After a grueling regular season, the Women’s Hockey team holds the number-three seed, and they are set to play the number-two seed Hamline Pipers at Hamline University on Saturday. The Auggies finished the season with an overall record of 14-6-5 and a conference record of 9-4-5. The other teams competing in the playoffs are number-one seed Gustavus, number-four seed Concordia and number-five seed Bethel. In an interesting move, St. Thomas placed a self-imposed postseason ban and will not be competing in the playoffs.
Throughout the regular season, the Auggies have found success through a potent offense that has averaged 2.56 goals a game. Sophomore Mikayla Jones has lit the lamp the most this season, scoring nine goals. In addition to this, nine Auggies have registered more than 10 points on the season with sophomore Bridget Wagner leading the team with 20. Defensively, the team is stout with senior netminder Rebecca Sonnek and the defense limiting teams to 1.68 goals a game. The team’s penalty killing has been equally impressive, preventing teams from scoring 88.9% of the time, good for third place in the MIAC.
The Auggies and Pipers have played twice this season with the Auggies losing 1-0, then battling to a 4-4 tie in the second meeting between the teams. Hamline finished this season with a record of 13-3-2. Their offense has been dangerous all season, peppering opposing teams with39 shots per game and averaging 4.72 goals. The playoff showdown will be hosted at Hamline University at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to the championship match, which will be played on March 3.
This article first appeared in the Friday, February 23, 2018, Edition of The Echo.