Bethel escapes with 5-3 win over men's hockey

Hamline (7-14, 3-9 in the MIAC) limited the Royals (12-8-1, 9-2-1) to just 16 shots through two period of play, but found themselves down 4-2.

Bethel scored twice on just six shots in the first period. Brett Kettlekamp scored on the Royals first shot on goal in the contest off a 2-on-1 at the 3:46 mark of the first period. Later in the period, Steve Eastman added a slapshot from the point on the power play to give Bethel a 2-0 lead.

The Royals added a goal at the beginning of the second period before the Pipers mounted a fierce comeback. First, Kyle Kurr took the puck away from a Bethel defender and fired a shot from the slot past Royal goaltender Aaron Damjanovich. The goal, Kurr's fourth of the season, made the score 3-1 at the 6:20 mark of the second period.

The Pipers cut the lead to 3-2 when Andrew Birkholz tapped home a Dustin Fulton rebound at 6:20.

Bethel would add an unassisted goal by Nick Miller to make the score 4-2 at the second intermission, but the Pipers would not go away. Midway through the third period, Piper forward Lee Joos scored his sixth goal of the year to make it a one-goal game.

The game remained in doubt until the final minutes when Kent Bostrom scored an empty-net goal for the game's final tally.

Hamline goaltender Matt Wanvig stopped 19 shots in the contest. Damjanovich made 29 saves in the win.

The Pipers will host St. Thomas Friday night at Drake Arena. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m.