spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs, meaning the Oles must win the teams' regular-season finale in regulation on Saturday to get into the field. If the two teams finish tied with 24 points, St. Olaf would grab the No. 5 seed by virtue of the overtime wins tiebreaker with two to Bethel's one.

Goals from Amelia McQuay and Myla Lubken less than two minutes apart got the Royals out to a 2-0 lead less than eight minutes in. Senior Solvei Berg-Messerole halved the Oles' deficit midway through the first period with an unassisted goal as the senior skated nearly the length of the ice with the puck before scoring from the top of the left circle. The goal was the 44th of Berg-Messerole's career, moving her into a tie for sixth place in program history.

Bethel maintained its 2-1 lead until senior Molly Terebayza outskated a Bethel skater off a stretch pass from first year Mackinley Ronan and scored from low in the right circle at 11:32 of the second to tie it at 2-2. Terebayza's goal was her team-leading 11th of the season and brought her level with Nicole Stumpf '13 for third in program history with 47 career goals.

Olivia Martin broke the tie for Bethel at 15:57 of the second before Lubken got her second of the night just 1:09 later to make it 4-2 after two. Sophie Martin tallied the lone goal of the third on the power play at 9:42.

Bethel outshot St. Olaf by a 42-19 margin in the game and took advantage of its lone power play in a game that included just three total minor penalties. First year Ray Anderson made 23 saves in the final 34:05 for the Oles after senior Hannah Fritz left the game with an injury in the first minute of the second period.

Puck drop for the Oles' must-win regular-season finale on Saturday, Feb. 21 is set for 4 p.m. at St. Olaf Ice Arena.