MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – After tying the game at two apiece near the end of the second period, an Augsburg goal just under three minutes into the final frame stood as the game-winner as the Gustavus men’s hockey team fell 3-2 Saturday evening at No. 14-ranked Augsburg University.
With the series split, the Gusties drop their overall record to 8-8-3 and 7-3 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the Auggies gain three points to reclaim the share of first place in the conference standings along with Gustavus and Saint John’s University.
After a scoreless first period in which Augsburg held a slim shots on goal advantage over the Gusties at 10-9, the two teams traded two goals each in the second period.
Colin Hernon (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.), the Gusties’ leading scorer, opened up the scoring just 54 seconds into the frame, tallying his sixth of the season, unassisted.
Penalties then began to riddle the visitors as Augsburg answered with two goals, scoring on 1-of-4 power play chances to claim a 2-1 lead through the midway mark.
The equalizer came at the 15:34 minute mark, as Jared Bromberg (So., Rochester, Minn.) received a pass from Hernon and his seeing-eye wrister found the twine for his second of the season, tying the game at 2-2 heading into the final 20 minutes.
Augsburg outshot Gustavus 17-10 in the second period, while the Gusties countered with an 11-7 shot advantage in the third period. However, Brett Bukowski’s goal during an odd-man rush at 2:47 of the third would be the eventual game-winner.
Hernon rang the pipe with just over a minute on the game clock prior to Gustavus adding pressure with an extra attacker, but they were unable to tie the game.
Robbie Goor (Fy., Anoka, Minn.) suffered the loss in net for the Black and Gold, tying a career-high with 31 saves.