Augsburg is playing its best hockey at the right time of the year, adding up to a regular-season MIAC championship and ninth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament.
The Auggies clinched their latest title with a 3-2 win over St. Scholastica, Kyler Yeo scored the game winner with 4:24 left in the final period. Samuel Vyletelka did his part in goal, stopping 35 shots, the 17th time this season he has racked up 30 or more saves.
Augsburg is unbeaten in its last seven games and sits at 15-8-2 overall and 12-3-1 in the conference.
The Auggies won Friday’s opener 6-0 behind Vyletelka’s 11th career shutout and Peyton Hanson’s first multi-goal game.
Oles are postseason bound
Facing a win and its in situation, St. Olaf got the job done, topping Gustavus 5-1 Saturday to secure a MIAC tournament berth.
The Oles had lost 4-0 to the Gusties one night earlier but bounceback in a big way while improving to 11-11-3 overall and 7-7-2 in the MIAC and earning a third consecutive trip to the conference tournament.
Joey Kennelly, Matthew Pointer and Connor Kalthoff all scored a goal and dished out an assist in the victory. Tony Leahy dished out two assists as the Oles ended Gustavus’ four-game winning streak.
St. Olaf held a 40-25 advantage in shots and Thomas Lalonde stopped 24 shots for his seventh win of the year. The Oles will be the fifth seed for the MIAC tourney.
Cardinals clinch tourney berth
Saint Mary’s secured its MIAC tournament berth with a 4-3 win over Concordia Friday and then earned a home game for the tourney with a 3-2 win Saturday.
Gabe Potyk scored the game winner for the Cardinals with nine seconds left in regulation.
A.J. Ruskowski stopped 45 shots for the second consecutive night and has tallied 30 or more saves in all 12 of his starts. Saint Mary’s is 10-13-2 overall and 8-7-1 in the conference and will be the fourth seed for the tournament, hosting St. Olaf on Wednesday in the opening round.
Royals finish regular season with sweep
Bethel wrapped up its regular season on a high note, finishing off a sweep of Hamline with a 6-4 victory.
The win was the 17th of the year for the Royals, who now have the most wins in a season since the 2006-07 campaign and are on the cusp of tying the program record for wins in a season, sitting just one win shy of that mark. Their 11 conference wins are the most since the 2007-08 season.
Tyler Braccini scored twice and Tyler Kostelecky tallied the winning goal with 11:59 left to put Bethel up 5-4.
Marco Duronio made his collegiate debut in the game and stopped 37 shots as the Pipers will now host a MIAC tournament game for the first time since 2007. Bethel is 17-5-3 overall and 11-3-2 in the conference and will be the second seed for the tourney.
WIAC Tournament
UW-Stout and UW-River Falls are both moving on in the conference tournament, with both teams earning sweeps in their weekend series.
The Blue Devils rolled past Northland 7-0 and 4-1 while the Falcons prevailed in two closely contested games against UW-Superior, winning 3-2 and 1-0.
UW-Stout now gets UW-Eau Claire in the semifinal round while UW-River Falls will take on UW-Stevens Point.
Four different players scored goals for the Blue Devils in the series finale, with three of those goals coming in the third period as they surged ahead 4-0 before Northland got a goal in the final minute. Among the goals scored was the first career goal by Tyler Sanborn.
Tyler Masternak made 17 saves in the win as the Blue Devils improved to 12-13.
Aidan Torres scored the lone goal for the Falcons in their finale against the Yellowjackets Saturday. That tally was enough as Dysen Skinner was solid in goal, stopping 29 shots for his third shutout of the year.
Dean Buchholz got the start for the Falcons in Friday’s win and stopped 24 shots. Four different players scored goals for UW-River Falls, which is 16-9-2.
NCHA Tournament
Every team held serve in the opening round of the NCHA tournament.
Adrian rolled past Concordia 10-2 and 10-1, Aurora swept MSOE 2-1 and 5-1, Trine topped Lawrence 5-0 and 6-2 and St. Norbert defeated Marian 6-1 and 5-0.
The No. 3 Bulldogs are the top seed in the tournament and finished off the series Saturday on a night when Mathew Rehding scored his 100th career point for the Bulldogs. Zachary Heintz finished with a goal and four assists and Rehding tallied two assists. Adrian improved to 21-5-1 and has won four consecutive games.
The 10th-ranked Green Knights have won 10 of their last 11 and are 20-6 on the year after knocking the Sabres out of the tourney. In Saturday’s finale, Liam Fraser dished out three assists while Adam Stacho scored a pair of goals. Logan Dombrowsky added a goal and assist and Brock Baker finished with two assists.
No. 11 Trine took care of business in its series, finishing things off Saturday with a 6-2 win. Sam Antenucci paved the way with a pair of goals, both of them coming in the final five minutes. Josh Wright came through with a couple of assists.
The Thunder got back on track in the series after closing the regular season on a two-game losing streak. They now get St. Norbert in the semifinal round. The two teams split their regular season series. Trine is 20-7 on the year.
Aurora survived an overtime battle in Friday’s opener against the Raiders, with Jake Code scoring the game winner, and then dominated the finale thanks to two goals apiece from Jakson Kirk and Derrick Budz. The Spartans advance to play Adrian. They are 15-11-1 on the season.
