The Gustavus men’s hockey suffered its fifth straight defeat falling to Augsburg College 3-2 in Minneapolis on Friday night. With the loss, the Gusties drop out of first place for the first time this season. Jon Keseley and Tim Ornell scored for Gustavus.
Augsburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Greg May (3:28) and Critter Nagurski (15:44). The Gusties cut the lead to 2-1 on a goal by Jon Keseley at the 16-20 mark of the first period. The Auggies took a 2-1 lead into the locker room at the end of the first 20 minutes.
Augsburg extended its lead to 3-1 when A.J. Hau scored from an extreme angle at 7:01 of the second period. The Gusties stayed within striking distance when Tim Ornell took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play advantage and scored at the 14:57 mark. The Auggies led 3-2 at the end of the second period.
Both teams would have several good scoring opportunities in the third period, but the goaltenders came up with big saves on several different occassions. The Gusties had two power play opportunities in the final eight minutes of the game, but could not get the puck past Andy Kent, who played very well for Augsburg. Gustavus pulled its goaltender in the final minute of play hoping to get the equalizer, but it was to no avail and the Gusties suffered another heartbreaking defeat.
Gustavus will look to snap its extended winless streak tomorrow evening at home against the Auggies. Game time is 7:05 pm.