Jacob Willis, contributor 

The Augsburg hockey programs took on St. Scholastica for senior day weekend, and the games did not disappoint. We were able to see some incredible games, special performances from players on both sides and most importantly, we now know where our Auggies stand in the playoff seeding. 

Starting with the mens hockey games, the series opener against St. Scholastica may have been the craziest game we’ve seen all year and will possibly remain the craziest game we’ll see for years to come. The Auggies delivered the first blow with a goal from Dylan Schneider in the first period. About five minutes later St. Scholastica answered back with a goal of their own at the end of the first period. This back and forth theme would be a constant throughout the contest. Not even a full minute into the second period, St. Scholastica put up a second goal, giving them the lead. But again, about five minutes later, another goal was scored, this time by the Auggies, tying the game. About here is where the game started to get a bit chippy. 

The competitiveness of players on both squads truly shined, making the rest of the game a spectacle to watch. The score would continue to bounce back and forth until it was 5-4 Augsburg with about 30 seconds left in the third period. At this point, the game looked to be just about over for the Saints. That was until St. Scholastica forward Carsen Richels scored his third goal of the night, completing the hat trick as well as tying the game for the Saints with almost no time to spare. The Saints and Auggies would go to overtime and remained tied after the extra frame, after which St. Scholastica would win a shootout to seal the game. St. Scholastica would also take the win the following day by a score of 4-1. The weekend sweep by the Saints would secure them the MIAC regular season championship, meaning the Auggies would finish in second place. 

The women’s series of games went just about as to be expected, meaning the Auggies absolutely dominated. The weekend started off with a Friday night game in Duluth, where the Saints would jump out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period. That would be all in terms of scoring for the Saints, however, as the Auggies would score early in the second period and didn’t look back from there. The Auggies would end up scoring six unanswered goals. Not only that, but we got to see yet another hat trick Friday night, this time by an Auggie. Junior forward Julianna Teske’s three goals were icing on the cake for a dominant win by the Auggies. Saturday’s game was more of the same from the Auggie women. In front of a packed house at Ed Saugestad Rink on senior day, tough defense and a fast-paced offense helped the Auggies cruise to a smooth 5-2 victory. 

After last weekend, both the Auggie men’s and women’s teams earned the second place spot in the MIAC playoff seeding, which means both have earned a semifinal home playoff game. The women’s team will go up against a tough St. Benedict squad, while the men’s will face off against St. John’s. As St. Benedict and St. John’s step into the energy filled fan environment of the Ed Saugested rink, the Auggie men and women will each look to reach the MIAC championship, a place that is very familiar to this program.