DULUTH, Minn. — The St. Scholastica men's hockey team hosted the Bethel Royals for game two of their 2025-26 series on Saturday evening. Bethel's offense came out strong, scoring four goals in the opening period, and went on to earn a 6–2 win to complete the series sweep.
The Royals' offense took control in the first period, scoring four times on just 12 shots. The Saints had 10 shots of their own during the frame, but were unable to capitalize, heading into the first intermission trailing 4-0.
St. Scholastica responded with a strong second period. After Riley Girod (Calvet, SK, Canada/) was whistled for interference, Braden Junker (Elk River, MN/Elk River HS) scored a short-handed goal at 10:05, with assists from Braden Panzer (Grand Forks, ND/Grand Forks Central HS) and Tristan Shewchuk (Saskatoon, SK, Canada/St. Joseph HS). Less than a minute later, Luke McCarthy (Cottage Grove, MN/Park HS) found the back of the net, assisted by Isaac Suppin (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada/George Elliot Secondary) and Junker. The Saints' defense held the Royals to just three shots in the period, cutting the deficit to 4-2 heading into the final 20 minutes.
The Saints held off the Royals early in the third period, but Bethel pulled away midway through the frame with two goals scored less than 20 seconds apart. Despite outshooting the Royals 14-7 in the third, the Saints couldn't find the net, and fell 6-2.
Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars) had 16 saves in net for the Saints, while Matt Haun (Rochester, MN/Century HS) led with three blocked shots.
The Saints (4-14-1, 1-8-1 MIAC) will look to rebound next weekend as they head to Winona to face Saint Mary's. Puck drop for game one is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, January 30.
