NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's hockey team was eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the regular season with a 3-2 loss to Bethel University on Saturday at St. Olaf Ice Arena.
St. Olaf (10-14-1, 7-10-1 MIAC) began the day knowing a win would lock up the No. 5 seed in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs and held a pair of one-goal leads, but Bethel (14-9-2, 8-8-2 MIAC) completed a weekend sweep by scoring three third-period goals to claim the final playoff spot. Kallie Abrahamson Tibbetts scored twice in the third for the Royals, including the game-winner on the power play at the 12:23 mark.
The loss brought an end to St. Olaf's eight-member senior class of
Hannah Fritz,
MaKenna Beaver,
Ivy Ray,
Emma Aune,
Emma Heath,
Solvei Berg-Messerole,
Molly Terebayza, and
Carley Tuman. The class helped lead the Oles to four seasons in a row with double-digit wins and won 46 games over the last four seasons.
With the game still scoreless, Berg-Messerole gave the Oles their first lead of the game with an unassisted goal at 4:36 of the second period for the 45th goal of her career. After collecting the puck in her own defensive zone, the senior carried the puck into the offensive zone, drove to the net, and flipped home a backhand to open the scoring.
Amelia McQuay tied the game for Bethel just 1:31 into the third period, but the tie lasted fewer than four minutes as Terebayza put St. Olaf back on top 3:59 later with a power-play goal. After a loose puck found her stick, Terebayza threw a backhand towards the net that found its way in for the 48th goal of her career. Terebayza's 48 goals rank second in program history, while Berg-Messerole's 45 are sixth-best.
The Royals took advantage of a power play of their own to tie the game when Abrahamson Tibbets scored on a one-timer off a cross-ice pass at 12:23 of the third. Needing a regulation win to grab the final playoff spot, St. Olaf pulled first-year goaltender
Ray Anderson late and Bethel took advantage to win it on an empty-netter by Abrahamson Tibbetts with 20.6 seconds remaining.
In just her second collegiate start, Anderson made at least 10 saves in all three periods and finished with 34 for the game. Ashley Gustafson Hess totaled 24 stops for Bethel. The Royals were 1-for-1 on the power play in the game, while the Oles were 1-for-5.
