PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- The Augsburg College men's hockey team had its 14-game winning streak snapped in the first game of the NCAA Division III Final Four on Friday, falling to three-time defending national champion Middlebury College (Vt.) 5-2 in a national semifinal game at Plattsburgh State University's Stafford Ice Arena.
The Auggies, now 21-7-4 overall, will play in the national third-place game on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Eastern time (3 p.m. Twin Cities time), against the loser of Friday's other semifinal game between host Plattsburgh State (N.Y.) and Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Middlebury Panthers, now 23-2-2 overall, will play the winner of the second semifinal game in the national title game Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Augsburg was outshot by a 40-17 margin in the contest, the third straight game in which it was outshot by its opponent. The loss was just the second for Augsburg in its last 21 games (18-2-1).
Mark Spence (Sr., Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec) the Panthers' leading scorer, had two power play goals to put Middlebury up in the first period. Spence now has 26 goals on the season, 15 on the power play.
Augsburg cut the lead to 2-1 on a goal from Chirs McLeod (So., Phoenix, Ariz.), but Middlebury put two more goals on the scoreboard before the end of the second period, including a tally by Cam Petke (Jr., Madison, Wis./Shattuck-St. Mary's HS) with just one-tenth of a second remaining on the clock. Middlebury's Emil Jattne (Sr., Vallentura, Sweden) also had a goal.
John Bramer (So., Humboldt, Sask.) cut the lead with a goal at the 3:26 mark of the third period, but John Giannocopoulos (So., Needham, Mass.) finished the scoring for the Panthers at the 10:48 mark of the final stanza. Bramer led the Auggies with a goal and an assist in the game.
Augsburg could muster only one shot on goal in the first period, and was outshot by a 32-10 margin going into the final period. Augsburg goalie Ryan McIntosh (Fr., Calgary, Alberta) made 35 saves on the night, but saw his personal 12-game winning streak end with the loss in goal. McIntosh falls to 14-2-3 overall.
Augsburg, regular-season co-champions and playoff champions of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, is making its second appearance in the NCAA Final Four. The Auggies finished fourth in the country in its only other Final Four trip, in 1984.
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE 5, AUGSBURG COLLEGE 2
Augsburg College (21-7-4) 0-1-1---2
Middlebury College (23-2-2) 2-2-1---5
First Period - MID-Mark Spence (Ben Barnett, John Giannacopoulos), 10:15 (pp). MID-Spence (Curt Goldman, Giannacopoulos), 18:55 (pp).
Second Period - AUG-Chris McLeod (John Bramer, Martin Hlinka), 9:57. MID-Emil Jattne (Matt Skoglund, Francois Gravel), 14:39. MID-Cam Petke (David Bracken, Jattne), 19:59.
Third Period - AUG-Bramer (Todd Cary), 3:26. MID-Giannacopoulos (Ryan Goldman, Curt Goldman), 10:48.
Shots on Goal:
Augsburg 1-9-7---17,
Middlebury 17-15-8---40.
Goalie Saves:
AUG-Ryan McIntosh 15-13-7---35,
MID-Chris Farion 1-8-6---15.
Penalties:
Augsburg 6 for 12 minutes,
Middlebury 6 for 12 minutes.
Power Plays:
Augsburg 0-5,
Middlebury 2 for 5.
Officials: Referees Mike St. Louis and Dan Murphy, linesman Mike Emination.
Attendance: 3,200.
