ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – When the (RV) College of Saint Benedict hockey team takes the ice Saturday afternoon, it will mark a milestone moment for the program. For the first time in school history, Saint Benedict will compete in the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship when it faces No. 3 Amherst College at 2 p.m., at Orr Arena in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The appearance continues a season of firsts for the Bennies, whose senior class has helped compile a program-record 53 victories over four seasons. Saint Benedict has received votes in the national polls for six consecutive weeks and enters the tournament ranked No. 17 in the NPI rankings, while Amherst sits fourth. In the most recent USCHO Poll, the Bennies received 25 vote points - the most in school history - while Amherst moved from No. 5 to No. 3. In the most recent D-3 Hockey News (March 2), Amherst was ranked fifth while CSB received 17 vote points.

Saint Benedict secured its place in the NCAA field by capturing the MIAC Playoff Championship with a 2–1 victory over No. 4 seed Gustavus Adolphus on March 7 at Ritsche Arena in St. Cloud. Amherst earned the NESCAC's automatic berth by defeating Colby College, 1–0, in its conference championship game.

The 2025–26 campaign has been historic for the Bennies. In the MIAC semifinals, Saint Benedict earned its first conference playoff victory with a 4–2 win over No. 7 Hamline before defeating Gustavus Adolphus, 2-1, to claim the league tournament title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Along the way, St. Benedict set a new single-season program record with 16 victories, surpassing the previous mark of 14 wins set during the 1999–2000 and 2002–03 seasons. Saint Benedict entered the MIAC tournament as the No. 3 seed after finishing tied in the conference standings with a 9–6–3 record and posting a 16–7–4 overall mark.

Following the championship victory, the Bennies were presented with the MIAC Playoff Championship trophy and the inaugural Jill Pohtilla Cup along with the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The full 2026 national tournament field was announced Sunday evening, with Saint Benedict joining two other MIAC teams in the bracket.

Season Review

With goals from Jorja Jusczak (Moose Lake, Minn.) and Shae Stinnett (North Oaks, Minn.), the Bennies led from start to finish in a 2-1 victory over Gustavus Adolphus on March 7 before a packed Ritsche Arena. Lexi Badali (St. John, Ind.) had 33 saves and finished with 70 and just three goals allowed in the MIAC Playoffs.  

In the MIAC semifinal round, the Bennies used two third-period goals eight seconds apart to defeat second-seeded Hamline (20-5-1) at TRIA Rink in St. Paul on Feb. 28 and advance to the conference title game for the first time in program history.

In the championship game, Jorja Jusczak (Moose Lake, Minn.) and Ellie Tuccitto (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored goals to lead Saint Benedict to the 2–1 victory over Gustavus Adolphus (15–11–2).

During the semifinal win over Hamline, Bailey Vesper (South Saint Paul, Minn.) scored what proved to be the game-winner at 7:03 of the third period before Stinnett added an insurance goal just eight seconds later at 7:11. Stinnett scored both the first and last goals of the game, opening the scoring at 2:32 of the first period. Jusczak also added a goal in the victory as Stinnett recorded two goals for the third straight game and extended her goal-scoring streak to four games.

Saint Benedict closed the regular season with a home-and-road sweep of Concordia, earning 3–1 and 3–2 victories. Stinnett scored two goals in each contest and earned MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Prior to that, the Bennies dropped a pair of tight games to No. 2 Augsburg, falling, 3–2, at Ritsche Arena and, 2–1, in Minneapolis. Helena Siska (Naperville, Ill.) scored twice in the home matchup. In the road game, Stinnett scored her fourth goal of the season and the 13th of her career at 19:51 of the first period with assists from Jusczak and Merrill Delich (Andover, Minn.).

Badali made 40 saves in the road game as Augsburg held a 42–19 shots advantage. Chloe Lewis (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) won 17 of 27 face-offs while the Bennies went 28-for-69 in the circle.

Earlier in February, Saint Benedict split a series with Gustavus, earning a 3–0 home victory before falling 2–0 on the road. The shutout victory snapped a 17-game winless streak against the Gusties. Badali recorded the first shutout of her collegiate career, making 67 combined saves in the series while allowing just one goal to earn her second MIAC Defensive Player of the Week honor. Siska scored twice in the win.

Against No. 5 Hamline on Jan. 30, the teams skated to a 2–2 overtime tie before Hamline won the shootout 1–0. The following night, Hamline earned a 5–1 victory in St. Paul.

January proved pivotal for the Bennies. In a 5–4 victory over Saint Mary's on Jan. 23, Siska recorded two goals and an assist while Emily Wendorf (Minnetrista, Minn.) posted a career-high four assists. The win extended Saint Benedict's winning streak to six games before a 1–0 overtime loss ended the run.

The stretch included a sweep of St. Catherine (4–1, 2–1), part of a five-game span in which the Bennies outscored opponents 26–3. On Jan. 17, Camryn Hargreaves (Minnetrista, Minn.) scored while Stinnett netted the game-winner with 1:46 remaining. Badali stopped 40 shots in the series while allowing just two goals.

Saint Benedict also swept Dubuque in dominant fashion, outscoring the Spartans 17–0 in back-to-back shutouts. Presley Kraemer (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) recorded her second career hat trick in a 10–0 victory, the program's highest-scoring game since 2005 and its 13th double-digit scoring performance. Hargreaves added two goals, Lexi Hueller (Maple Grove, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal and Savannah Wuitschick (Fargo, N.D.) recorded her first career shutout.

