BLAINE, Minn. – The fifth-seeded St. Olaf College men's hockey team will travel to fourth-seeded Bethel University in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Hockey Playoffs on Wednesday night.

St. Olaf (12-8-5, 8-6-2 MIAC) and Bethel (13-11-1, 9-7-0 MIAC) will meet in the MIAC Playoffs for the third season in a row in a 7 p.m. start at Bethel University Arena at the National Sports Center. The game will mark the third meeting in less than one week between the two programs, who closed out the regular season with a split last weekend.

Per MIAC policy, all tickets will be sold and purchased online via HomeTown Ticketing. There will be no cash sales at any venue, but spectators may purchase tickets using a mobile device. Ticket prices are $12 for general admission (plus HTT service charge) and $3 for students with ID (plus HTT service charge). Children five and under are free. MIAC passes will be accepted.

This year, the MIAC adopted a one-year pay-per-view trial for the live streams of all team-sport playoffs on the MIAC Sports Network. Individual games will cost $10 apiece and a "championship pass" to stream the entire tournament live will be offered for $25. On-demand access to playoff games will be available after the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.

The MIAC Sports Network Help Page provides guidance and links to help fans navigate the streaming platform. Hudl Customer Support is also available by email or 24/7 chat to assist with any issues.

The winner of Wednesday's quarterfinal will advance to take on top-seeded Saint John's University in the semifinals at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The other semifinal will see third-seeded Saint Mary's University travel to second-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College in a 5 p.m. puck drop in St. Peter.

St. Olaf extended its playoff streak to five consecutive seasons and qualified for the MIAC Playoffs for the 17th time overall (1988, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026). The Oles are 16-14-0 all-time in the tournament but are 8-0-2 in the field in the last four seasons, including winning two of the program's three MIAC Playoff titles during that stretch (2006, 2022, 2024).

Bethel is in the MIAC Playoffs for the ninth time (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026) and the third season in a row. The Royals hold a 7-8-1 all-time record in the tournament and won their lone MIAC Playoff title in 2007.

The Oles and Royals split their series to close out the regular season last weekend, with each team winning on the other team's home ice. After Bethel shut out St. Olaf by a 2-0 score in Northfield on Friday, first year Willy Johnson scored late in overtime to give the Oles a 4-3 win in Blaine the next day. Earlier in the season, the Oles and Royals skated to a 1-1 tie in a non-conference game. The two programs have played 14 times over the last four seasons, with St. Olaf holding a slim 7-5-2 advantage over that stretch.

Wednesday night's game will be the fourth meeting between Bethel and St. Olaf in the MIAC Playoffs, with the Oles winning two of the previous three. After the Royals won the first meeting in the 2007 semifinals, fifth-seeded St. Olaf knocked off second-seeded Bethel in the 2024 championship game before the third-seeded Oles eliminated the second-seeded Royals in the semifinals last season.