(Jeff Lawler photo)
Gustavus at Augsburg
Date: Saturday, March 3
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Minneapolis, Minn. | Ed Saugestad Rink
Live Coverage: Stats | Video
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team is set for a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff Championship contest Saturday evening at Augsburg University. The No. 4 seeded Gusties (12-12-3) take on the No. 3 seeded Auggies (17-9) at 7 p.m. from Ed Saugestad Rink.
Pre-Sale Tickets
An allotment of pre-sale tickets for Saturday’s playoff championship game at Augsburg University’s Ed Saugested Rink are available today (2/28). Those interested in purchasing pre-sale tickets should contact Athletic Director Tom Brown at (507) 933-7005 or brownie@gustavus.edu. Ticket prices are $7 for adults (no senior discounts) and $3 for students (children ages five and under are free). Students must show a valid student ID.
Last Time Out
Colton Schmidt’s (So., Eden Prairie, Minn.) overtime game-winner gave the Gusties a 4-3 victory over the University of St. Thomas last Saturday, leading the team to its first MIAC Championship appearance since 2014.
MIAC Playoffs
In a race that came down to the final series of the regular season, St. Thomas locked down the top seed and the regular season championship with a sweep over Hamline, while Saint John’s claimed the No. 2 seed and Augsburg earning the No. 3 seed. Gustavus hosts Concordia in the No. 4/5 seed quarterfinal matchup.
The Gusties are making their first appearance in the MIAC Playoffs since the 2013-14 season, in which the Black and Gold fell 2-1 in the MIAC Championship game versus St. Thomas. Gustavus qualified for the conference playoffs each previous season since the tournament expanded to five teams in 2002-03. Making its 24th appearance in the playoffs this season, Gustavus holds a 20-24 record with four playoff titles since the four-team MIAC Tournament was initiated for the 1986-87 season. The last MIAC Championship title victory came during the 2011-12 season as they Gusties defeated St. Olaf 4-2 and went on to fall in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.
Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinals | Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018
No. 4 Gustavus def. No. 5 Concordia 2-1
Semifinals | Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018
No. 3 Augsburg def. No. 2 Saint John’s 4-3
No. 4 Gustavus def. No. 1 St. Thomas 4-3 (OT)
Championship | Saturday, March 3, 2018
No. 4 Gustavus at No. 3 Augsburg
Series Snapshot
Saturday’s game will mark the 131st all-time meeting between the Gustavus and Augsburg men’s ice hockey programs, with the Gusties holding an 74-50-6 advantage in the series. The Auggies hold a 6-4 advantage over Gustavus in the previous 10 meetings between the two squads.
Gustavus and Augsburg split its regular series series Jan. 19-20, with the Gusties earning a 4-1 victory over the then No. 14-ranked Auggies in game one prior to settling for the series split as Augsburg prevailed 3-2 in Minneapolis, Minn. during game two.
The two teams last met for a MIAC Playoff matchup in 2011, with the Gusties earning a 4-3 double-overtime quarterfinal victory at Don Roberts Ice Rink. Gustavus and Augsburg also met the previous season with the Gusties defeating the Auggies 6-5 in four overtimes at Don Roberts Ice Rink, which set a NCAA record for the longest game in Division III Men’s Hockey history.
Scouting Augsburg
The No. 15-ranked Auggies concluded their regular season schedule with series split with Concordia College to receive the No. 3 seed for the conference playoffs, finishing the regular season with a 17-9 conference mark. In a MIAC Playoff Semifinal matchup at No. 2 seed Saint John’s University last Saturday, Augsburg came back from a 3-1 deficit and scored twice in the final minutes to earn a third consecutive trip to the conference title game.
The Auggies are the top-scoring team in the conference with an average of 3.65 goals per game, led the forward trio of Chandler Madry, Nate Flynn, and Luke Dietsch. Each rank amon g the top-five scorers in the MIAC. Madry is the team’s leading scorer with 26 points and is the league-leader with 20 assists, while Nate Flynn and Luke Dietsch each have 25 points. The Auggies have won the conference playoff title the last two seasons, moving on to fall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament both times versus St. Norbert College.
Goaltending Consistency
The netminding duo of Chris Amsden (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) and Robbie Goor (Fy., Anoka, Minn.) have been a steady between the pipes all season, each sharing time in goal. Goor is the league-leader with a .187 goals against average, while Amsden ranks second with a .929 save percentage.
Gustavus Notables
- First-year forward Caleb Anderson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) leads the MIAC in freshman scoring with 15 points (5g-10a).
- Anderson is tied for the lead in the MIAC with two shorthanded goals. The Gusties scored one shorthanded goal all of last season.
- After two consecutive series sweeps over Hamline and Bethel, the Gusties surpassed their win total from the 2016-17 season.
- 20 Gusties have found their way into the goal-scoring column this season, while 11 have tallied at least two goals.
- Kegan Couture (So., Pequot Lakes, Minn.) scored his first goal in Black and Gold in the MIAC Quarterfinal game versus Concordia.
- Chris Amsden posted his third and fourth consecutive wins in net during last week’s MIAC Playoff victories over Concordia and St. Thomas.
- The Gusties’ win over St. Thomas stood as the first MIAC Semifinal victory since a 3-2 win over Saint John’s in 2014.
- Colton Schmidt recorded his first career two-goal game with a career-high three points at St. Thomas. He leads the team with three game-winning goals, which ranks third in the MIAC.
- Gustavus has posted a 9-3-2 record when scoring a power-play goal and is 3-9-1 when not scoring a goal on the man advantage.
- When outshooting the opponents, the Gusties are 8-4-2. Conversely, Gustavus is 3-8-1 when being outshot by its opponent.
- The Gusties are undefeated with scoring four or more goals at 7-0.