Greg Miller, Staff Writer

Augsburg men’s hockey set out on a quest to be named MIAC Tournament Champions for the fifth consecutive season, but fell short after a heart-breaking 3-2 loss in the semifinal game against Concordia College-Moorhead. 

The Auggies saw themselves sitting at the No. 1 seed heading into the last weekend of MIAC play before getting swept by St. Thomas and falling to the No. 3 seed, meaning that they had to play playoff hockey on the road in Moorhead. The Auggies went down 1-0 halfway through the first period before Gavin Holland scored his team leading 12th goal of the season to tie it up. Two early second period goals from the Cobbers saw the Auggies on the doorstep of elimination, but Erik Palmqvist’s power-play goal gave the Auggies some light as they were now only down 3-2. In the third period the Auggies were only able to muster five shots and couldn’t find the back of the net, shutting the door on their hopes for five consecutive MIAC titles.

Statistically, the Auggies were the best defensive team in the MIAC this season. They led  the conference in goals against average (GAA), allowing just under two goals a game, with Daniil Gerasimov leading all MIAC goaltenders in GAA and finished second in Save Percentage. On the offensive sidem  the Auggies were middle of the pack in goals per game, with Gavin Holland’s 12 goals good enough for third best in the MIAC. 

The Auggies finished the year at 12-11-1 (.558 PCT), their lowest winning percentage since the 2014-15 season, which is to be expected of a team who had lost 8 seniors from the year before, many of whom led the team in goals and assists, as well as their starting goalie. 

This year, the Auggies will lose only four seniors, Jason Krych, Tommy Carey, John O’Conner and Ben Henderson, and will look to bounce back and win another MIAC Championship next season.