After spending the entire season ranked in the top 15, #9-ranked Hamline women’s hockey fell, 2-4, to the #17-ranked College of St. Benedict in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoff semifinals on Feb. 28.
The Pipers were hot through the final stretch of the season, winning six straight from Jan. 31 to Feb. 20, including both games they played against St. Ben’s.
That streak was snapped in their second match of a back-to-back against Gustavus Adolphus in a 1–4 loss. That loss bumped Hamline down a seed in the MIAC playoffs, netting them the No. 2 seed in the bracket. After which they headed into the match versus St. Ben’s rather than a would-be game against Gustavus as the No. 1 seed.
“I think the final game was a culmination of a tough Friday [Feb. 20th] night game and Gustavus, while not having the record they generally do, is a top team and may push for the NCAA tournament again,” head coach Jake Bobrowski said via email.
One of Hamline’s largest strengths throughout the season was their depth, with nine players having at least 15 points by the end of the season. The postseason, however, is a different beast.
“Depth in the playoffs helps in some ways, but in the end it’s one game, so teams are able to shorten their bench and play their top players as much as they can without having to worry about a game less than 24 hours later,” Coach Bobrowski said.
Despite St. Ben’s taking a one-goal lead three minutes into the heavyweight semifinals matchup via an unassisted goal by forward Shae Stinnett, Hamline would respond with a goal of their own. A short-handed goal with five and a half minutes left in the period by forward Annabel Mehta drew it even at 1–1. The Bennies would take all of a minute and change to answer, with forward Jorja Jusczak making it 1-2, St. Ben’s.
After about three-quarters of a much quieter second period offense-wise had passed, Mehta would complete a playoff brace with her second goal of the game. The 2–2 score would hold, despite the Pipers peppering the net with 15 shots, until a backbreaking two goals in eight seconds found purchase by St. Ben’s. Despite the 28 shots on goal by the pressing Pipers after, the 2-4 score in favor of St. Ben’s would hold until the final horn.
A key part of St. Ben’s win was their defense. Two goals is more than a respectable performance, but Hamline routinely scored four or five goals throughout the regular season and got up to nine goals on two occasions. Neither forward Nina Thorson, ranked third in the MIAC in goals, nor defender Abigail Chamernick, ranked first in the MIAC in points, could get a shot through. Lexi Badali, St. Ben’s goalkeeper, allowed two goals on 37 shots against a team that averaged almost four and a half goals per game, an undoubtedly historic performance for the first-year goalie.
“Saint Ben’s is a really good team and plays hard,” Coach Bobrowski said. Even with the painful loss to end the season, Hamline women’s hockey wraps up another season, continuing their reputation as a force to be reckoned with.
