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As the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) season heads into the final home-stretch, the defending co-champions Saint Benedict Blazers are caught up in what will undoubtedly be a thrilling end to a roller-coaster season. After digging a bit of a hole in the standings during a four-game losing streak in late September, the Blazers have roared back in response to pressure with a sense of urgency, and have played their most recent four matches without a loss. The recent streak has put them back in contention for another MIAC postseason berth and a chance to be crowned tournament champions for the second year in a row.

With only three games left however, the Blazers are caught in the middle of a close race in the MIAC standings where only one point separates second through sixth place. Only four teams will make the conference postseason tournament. With the Blazers likely needing to get the automatic bid that comes with winning the conference tournament in order to qualify for the NCAA regional tournament, their last three games will be of vital importance.

“I just don't think that we'll be able to give any more points, if we did draw or lose one of these last three we would need to have a ton of external help (in order to qualify for the postseason),” said Head Coach Steve Kimble.

Finishing strong has been no stranger to Kimble's teams in his fourth year as the Blazers coach. Last year, the Blazers won seven out of their last nine games en route to making it all the way to the NCAA sweet sixteen.

“In years past we've been the stronger team at the end of the season, I feel like we're training as hard, if not harder now than we were at the beginning of the season. The issue this year is we've exhausted all of our leeway, we cannot tie or lose in our last three conference games if we want a real chance at being in the MIAC playoffs,” adds Kimble.

The Blazers' chance to do just that will start this Saturday when they take on the Saint Mary's University Cardinals in Winona. MIAC opponents are always tough, but the Cardinals have yet to win a game in 2012. Hopefully the match will give the Blazers a chance to do some fine-tuning and build some momentum before they head to St. Paul, Minn. to take on the Hamline Pipers and then return home to take on the Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers in the final regular season match of the year.

Both of the final two matches promise to be exciting ones, as both games will carry heavy postseason significance for both teams. Kimble sees this as an advantage for his squad, “My team performs pretty well when they're challenged, I think we're ferociously good if we're backed into a corner, we go out and try to beat people. It's nice to have a little bit of pressure because I think you're going to see the best out of us.”

With a 4-3-1 record identical to the Blazers, Hamline will also be playing to keep their dreams alive of being the first Piper team ever to qualify for the MIAC tournament since its inception in 2003.

The match against Cobbers will be a rematch of last year's conference championship game and will be a must-win for the Blazers. The Cobbers have had a great season so far, ranked 20th in the country they have only lost one conference game this season and sit securely atop the standings seven points ahead of the second place team.

With such high pressure stakes likely in the forecast, Kimble believes his team is more than ready to rise to the occasion. “I feel like it really will come down to either beat Concordia and get in, or lose to Concordia and be out, and in that situation I like the odds on my team.”