Box Score It was a little tense at the end but the Hamline men's hockey team will be getting a chance to defend its MIAC postseason title. And they will be doing it from the same spot they were in last year.

The Pipers qualified for fifth place -- the final playoff spot -- with a 6-3 win over Gustavus Adolphus Saturday at Oscar Johnson Arena. Brandon Zurn scored twice and assisted on a third goal and goalie Justin Quale handled 35 shots  for the Pipers, who finished the regular season with an overall record of 9-11-5 (6-8-2 MIAC). 

The issue was in doubt until the final minute when Jesse Kessler and Charlie Adams scored empty net goals two seconds apart to clinch the verdict. 

The game started with a bang. The Gusties struck first on a power play at 4:32. Nine seconds later, Mitch McPherson erased the lead, taking a pass from Zurn. Mitch Hall made a nifty move and scored at 8:28 to give the Pipers a lead they would not relinquish. Zurn made it 3-1 later in the period and his second of the night early in the second period made it appear that the Pipers were easily on their way.

The Gusties had other ideas, though. They scored on another power play late in the second period and upped the tension in the building several notches when they connected again early in the third. They kept Quale busy the rest of the period, firing 12 shots in all but the freshman held firm. GAC pulled their goalie with 1:20 left and, after missing the first time, Kessler slid a 160 footer into the yawning net to make it 5-3. Adams took the ensuing faceoff and did likewise to wrap up the scoring. That goal gave Adams the conference scoring lead over his linemate Zurn by a single point, 47-46.

As a result, the Pipers now have the same path they encountered a year ago -- the need to win three road games in a nine day period. It will start on Thursday, February 25 when they travel to Moorhead to take on Concordia, which ended the season at 10-13-2. Their 8-7-1 MIAC mark was good for fourth place. The teams split a pair of games at Oscar Johnson in January. Hamline won the first game, 6-4 while the Cobbers took the second affair by a 7-3 count. 

The winner will advance to Augsburg Arena to face the regular season champ Auggies on Saturday, February 27 at 7:05 p.m. St. Thomas, which finished in second place, will take on St. John's in the other semifinal that night. The championship game is Saturday, March 5 of the highest remaining seed.