Saint John's hockey faces Augsburg outdoors as part of Hockey Day Minnesota at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, at Polar Lakes Park in White Bear Township. Tickets are available, both single-day for Friday's game and for the three-day weekend. – Purchase Tickets

The two teams complete their MIAC series at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (HBNHC) in St. Cloud.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Friday, Jan. 27: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video
-Saturday, Jan. 28: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

TICKET INFORMATION: Fans wishing to attend SJU hockey's home games at the HBNHC in St. Cloud must purchase tickets online. The ticket booths will not be open due to staffing. – Purchase Online Tickets

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (10-7-2, 6-3-1 MIAC) split the series with Hamline last week despite posting a 91-38 advantage in shots over the two games. The Pipers' power play entered the series at 9.3 percent (5-for-54) and finished 4-for-6 on the weekend.

at Saint John's 6, Hamline 3 (Jan. 19)
SJU cored four unanswered goals in the final 7:25 of the third period, including two with an empty net, to top Hamline 6-3 last Thursday (Jan. 19) at the HBNHC. Eleven Johnnies recorded a point, led by junior forward Max Borst (Edina, Minn.), sophomore forwards Spencer Rudrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Jackson Sabo (Rosemount, Minn.) with three apiece.

Senior forward Nick Michel (Waconia, Minn.) tied the game at 3-3 for SJU with his team-leading 13th goal of the season – during a scrum in front of the net – at the 12:35 mark. Borst tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal, a rebound off the initial shot from Rudrud, 3:22 later.

Sabo and senior forward Henry Enebak (Lakeville, Minn.) sealed the win with an empty-net goal each in the final 1:28.

SJU recorded the game's first 11 shots on goal, with the 11th serving as freshman defenseman Mason Campbell's (Rosemount, Minn.) sixth goal of the season (15th point) 11:10 into the contest. 

The Pipers tallied their first shot on net with eight minutes left in the opening frame and gained a 2-1 lead on their third and fourth shots. Sam Dabrowski knotted the game at 1-1 at the 12:31 mark and Carson Simon gave the visitors the lead 12 seconds into a power play.

Borst tied the game at 2-2 with his fifth goal of the season, and 10th of his career, on a give-and-go from Sabo with 1:56 remaining. The Johnnies posted a 21-6, first-period advantage in shots.

Joe Collins gave the lead back to HU with a 5-on-3, power-play goal 3:19 into the second period. The Johnnies gained a five-minute power play at the 12:55 mark but mustered only four shots on goal.

at Hamline 4, Saint John's 1 (Jan. 21)
The Johnnies outshot Hamline by a 49-14 margin, including a 26-2 advantage in the third period, but suffered a 4-1 loss on Saturday night (Jan. 21) at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul. The Pipers went 2-for-3 on the power play and the Johnnies (10-7-2, 6-3-1 MIAC) hit the pipe twice. 

Kohl Hedquist gave HU a 1-0 lead 6:23 into the game and the Johnnies were whistled for a penalty on the scoring play, which the Pipers took advantage of on a goal from Andrew Erwin 44 seconds into the man advantage.

Junior forward Lewis Crosby (Edina, Minn.) cut the Johnnies' deficit in half with a power-play goal – SJU's first since Dec. 10 – with 2:20 left in the frame.

Jordon Halverson padded the Pipers' lead with a power-play goal halfway (9:36) through the second period and Sam Dabrowski ended the game's scoring 5:42 into the third.

OFF THE SCHNEID: Crosby's power-play goal Saturday night snapped a 0-for-23 drought for the Johnnies on the man advantage going all the way back to Dec. 10 vs. Lawrence (Wis.) in Rosemount. Prior to the drought, SJU showcased one of the most prolific power-play squads in NCAA Division III at 33.9 percent (19-for-56) through the season's first 13 games.

SHOT MARGIN IN A LOSS: Saturday's 35-shot margin the 10th game in which SJU outshot its opponent by 35 or more since 2002-03, but the first loss. The Johnnies also outshot their opponents by 30 or more in three ties during that span: by 33 (55-22) in a 2-2 tie to Concordia (Wis.) in 2011; 32 (53-21) in a 3-3 draw at Minnesota-Crookston in 2003; and 30 (51-21) in a 3-3 tie to Hamline in 2019. 

STAT COMPARISONS: Aside from the penalty kill, the Johnnies and Auggies are evenly matched in the other three major statistical categories in conference play.

