BLAINE, Minn. - The Bethel University women's hockey team opened their season up with an 8-1 win over the Aurora University Spartans. The Spartans, playing the first game in the history of their program, actually scored the games first goal late in the first period and the score was 1-1 after the end of one before the Royals scored seven unanswered goals the rest of the way. For the game Bethel outshot Aurora 56-10. 

The Royals started off firing away in the first period with shots clanging off the pipe but not going in. Bethel had fired 18 shots before the Spartans had one, but the first Spartan shot found the back of the net to give them a 1-0 lead at 14:58 in the first period. Kaitlyn VanTassel answered the score for the Royals with a score just over a minute later to tie the game up. The flood gates opened when Bethel scored three goals in a three minute span between 5:27 and 8:12 of the second period. Senior Wendy Roberts scored first followed by fellow senior Natalie Simons and then freshman Ellen Seibel got in on the action with her first collegiate goal. VanTassel added another score in the second period at the 12:25 mark to make it 5-1. Bethel put together another three goal flurry early in the third period as they scored those three goals between 4:44 and 7:17. Roberts scored her second goal while VanTassel recorded the hat trick with her third score of the game. Sophomore Bailey Thompson got in on the action with her goal, the final score of the game. 

The Royals and Spartans will play again on Saturday afternoon from Bethel University Arena with a 3 p.m. puck drop.