On Saturday, Feb. 22, the St. Olaf Men’s Hockey team clinched their spot in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoffs with their 3-2 victory over Bethel University in the Skoglund Ice Arena. The Oles are placed as the No. 3 seed and will be playing against the No. 2 seed, Bethel, in the semifinals on Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m at Bethel University.
Their final game of the regular season was a spectacular one. After the puck drop, the Oles came out with lots of intensity, building up to Nicholas Sewecke ’28 earning St. Olaf the lead with a goal at 7:15 of the first period. Max Hamsted tied the game up for Bethel at 17:27 in the second period, and Tyler Braccini gained the lead with a goal at 7:15 in the third period. Quickly after, Connor Kalthoff ’25 tipped the puck to Matthew Pointer ’25 who tied up the game again. 20 seconds later, the game-winning goal was scored by Joey Kennelly ’27 unassisted. With one minute and 44 seconds remaining, Bethel pulled their goalie to generate three on goal shots, all blocked by Thomas Lalonde ’25.
Left-wing forward Tony Leahy ’27 gave insight into his incredible experience on the team. He spoke about how their team culture is built upon great players differentiating themselves, and how each person is brought on to play their part in the team’s success.
“No one deviates from the way we should play… and everyone is one on the same page,” he said.
Trust has been the key factor in their accomplishments.
As Leahy likes to say, having “stick-to-it-tiveness” and “doing it for the guy next to you, not yourself, is how hockey teams are successful.”
The Oles hope to carry these positive team values into their MIAC playoff journey.
