PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Playoffs will start early for Bethel and St. Olaf, who have found themselves in a de facto play-in series for the last remaining spot in the conference tournament. The Royals and Oles each enter the weekend with 21 points in the conference standings and six points in the series – along with the mathematical potential to host a quarterfinal game – within striking distance.
Hamline (40 points) and Augsburg (38) will be the top two seeds, but an order has not been established yet. The Pipers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after taking four of a possible six points in the teams' regular-season series, so the Auggies will need to finish ahead in the conference standings to secure a second straight regular-season title and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
Gustavus (29 points) and Saint Benedict (26 points) have clinched their berths, but their seeds are yet to be determined. The Gusties can finish as high as third – where they would travel to the No. 2 seed in the semifinal round – or as low as fourth – where they would host a quarterfinal contest. The Bennies could land anywhere from third to fifth, depending on how the weekend goes.
Due to the variety of possible outcomes in the MIAC hockey points system, specific tiebreaker scenarios remain difficult to project in advance, which will make for an exciting and unpredictable end to the regular season.
STAT PACK
The latest MIAC women's hockey Stat Pack as of Friday, February 20, 2026, can be viewed here.
IN THE POLLS
Augsburg is ranked No. 2 in the nation, while Hamline is No. 7 in the latest USCHO.com Top 15 Poll, released on February 16.
The MIAC has three teams listed in the top 20 of the latest NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings, posted on February 16. Augsburg is No. 4, Hamline is No. 6, and Gustavus is No. 20. The NPI is used to select the six at-large bids to the NCAA Division III Tournament after the seven automatic qualifiers have been determined on March 9. Last season's NPI cut line was 8.
NATIONAL NOTABLES
Augsburg senior goaltender Marissa Paaske (Crystal Lake, Minn. / Crystal Lake Central) ranks seventh in NCAA Division III with a goals-against average of 1.098 this season. She is tied for sixth in D-III with five shutouts this season.
Concordia senior forward Morgan Sauvageau (Fargo, N.D. / Fargo Davies) recorded four assists against St. Scholastica on 1/16, tied for the most in any D-III game this season.
Gustavus sophomore goaltender Lily Timmons (Lake Elmo, Minn. / Stillwater) is tied for sixth in NCAA Division III with five shutouts this season.
Hamline junior defender Abigail Chamernick (Warroad, Minn. / Warroad) ranks ninth in NCAA Division III this season with an average of 0.91 assists per game. Chamernick logged four assists against Concordia on 2/7, tied for the most in any NCAA Division III game this season.
Saint Benedict junior defender Emily Wendorf (Minnetrista, Minn. / Mound Westonka) collected four assists against Saint Mary's on 1/23, tied for the most in any D-III game this season.
St. Catherine sophomore forward Ana Myers (Lino Lakes, Minn. / Gentry) has won 355 faceoffs this season, good for the second-most in NCAA Division III. Myers' five goals against Lawrence on 1/9 are the most by any NCAA women's hockey player in a single game this season. Her five goals and one assist against Lawrence made Myers one of five players in D-III to record a six-point game this season.
St. Olaf senior forward Solvei Berg-Messerole (Minneapolis, Minn. / Highland Park) ranks seventh in NCAA Division III with 306 faceoffs won this season.
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg junior forward Ella Olson (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) had three goals and an assist for a four-point weekend in the Auggies' sweep of St. Olaf last week. Olson scored once and assisted on another goal in a 3-1 home win on 1/30 before tallying the first and last goals of the game in a 4-0 road win on 1/31.
Bethel senior goaltender Ashley Hess Gustafson (Zimmerman, Minn. / Elk River) picked up two wins for the Royals in a series sweep of Concordia on 2/13-14. Gustafson made 25 saves and allowed one goal in a 2-1 win over the Cobbers on 2/13 before stopping all 26 shots she faced in a 4-0 shutout on Valentine's Day.
Concordia first-year forward Addie Moos (West Fargo, N.D. / Moorhead) provided the offense for the Cobbers in a 2-1 overtime loss to Bethel on 2/13. The goal came on a power play in the first period.
Gustavus senior forward Lily Mortenson (Champlin, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret's) blocked six shots in the Gusties' split with St. Scholastica on 2/12 and 2/14. Mortenson now has 55 blocks in her Gustavus career. She also collected an assist in each game of the series to bring her streak of consecutive games with at least one point to nine.
Hamline junior defender Abigail Chamernick (Warroad, Minn. / Warroad) recorded a hat trick and added an assist in the Pipers' high-scoring, 8-6 win over St. Catherine on 2/13. Two of her three goals in the game came on power play opportunities. Chamernick found the back of the net again on 2/14 for a five-point weekend and series sweep.
Saint Benedict first-year goaltender Lexi Badali (St. John, Ind. / Lake Central) allowed just one goal in nearly two hours of game time as the Bennies split with Gustavus. Badali recorded the first shutout against the Gusties in CSB hockey history with her 30-save performance in a 3-0 win on 2/6. Her lone goal allowed in the series came late in the third period of an eventual 2-0 loss on 2/7. Badali collected 37 saves in the game.
St. Catherine senior forward Isabel Burt (Woodbury, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) scored her first two goals of the season in the Wildcats' series against nationally-ranked Hamline on 2/13-14. Burt scored once in each game.
Saint Mary's senior forward Teagan Phillips (Oregon, Wis.) recorded the first hat trick of her collegiate career in a 4-3 win over St. Olaf on 2/14. Phillips scored twice in the second period and once in the third. Her second goal of the game came on a power play at 9:22 in the second frame.
St. Olaf senior goaltender Hannah Fritz (Woodbury, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) went 1-1 with 50 saves, a 2.28 goals-against average, and a .926 save percentage in the Oles' split with Saint Mary's. In a 3-0 win on 2/13, Fritz recorded 23 saves and set a new program record with the 12th shutout of her St. Olaf career.
St. Scholastica sophomore forward Morgan Mitchell (Farmington, Minn. / Farmington) led the Saints to the program's first-ever victory over Gustavus by recording a hat trick in a 5-3 win on 2/12. It was Mitchell's second multi-point game of the season; her first came in the form of two assists against two-time defending national champion UW-River Falls on 11/8/25.
UP NEXT
Friday, February 20
6:00 PM | St. Scholastica at St. Catherine*
6:00 PM | Gustavus at Hamline*
7:00 PM | St. Olaf at Bethel*
7:00 PM | Saint Benedict at Concordia*
7:00 PM | Augsburg at Saint Mary's*
Saturday, February 21
2:00 PM | Hamline at Gustavus*
4:00 PM | Bethel at St. Olaf*
4:00 PM | Saint Mary's at Augsburg*
4:00 PM | St. Catherine at St. Scholastica*
5:30 PM | Concordia at Saint Benedict*
*MIAC game