The St. Olaf men’s and women’s hockey teams made appearances in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoffs before inevitably closing out the season.
The men’s and women’s hockey teams hit the ice on Feb. 24 in the MIAC quarterfinals.
The men’s hockey team advanced to the semi-finals after their 4-3 defeat over Concordia-Moorhead.
The first period opened with a goal from Concordia-Moorhead. St. Olaf bit back in the second period with two goals from Matthew Pointer ’25 and Tyler Cooper ’25 respectively. The fight did not stop in the third period, with Concordia-Moorhead bringing the game to a tie at 2-2. Shortly after, Kelijah McElroy ’26 brought the Oles back into the lead, with Troy Bowditch ’25 scoring the fourth goal only a minute and 10 seconds later.
The men’s team lost 3-2 to St. Scholastica in the semifinals on Feb. 26.
St. Scholastica dominated the first period, scoring two goals. Connor Kalthoff ’25 put Oles on the board in the second period, before St. Scholastica hit another puck in the net. The Oles scored another goal, this time by Tyler Cooper ’25, as the second period neared the end. The game finished with neither team scoring in the third period.
The St. Olaf women’s hockey team’s playoff run was also stopped short, losing 2-1 to Hamline University in overtime in their first home playoff game since 2012.
Defender MaKenna Beaver ’26 put the Oles in the lead after scoring within the first five minutes of the game. The Oles remained on top until the second period when Hamline hit the puck in the net.
The teams remained tied as the third period ended, causing the game to go into sudden death overtime. Hamline broke away and scored, ending the St. Olaf women’s hockey team season.
With the women’s team going out after one game, and the men’s team after two, the St. Olaf Hockey MIAC run is officially over. Despite the early exits from play both teams, have demonstrated strong records of growth and perserverance in the past few years. This effort makes anticipation for next season contniue to rise as fans wait for the Oles to reappear on the ice.
