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| Hamline | MIAC | Thursday Live Stats | Saturday Live Blog |
No Pipe Dream: The Blazer hockey team's goals of advancing to the MIAC Tournament are still well within reach, but there is little time to waste, beginning with this weekend series with the Hamline PIpers. In a split series the Blazers will first play in St. Paul, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24, before hosting the Pipers to cap the weekend at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 26. The Blazers enter at 4-5-3 overall, and 2-5-1 in the MIAC for seventh place. While Hamline is at the bottom of the MIAC with a 4-8-3 o verall mark, and 1-6-1 league record.
About Hamline: Hamline enters tonight's meeting after splitting its series with Augsburg. The Pipers won game one 2-0 at Augsburg before dropping their home game 2-0 to the Auggies. Tied for last in the league, Hamline will be looking to pick up some key conference points and get back in the running for the playoffs. So far this season, most of the Pipers losses have been by two goals or less. Hamline recently tied Concordia University of Wisconsin 2-2, whom the Blazers beat 2-1 in St. Cloud.
Last Meeting: The last time these two teams met was Jan. 27-28, 2012. Hamline swept the Blazers, picking up game one with a 2-1 win in St. Paul, Minn., before beating the Blazers 4-3 at the St. Cloud MAC. In the first meeting the Blazers trailed 2-0, before getting a goal back late, but the rally fell short in the eventual loss. Then a night later, the Blazers held leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2, before the Pipers scored two unanswered for the win.
The Storyline: Saint Benedict needs to sweep the Pipers this weekend to get back into the playoff race. With just five conference points the Blazers currently sit in seventh place in the MIAC. The Blazes are four points behind the fifth and sixth ranked teams, with only the top five teams making the playoffs. If Hamline sweeps the Blazers then the two teams will be tied with five conference points, sending the Blazers to the bottom of the MIAC standings.
Who to Watch: Sophomore goaltender
Jenna Traut has put up impressive numbers this season in net. She currently has a .944 save percentage coming off a 64 save weekend against top ranked Concordia College. Traut is ranked third in the conference in save percentage and is tied for second in goals against average (1.61). Sophomore
Megan Brettingen scored the lone goal for CSB last weekend and leads Saint Benedict with five goals.
Alli O'Brien leads the team in points, with nine, and has notched five assists thus far this season.
Last Time Out: Saint Benedict enters the series after being swept at home by top ranked Concordia College of Moorhead. The Blazers were unable to generate much offense in game one, losing 4-0 in the second time the two teams met this season. CSB took the ice the next afternoon, firing on all cylinders. Saint Benedict dropped the final game of the series to the Cobbers 3-1, the last goal happening on an open net.
