BLAINE, Minn. – The fifth-seeded St. Olaf College men's hockey team saw its season come to an end with a 5-2 loss to fourth-seeded Bethel University in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Wednesday night at Bethel University Arena at the National Sports Center.

In the fourth meeting between the two programs this season, Bethel (14-11-1) broke a 2-2 tie with three third-period goals to oust St. Olaf (12-9-5) from the tournament. First years Carl Ericksen and Connor Jensen scored in the loss for the Oles, who made their fifth consecutive playoff appearance and 17th in program history.

The game marked the 15th meeting between St. Olaf and Bethel since the start of the 2022-23 season and the third consecutive season the two teams met in the MIAC Playoffs. The Oles defeated the Royals in Blaine in the 2024 championship game and the 2025 semifinals.

The loss brought an end to the careers of St. Olaf's five seniors: Tyler Laureault, Jonathan Panisa, Jack Boxer, Gunnar Johnson, and Kelijah McElroy. The senior class helped the Oles to 54 wins, four consecutive MIAC Playoff appearances, and one NCAA Tournament appearance, while finishing over .500 in all four seasons.

Bethel got on the board early with a power-play goal from Joe Westlund at 3:23 of the opening period, but St. Olaf evened it up midway through the first with his second goal of the season. After Ericksen's initial shot, the puck popped up into the air before senior Kelijah McElroy eventually slid the puck into the crease for Ericksen to tap over the line.

The Royals took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission on a goal by Tyler Kostelecky at 15:05 of the opening period as Kostelecky flipped a rebound off the pipe into an open net. Jensen got the lone goal of the second period with the Oles on the power play at the 8:06 mark, firing a shot from the left point through traffic after getting the puck from Johnson and first year Connor McNaughton.

Westlund's second goal of the night seven minutes into the third period broke the 2-2 tie as the eventual game-winning goal for Bethel. Tyler Braccini added a goal on a breakaway with seven minutes to go before Ethan Hull scored an empty-netter with 2:15 remaining.

First year Ryan Nolan made a career-high 50 saves in the loss for St. Olaf, stopping 25 shots in the first period, 15 in the second, and 10 in the third. Austin Ryman had 30 saves for Bethel.