St. Olaf Men’s Hockey swept Gustavus Adolphus College, and stumbled against St. John’s University in the first half of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The games against Gustavus Adolphus took place on Nov. 14-15 with St. John’s occurring the following weekend.
According to a St. Olaf College Athletics game report, key moments from the Gustavus Adolphus game weekend included an unassisted score by Cody Kempf ’29 marking his first collegiate goal, and a first collegiate goal for Evan Smutney ’29 on home ice. The final score was 5-2 for the Oles — a shift from last season where Gustavus defeated St. Olaf in the MIAC Championship. The biggest difference in shifting the victory towards the Oles this year was their style of play.
“They’re a pretty fast team and they can transition the puck really well. When we play their game, they’re really good,” Tyler Green ’27 said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “We play our game by forward checking their defensemen, playing physical, and not thinking they have a lot against us. Our game, [which] is better than their game, is what helped us out a lot this weekend.”
In addition to sticking with their own game mentality, having a diverse roster plays to the team’s strength. Green expressed how their speed and physicality is incredibly effective. By integrating the speed of the smaller players and physicality of the bigger players, they create a functional way to play. The mental aspects of the game are also crucial for the team.
Despite their initial win in the 2025-2026 MIAC opener, St. Olaf Men’s Hockey saw their five-game win streak end in their series against St. John’s on Nov. 22-23. The weekend wasn’t a complete loss though for the Oles: Matthew Malin ’28 had a career-high of 56 save performances, breaking the St. Olaf record since 2003. St. Olaf Men’s Hockey will continue their regular season with a game against Bethel University on Jan. 3. Following that, the team will resume their fight in the MIAC on Jan. 9-10 against Hamline University.
