BOXSCORE

ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/16/02) -- Annie Mattison (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska/East HS) scored two goals and Melynda Kleewein (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska/Dimond HS) scored the eventual game-winning goal midway through the second period, as Augsburg College claimed a 3-2 victory over the College of St. Catherine in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's hockey game Saturday afternoon at the Drake Ice Arena.

With the win, Augsburg improves to 9-12-2 overall and 8-7-1 in the MIAC, remaining in contention for the final spot in the MIAC's five-team postseason playoffs. Augsburg has to claim at least one tie or a victory against MIAC leader Gustavus Adolphus in its final series of the season next weekend in order to vault past St. Benedict and into the fifth spot in the MIAC standings. Augsburg holds the tiebreaker advantage against St. Benedict based on goal-differential in the teams' earlier series (a split, Augsburg winning 6-3 and losing 4-2 on Nov. 16-17).

Augsburg will host Gustavus on Friday (2/22) at 7:35 p.m. at the Augsburg Ice Arena and play at Gustavus on Saturday (2/23) at 2:05 p.m. in its final series of the regular season.

The MIAC's fifth-place team will play at fourth-place Concordia-Moorhead in the MIAC's "play-in" playoff game on Feb. 26 at Concordia, with the winner advancing to face Gustavus in the MIAC playoff semifinals on March 1 at the Schwan's SuperRink in Blaine, Minn. Third-seed St. Thomas will play second-seed St. Mary's in the other semifinal.

St. Catherine, playing with just 12 skaters and two goalies on Saturday, dropped to 9-13-1 overall and 5-11-1 in the MIAC with the loss to Augsburg. The Wildcats will finish their season with a MIAC game at Hamline on Wednesday (2/20) at 7 p.m. at the State Fair Coliseum.

St. Catherine opened Saturday's game with the first goal at the 17:59 mark of the first period, on an unassited goal from Deidre Lindstrom (Fr., Benson, Minn.). But Augsburg tied the game on a power-play goal from Mattison with 34 seconds left in the first period, on assists from Lauren Chezick (Fr., Hastings, Minn.) and Kristi Brusletto (Sr., Basalt, Colo.).

The Wildcats took the lead back early in the second period, when Angie Carstenbrock (Fr., South St. Paul, Minn.) scored from Lindstrom. But Augsburg scored twice in the second period, on Mattison's second goal of the game at the 7:00 mark from Corrie Krzyska (Fr., Fridley, Minn.), and from Kleewein's goal from Chezick and Jenny Martin (Fr., Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) at the 11:32 margin.

Augsburg outshot St. Catherine by a 27-25 margin. Katie Fedoryk (So., Austin, Minn.) made 23 saves to pick up the win for the Auggies, while Kendra Maxson (So., Conover, Wis./Eagle River HS) made 24 saves for the Wildcats.