Box Score It's been quite a while since the Hamline women's hockey team played ... and won ... a game like the one they did Saturday night against Augsburg at Oscar Johnson Arena.

Among the other unusual events of the evening :

• The Pipers scored four goals in the first 12:45 of play.
• Kelsey Rafferty recorded the first hat trick by a Piper women's player in six years.
• Rafferty's winning goal was shot into an empty net.
• After not winning a game in their first nine home games, Hamline has won two in a row at Oscar Johnson.

Let's start at the beginning. Rafferty (9) got things going 6:17 into the game. 31 seconds later, Sam Berger made it 2-0. Thanks to a pair of Augsburg penalties, HU was on a two-player advantage midway in the period. Rafferty and Jaci Reinke connected 81 seconds apart and the Pipers, for the second game in a row at home, had a gaping lead.

The Auggies, clinging to a hope to get into the playoffs, fought back in the second period with a pair of goals. When Rachel Hennessy scored at 16:24 of the third period, ti was suddenly 4-3 and things were getting a bit tense. 

Eventually, the Auggies lifted goalie Brianna Schulz for a sixth attacker. The move, however, when Rafferty found the open net to make it 5-3. it was the first HU hat since Alli Miller did it in 2009 -- also against Augsburg. 

There was, however, more tension, to come. Augsburg struck with six seconds left to make it 5-4. Almost lost in all of this: Katie Beckman had 38 saves in goal in a winning effort.The Pipers held on from there and moved to 5-16-2 on the season, 3-11-2 in the MIAC

Hamline finishes the season next week with a home and home series against St. Mary's. The teams play Friday night at Oscar Johnson (7:00 p.m.) and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in Winona.