Pipers drop series finale to Royals

In a game that started out with back-and-forth scoring, much like the series opener on Friday night, Bethel scored within the first two minutes of the game, at 1:47, to take the 1-0 advantage.

Hamline answered with Jim Erickson's (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) first goal of the season of assists from Chris Johnson (So., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Kyle Kurr (So., Elk River, Minn.).

The Royals struck again in the first period, scoring with just over two minutes to play before the buzzer at 17:54.

Bethel took a 3-1 lead at the 5:16 mark of the second period, before defenseman Long scored his first goal of the game, and his 14th of the season, at 12:23 in the second period.

At 8:39 in the third period, the Royals regained the two-goal advantage, before Long scored his 15th of the season at 10:15 to bring it back to a one-goal game. Chris Berenguer (Fy., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Jared Hummel (Fy., Eagan, Minn.) combined on the assists on Long's second goal.

With the loss, the Pipers fall to 10-6-3, 6-3-1 MIAC, while Bethel improves to 13-5-2, 8-3-1 MIAC. Hamline plays on the road on Friday, February 8, at St. Thomas at 7:05 p.m.