ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- It's taken 29 years to get here, but the College of Saint Benedict hockey team now stands atop the MIAC.
 
Sophomore Jorja Jusczak (Moose Lake, Minn.) and junior Ella Tuccitto (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) each had goals while first-year Lexi Badali (St. John, Ind.) came up with 33 big saves in net as the third-seeded Bennies held on to beat fourth-seeded Gustavus, 2-1, in the MIAC championship game Saturday afternoon before a packed house at the Municipal Athletic Complex's Ritsche Arena.
 
"We've worked so hard for this," said Tuccitto, whose team (16-7-4) earned the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs and will await the official pairings announcement Sunday night to find out where it plays next.  
 
"We've worked so hard for this and it came from the whole team. Every single one of us pitched in to make it happen," said Tuccitto, who scored her eighth goal this season.
 
Prior to this season, the Bennies had never won a postseason game. In fact, this marks only the fifth time the program has qualified for the conference playoffs. 
 
But CSB beat No. 2 seed Hamline 4-2 on the road in the semifinals Feb. 28, then topped the Gusties - a team with whom they split two regular-season matchups - to lay claim to the title. 
 
The 16 wins are a program record. In fact, this is just the fifth time CSB has compiled a record of .500 or better.
 
"I don't think there are words to describe what it feels like right now," said St. Ben's head coach Lindsay Macy, who is in her fourth season at the helm. "There haven't been a lot of winning seasons here, so to turn the corner and get over the hump like this is just an incredible accomplishment for these players. They've dedicated themselves to making this happen."
 
That dedication showed Saturday when despite trailing Gustavus, 9-6, in shots-on-goal in the first period, the Bennies struck first Jusczak let loose a shot from the right of Gusties goalie Lily Timmons that found the net at the 11:31 mark. It was her fifth goal of the season and she had a goal in CSB's second straight playoff win.
 
That sent CSB into the locker rooms up, 1-0, at the first intermission.
 
"The first goal is always so huge," Tuccitto said. "That gave us the momentum we needed moving forward."

 
The Bennies added to that lead in the second period when - less than 30 seconds after killing off a Gustavus penalty - Tuccitto scored at the 8:50 mark.
 
"Getting a kill is always good and we were just trying to get the puck up the ice from there," she said. "We work hard to get pucks on the net and one of them went in. I don't actually remember much about that shot. I literally blacked out. It was awesome."
 
Awesome also described the play of Badali, who continued to come up with big saves, recording her 10th game of 30 or more saves this year. The Gusties, who finished their season 15-11-2 overall, cut the gap to one on a goal by junior Kylie Scott early in the third period.
 
But despite holding a 34-19 overall edge in shots, that was as close as the Indiana native allowed them to get.
 
"I love it," said Badali of the almost constant pressure she faced down the stretch. "I just tried to block out all the noise. This is as loud as this rink has been all year and it was awesome playing in front of all of these people.But I tried to block it all out and focus on playing my game."
 
As a result, the Bennies are headed for the NCAA tournament for the first time.
 
"It's so exciting," junior forward Shae Stinnett (North Oaks, Minn.) said. "We truly did this for each other. History was made today. It's a surreal feeling, but we couldn't be happier."
 
Of note, senior defender Presley Kraemer (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) tied a school record Saturday when she played in her 103rd career game. She will break the record when CSB opens NCAA play.