Alexa Martin, staff writer

We are closing in on the finals of hockey season, where both the Augsburg Mens and Womens Hockey are beginning to wrap up their seasons with a MIAC championship at stake.

The womens team traveled to Duluth last week to play St. Scholastica in the quarter-finals of the MIAC playoffs. St. Scholastica pulled ahead early with two goals in the first period, but the Auggies would not let this fly, and in the second period, they scored two back-to-back goals to tie the game. Scholastica responded by scoring one more goal in the second period, leaving them with a one-point lead. Though the Auggies tied up the game in the third period with another goal Scholastica pulled ahead with three more goals, ending the season for the Auggies. Though the win did not go in favor of the Auggies, they outshot Scholastica by a 43-33 margin, letting us know that this team did not go down without a fight. Congratulations to this team on a great season and we all look forward to seeing what you do next year! 

The mens team had the home-ice advantage when playing Gustavus last week, where they won 4-3. The Auggies pulled ahead with a one-point lead in the first period to start off the game with a 1-0 lead. Gustavus responded back with two goals in the second period while the Auggies only got one goal, which tied the game at the end of the second period. The third period was one that each team fought hard for and both teams ended the period scoring one goal each, leading to another tie and a shoot-out. The Auggies took the win in the shoot-out and advanced to the semi-finals against Bethel. The team took to the ice last Wednesday against Bethel with that fighting spirit that we have seen all season long, dominating the game with a 7-0 final score and advancing them to the finals where they will face St. Olaf on Saturday, March 5 on home ice for the MIAC Championship. We wish you the best of luck, Auggies, and hope you see you bring home another championship this season!

If the Auggie mens hockey team wins the MIAC championship, that will automatically place them in the NCAA national tournament, where their season will extend in order to compete for the national championship. If the Auggies lose the MIAC championship game, there is a chance that they will still be granted a spot in the tournament by the tournament committee, since their season was so spectacular. The Auggies finished the regular season with a record of 24-3 and were ranked in the top ten nationally all season long.