PIPERS LONE UNDEFEATED TEAM IN MIAC PLAY

A trio of goals in the second period, and several multiple-point scorers, led the Hamline University men’s hockey team to a 6-2 victory at home over St. Olaf as they become the only unbeaten team in MIAC play.

The Pipers only needed five minutes to put their first goal on the board, as Kyle Kurr (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) put the puck in the net at 5:09. Chris Berenguer (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.) was credited with the assist.

Ryan Kupperman (So., Canterbury, N.H.) doubled the Piper lead at 12:01, with Kurr and Joe Long (Sr., Dayton, Minn.) earning the assists.

The two-goal Piper lead lasted until St. Olaf responded at 15:49 with a power play goal from Derek Grogan (Fy., Eagan, Minn.). Bryan Osmondson (Jr., Princeton, Minn.) and Roger Truesdale (Sr., Rogers, Minn.) were credited with the assists.

Less than two minutes into the second period, Kupperman’s second goal of the game came at 1:18 on passes from Dustin Fulton (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Brian Arrigoni (Fy., Saint Paul, Minn.). Fulton then put the Pipers up 4-1 on a power play goal at 9:44 from Long and Andrew Birkholz (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.).

Just seven seconds after gaining a 5-on-3 advantage in skaters, Berenger dumped a puck in the Ole net at 12:16 in the second to give Hamline a four-goal lead. Long and Kupperman earned the assists.

St. Olaf scored their second, and final, goal of the game at 8:43 in the final period, as Dylan Mueller (Sr,. Plymouth, Minn.) scored from Osmondson and Truesdale.

The final Piper goal for the 6-4 win came from Arrigoni at 11:50 in the third from Kupperman and Kurr.

With the win, the Pipers improve to 10-3-1, 5-0-0 MIAC, and with a loss tonight by St. Thomas, is the only unbeaten team in the conference. The Oles suffer their first conference loss of the year in dropping to 9-6-1, 5-1-1 MIAC. These same two teams will meet again tomorrow, Saturday, January 17, in Northfield at 7:00 p.m.