WINONA, Minn. — Hamline fell to Saint Mary's, 6-2, with the Pipers' power-play goal in the second period marking a brief comeback attempt. Saint Mary's capitalized with three power-play goals to secure the victory.
The first period began with Saint Mary's gaining an early advantage, winning faceoffs and applying offensive pressure. Despite
Keaton French's efforts in the net for the Pipers, Saint Mary's broke through at 9:00 with a goal from Cole Mickel, assisted by Ben Polomsky and Ryan Berglund. Saint Mary's extended their lead to 2–0 when Liam McInnis scored on a power play at 12:27, assisted by Berglund and Jack Campion. Hamline generated several shots, but Adam Prokop's goaltending kept them scoreless, and the period ended with a 2–0 lead for Saint Mary's.
In the second period, Hamline responded to an early deficit by leveling the game through
AJ Carls at 13:40. Carls found the back of the net with assists from
Brock Carls and
Will Matzke, equalizing the score. The Pipers capitalized again on a power play at 4:12, with
Landon Steffen scoring, assisted by
Jonah Mortenson and
Jack Lambert. This period ended with the score tied at 2–2, setting up a tense final period.
Saint Mary's capitalized on early opportunities in the third period to secure a decisive victory over Hamline. Colin Tushie scored a power-play goal just 41 seconds into the period, assisted by Mickel, to extend the home team's lead to 3–2. Carter Newpower followed with an even-strength goal at 16:32, and less than a minute later, Paden Hicks added another, bringing the score to 5–2. Joona Juntunen sealed the game with a power-play goal at 1:52, assisted by Mickel and Kyle Arias, concluding a dominant 6–2 win for Saint Mary's.
Landon Steffen contributed with a goal and added a power-play tally, demonstrating his impact on the special teams. Carls scored once, converting on two shots to register a single point.
Nikolai Dulak won 13 of 23 faceoffs.
Erik Larsen made his presence felt defensively, blocking five shots to support the team's efforts.
The Pipers will finish the home and home series against Saint Mary's on home ice on Saturday at TRIA Rink, with puck drop at 7 PM.
