St. John’s outshot Bethel, 56-23, on Friday night, but the teams settled for a 4-4 tie in the first game of the MIAC championship series. The teams play the deciding game Sunday at 2 p.m. in the National Hockey Center.
Bethel had a 3-1 lead after one period thanks to two goals by Jared Gustafson and one by Mike Marshall. That offset the game’s first goal that was scored by St. John’s Mike Possin.
St. John’s rallied in the second period, getting goals from Bryan Talbot and Shawn Knorr in the first 12 minutes. But Bethel’s Gustafson completed his hat trick at the 18:13 mark, lifting the Royals into a 4-3 lead after two periods.
Kevin Willey then tied the game at 4-4, 9:08 into the third period, and that ended the scoring.
Bethel’s Steve Witkowski had 52 saves, while St. John’s Rick Gregory turned
away 19.
If the teams tie Sunday, a mini-game will be held immediately afterwards. The winner of the series receives an automatic berth in the eight-team NCAA
Division III Hockey Championship.
