BLAINE, Minn. — The Royals are now 2-0 against St. John’s University this season – on the ice, that is. As the men’s hockey team rode the momentum of a 4-1 win on Thursday night in St. Cloud, the series headed to the Bethel University Arena in Blaine Friday night where an early 2-0 Royals’ lead evaporated and turned into a 3-2 overtime thriller.
Royals Junior defenseman Spencer Kring corralled a missed Johnnies’ pass at center ice and walked into the Johnnies’ defensive zone. He fired a shot on net, generating a rebound that got picked up by junior winger Tyler Braccini, who promptly deposited the puck into an open net with 1.9 seconds remaining in the overtime period to secure the win and season sweep.
“It was great,” Bethel head coach Chris McKelvie said. “We felt like we had the better play all game, and the guys got rewarded at the end.”
The Royals started hot in the first period, getting on the board at the 11:24 mark of the first period when junior defenseman Matthew Berezowski charged into the offensive zone and fired a wrist shot over the right shoulder of Johnnie goaltender Bailey Huber.
At the 16:46 mark, forward Logan Anderson pulled off a nifty spin pass from the low corner, finding the stick of forward Joe Kelly. Kelly found the back of the net, giving the Royals a two-goal advantage.
Chippy play from both sides ensued. Johnnie forward Spencer Rudrud sent Bethel forward Joe Westlund head first into the boards on a hit from behind, drawing the attention of Royals defenseman Caydon Meyer, who shoved Rurud. The two tangled for a second before the linesman stepped in, hauling both players off to the penalty box and assessing minor penalties.
The Johnnies pulled to within one with six seconds to go in the first period on a goal by Mason Campbell. After a quiet second period from both sides, Johnnie defenseman Zach Enebak came up with the equalizer four minutes into the third.
60 minutes wasn’t enough to decide the series finale, and the game headed to a five-minute, sudden-death overtime period.
Braccini got a golden chance early in the overtime period, using an aggressive forecheck to create a turnover. He put a shot on net that was promptly turned aside by Huber.
The Johnnies held the puck deep in the Royals’ zone for most of the period. Johnnie forward Cam Boche looked to set up forward Jackson Sabo in the slot but missed the pass. The puck rolled to center ice. Kring picked it up and fired it off Huber.From there, Braccini did the rest, scoring his team-leading eighth goal of the season to give the Royals the win.
The sweep of St. John’s concludes the Royals’ 2024 portion of their schedule as they head into Christmas break with 5-5-1 record and a 3-1-0 record in MIAC play.
“We’ve been fighting for wins early in the year,” McKelvie said. “For us to rebound and have a great series against a huge rival was a really big deal for us.”
The Royals will have a respite from MIAC play when they return from Christmas break, opening 2025 on the road against Northland College Jan. 4.
