FARIBAULT DAILY NEWS STORY

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College men's hockey forward Mario Mjelleli (SR, Faribault, Minn./Shattuck-St. Mary's HS) had a spring break to remember.

On March 18, Mjelleli signed a contract with the Mississippi River Kings of the Central Hockey League, and played that evening in a 6-5 victory over the Texas Brahmas at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss., a suburb of Memphis, Tenn. The Central Hockey League is considered a mid-level minor league in professional hockey -- much like the Class AA level of minor league baseball.

Though he played just one game for the River Kings before returning for his final weeks of college at Augsburg, he said the experience was an incredible one.

"It was an amazing feeling. It was very surreal to sign a pro contract and get paid to play the game you love," Mjelleli said. "My whole life, I always wanted to be a pro hockey player. Even though it is not the Minnesota Wild, it was still a pretty great sensation. I had a lot of fun down there, it was a tremendous experience."

An assistant captain for the Auggies this season, Mjelleli played in 94 games in his career as an Auggie, accumulating 69 points (26 goals, 43 assists). This season, he finished with six goals and 16 assists for 22 points in 26 games, as the Auggies finished 14-9-3 and qualified for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference postseason playoffs for the third straight year.

"It was pretty neat going down there, but I would not trade my time at Augsburg for anything. It will definitely be difficult to leave this place," Mjelleli said. "You can take the man out of Augsburg, but you can't take the Augsburg out of the man."

This season was also a special one for Mjelleli, as he was named as one of 25 nominees for the 2011 BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey Humanitarian Award, honoring college hockey's finest citizen-athletes. He was one of only three repeat nominees for the award, which will be presented on April 8 at the Division I Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn., though he was not among the eight finalists for the honor.