Scoring Offense
2. AUG, 3.63 gpg. (3.18 overall)
3. SJU, 3.60 gpg. (3.16 overall)

Scoring Defense
2. SJU, 2.20 gpg. (2.11 overall)
5. AUG, 2.75 gpg. (2.65 overall)

Power Play
3. SJU, 24.4 percent/10-41 (24.4 percent/20-82 overall)
4. AUG, 23.5 percent/8-34 (23.6 percent/17-72 overall)

Penalty Kill
5. AUG, 81.1 percent/30-37 (82.3 percent/51-62 overall)
8. SJU, 64.0 percent/16-25 (71.7 percent/43-60 overall)

A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: Augsburg (9-7-1, 5-3-0 MIAC), like SJU, split its weekend series Jan. 20-21 against Gustavus Adolphus. The Auggies scored their first two goals on the power play in a 4-1 road win Friday night in St. Peter, but the Gusties built a 3-0 lead and broke the 3-3 tie with 8:33 remaining in a 4-3 victory Saturday night in Minneapolis. Senior forward Austin Dollimer leads the team in goals (8) and points (16), and is followed by three teammates with 13 points apiece: junior forward Daniel Chladek (5g/8a), senior forward Gavin Holland (6g/7a) and senior forward Erik Palmqvist (5g/8a). Two Auggies, senior defenseman Mason Palmer (United States of America) and sophomore goaltender Samuel Vyletelka (Slovakia), competed at the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games Jan. 11-22 in Lake Placid, N.Y. Vyletelka is 7-4-1 with a 2.38 GAA and a .908 save percentage (266), while senior goaltender Jack Robbel is 2-3 with a 3.02 GAA and a .887 save percentage (134 saves). 

LAST SEASON: SJU and Augsburg split the series for the third-straight season in 2021-22.

at Augsburg 5, Saint John's 1 (Feb. 18, 2022)
SJU saw its four-game win streak end with a 5-1 loss at then-No. 4 Augsburg last Feb. 18 (2022) in Minneapolis.

An SJU turnover at its own blue line turned into a breakaway goal for Palmqvist with 6:58 left in the first period for a 1-0 lead. Kyler Yeo made it 2-0 for the Auggies 2:11 into the second period and Fritz Belisle extended the lead to 3-0 with 10:36 left in the frame.

Michel erased the shutout for SJU with a power-play goal, his 10th tally of the season, 6:43 into the third period. The Auggies entered the game fourth in NCAA Division III on the penalty kill at 91.4 percent (74-for-81) and the power-play goal was just the second Augsburg allowed in conference play (50-for-52).

Augsburg quelled the Johnnies threat with two quick goals to seal its 13th consecutive victory. Belisle tallied his second goal of the night, on the power play with 5:09 remaining, and Grant Reichenbacher ended the scoring 1:22 later.

The Auggies recorded a 35-25 advantage in shots and both teams were 1-for-4 on the power play.

at Saint John's 3, Augsburg 2 (Feb. 19, 2022)
Senior captain Auggie Moore (Edina, Minn.) scored the game-winning goal with 0:00.1 remaining to give the Johnnies a 3-2 victory over on Feb. 19 (2022) at the HBNHC. Moore took the puck at the Johnnies' own blue line and skated into the offensive zone, stick-handled past two Auggie defenders into the slot and ripped home a wrister for his second goal of the night and 13th of the season.

SJU was awarded a five-minute power play when Palmer checked Moore high into the glass after a scoreless first period expired. The Johnnies, however, were whistled for a penalty 2:23 into the major. Nevertheless, Moore put the home team in front 1-0 with two seconds left on the 4-on-4.

Senior defenseman Peter Tabor (Edina, Minn.) made it 2-0 with a power-play goal 34 seconds later, his third tally of the season, on assist to goaltender Mac Berglove '21. The assist was the second of Berglove's career and first since his freshman season (at home against Augsburg on Feb. 1, 2018). Berglove improved to 12-5-2 on the year with 31 saves on the night.

Augsburg cut its deficit in half on a goal from Tommy Carls with six seconds left in the second period and tied it on the stick of Austin Martinsen with 3:48 remaining in regulation. The loss snapped the Auggies' 13-game win streak.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 44-39-2 against the Auggies since the 1986-87 season: 19-15-2 in St. Cloud, 19-22 in Minneapolis and 7-3 at a neutral site. SJU is 7-9-1 in the last 17 meetings and the two teams have split their MIAC series each of the past three seasons.