The Gustavus men’s hockey team snapped a five-game winless streak and clinched a MIAC Playoff spot with a 3-1 win over Augsburg at Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter, Minn. on Saturday night. Joe Welch had a goal and two assists to lead the Gusties who are now 11-11-1 overall and 9-5-0 in the MIAC.
Gustavus took a 1-0 lead early in the first period as Joe Welch scored an even strength goal at the 3:50 mark. The Gusties led 1-0 after the first period.
Augsburg evened the score at 1-1 on a pretty power play goal by Aaron Johnson at 3:02 of the second period. The two teams battled evenly throughout the second period until the Gusties took a 2-1 lead on a power play goal by Sami Idris with :30 seconds left in the period.
The Gusties extended their lead to 3-1 on a goal by Steven Jensen just three minutes into the third period (3:19).
Kevin Johnson picked up the win in the nets for Gustavus. He recorded 17 saves. Andy Kent suffered the loss for Augsburg. He turned away 23 shots.
The Gusties will close out the regular season with a two-game series against Saint John’s next weekend. The two teams will play in St. Peter on Friday night and then head to St. Cloud on Saturday night.