On Senior Day, the Bennies completed the sweep with a 7–0 win as seven different players scored. Ellynor Haack (St. Paul, Minn.) made 10 saves for her second career shutout, Tana Carlson (Anchorage, Alaska) scored her first collegiate goal and Kraemer added her fourth goal of the weekend.

Saint Benedict opened January with a 3–1 nonconference win over UW-Superior on Jan. 3 as Siska recorded her first collegiate hat trick, becoming the first CSB first-year in a decade to score three goals in a game. Wuitschick made 19 saves for her first collegiate victory after a 2–2 overtime tie the previous night, with the Bennies winning the shootout.

The Bennies closed 2025 with two 1–1 overtime ties against Bethel, splitting the shootouts. Badali allowed just two goals over 130 minutes, including a career-high 41 saves on Dec. 5 to earn MIAC Player of the Week honors.

Bimberg earns MIAC Elite 22 Award 

Senior Jamie Bimberg (Chanhassen, Minn.) of the College of Saint Benedict hockey team has been named a winter sports recipient of the MIAC Elite 22 Award for hockey, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced Thursday (March 12). An accounting major with a 3.98 GPA, Bimberg becomes the first CSB hockey student-athlete in program history to earn the MIAC Elite 22 honor. She is the 11th student-athlete from Saint Benedict to receive the award, with the Bennies totaling 13 honorees all-time. The MIAC Elite 22 Award recognizes the true essence of the term "student-athlete" by honoring the individual who reaches the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in their sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among their peers. Modeled after the NCAA Elite 90 Award, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average in each sport who also meets sport-specific athletic requirements. During the 2025-26 season, Bimberg has played a key role on defense for the Bennies, helping the program capture its first MIAC Playoff Championship and earn a berth in the NCAA Division III Ice Hockey Championship. 
Bimberg has appeared in 27 games this season, recording one goal and five assists while adding 15 blocked shots. Over her career, she has played in 88 games, totaling three goals, eight assists, 11 points, and 67 shots. Academically, Bimberg continues to excel. In 2024-25, she earned Academic All-MIAC honors for both hockey and golf for the second consecutive year and was also named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

MIAC recognizes five Bennies

Following the program's first-ever MIAC Playoff Championship, four Bennies earned All-MIAC recognition while three players were named to the conference's All-Playoff Team.
Sophomore defense standout  Merrill Delich earned first-team All-MIAC honors for the first time in her career, becoming the 21st player in program history from College of Saint Benedict to receive first-team recognition Three other Bennies were named Honorable Mention All-MIAC selections, including first-year goaltender junior forward Shae Stinnett and first-year center Helena Siska. Badali and Stinnett were also named to the MIAC All-Playoff Team, joined by sophomore forward Jorja Jusczak.

By the Numbers – Saint Benedict

Under head coach Lindsay Macy, the program's all-time wins leader with 53 victories, Saint Benedict averages 2.78 goals per game (third in the MIAC, 21st nationally) while allowing 1.89 (fourth in the MIAC, 26th nationally).

The Bennies are nearly even in shots per game, averaging 27.2 while allowing 27.3. Saint Benedict has scored 10 power-play goals (eighth in the MIAC) and leads the conference — and ranks eighth nationally — with four short-handed goals by four different players.

CSB's four shutouts rank fourth in the MIAC and 22nd nationally. The Bennies' 75 goals are third in the conference and 22nd nationally, while their 102 assists rank third in the MIAC and 25th in Division III.

Individually, Siska leads the team with 12 goals and 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists), ranking fourth in the MIAC in goals and 12th in total points.

Kraemer has 10 goals this season and owns 22 career goals and 40 career points. Against Amherst, she will skate in her 104th career game this week, becoming the first player in program history to reach that mark and surpassing Elizabeth Hancock (103 games, 1998–2002) and Kate Rollwagen (103 games, 1998–2002). In addition to Kraemer, senior Mia Lopez (Plymouth, Minn.), who has two goals and six assists this year with seven goals and 19 assists in her career, will play in her 100th game on Saturday.

Stinnett has 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points and owns 19 career goals with 17 assists. Hargreaves has recorded 14 points (seven goals, seven assists), while Tuccitto has added 12 points with eight goals and five assists.

In goal, Badali ranks fifth in the MIAC and 29th nationally with a 1.75 goals-against average. Her .941 save percentage ranks second in the conference and 20th nationally. She averages 27.26 saves per game (third in the MIAC) and has made 588 saves this season, the eighth-most in program history.

Scouting Amherst

Amherst, led by head coach Jeff Matthews, earned its place in the NCAA Division III Tournament after winning the NESCAC Championship with a 1–0 victory over Colby on March 8.

The Mammoths are making their 11th NCAA tournament appearance and secured their seventh NESCAC championship with the win. Amherst has reached the national championship game in two of the past three seasons, including a runner-up finish in 2025 after falling, 3–1, to Wisconsin–River Falls.

Amherst averages 2.4 goals per game while allowing just 0.7 and holds a 66–19 goal differential. The Mammoths average a 40.9–22.3 advantage in shots per game.

Gretchen Dann leads Amherst with 14 goals, while Maeve Reynolds has a team-best 28 points with 10 goals and 18 assists. In goal, Natalie Scott carries a .64 goals-against average and a .972 save percentage.

Series Snapshot

Saturday's NCAA first-round matchup will mark the first meeting between Saint Benedict and Amherst.