Kevin Sethre, Staff Writer

The Augsburg women’s hockey team moved to 5-3 in the MIAC with a dominant weekend sweep over the Bethel Royals.

The Auggies opened their weekend with a 2-0 win over the Royals at Ed Saugestad Rink. Freshman forward Katie Flynn scored both goals for Augsburg, with her first goal coming 6:37 into the first period, and her second on an empty net with 18 seconds left in the third period to put the game away. Emily Ach assisted on both Flynn goals, and Bridget Wagner got an assist on the first one. The Auggies dominated from start to finish, outshooting the Royals 34-12 in the game.

When the two teams met again the following afternoon in Blaine, Augsburg cruised to a 6-0 blowout. Lanie Lobdell opened the scoring 12:59 into the first period and doubled the Auggie lead 10:49 into the second. Goals by Mackenzie Molnar and McKenna Ellena gave Augsburg a commanding four goal lead heading into the final frame, and Hollywood Hermanson and Hannah Gold scored two more in the third to put the finishing touches on a great all-around team effort. Goalie Annie Juergens recorded twenty saves in her second shutout of the season.

Following the MIAC series, the Auggies traveled to UW-Eau Claire, where they lost a 4-0 non conference game to the Blugolds, the No. 3 ranked team in the country. Augsburg was held scoreless by good defense and goaltending, which limited the Auggies to only twenty shots despite having five power play opportunities.

Augsburg is currently fourth in the MIAC. They have a weekend series against Saint Benedict coming up, who are currently 2-6 in conference play and haven’t beaten the Auggies since December 2014. This will be a great chance for Augsburg to pick up some crucial points as they make their playoff push. The Auggies will play the home portion of the weekend series on Saturday, Jan. 25.