Women's Hockey 1/11/03 -- Augsburg 3, Wisconsin-Superior 2 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (1/11/03) --Carrie Velenchenko (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) scored the game-winning goal with 1:01 remaining in the third period Saturday, giving Augsburg College a 3-2 win over the University of Wisconsin-Superior in a nonconference women's hockey game Friday night at the Augsburg Ice Arena.

Velencheno scored the game-winner on feeds from Lauren Chezick (So., Hastings, Minn.) and Annie Annunziato (Jr., Commack, N.Y.), as Augsburg extended its unbeaten streak to five straight games (4-0-1). Augsburg is now 7-7-1 overall, winning seven of its last 10 games.

Nicole Fortier (Jr., Hinton, Alberta) had two unassisted goals for Wisconsin-Superior, which drops to 7-9-1 overall.

Augsburg opened the game by setting a school record, as Chezick scored her team-leading 14th goal of the season just 11 seconds after the opening faceoff, with Velenchenko picking up the assist. The 11-second goal is the quickest goal to start a game in the eight seasons of Augsburg women's hockey; the previous mark was a goal 15 seconds into the game by Angie Rieger in a 2000 game at Renasselaer (N.Y.).

Fortier tied the game on an unassisted, power-play goal at the 3:56 mark of the second period. But Augsburg's Hannah Dietrich (So., Luverne, Minn.) gave the Auggies the lead after stealing a puck at the blue line and skating in for a goal at the 12:52 mark.

Fortier tied the game again for the Yellowjackets at the 13:39 mark of the third period, as her slap shot over the shoulder of Augsburg goalie Kristin Johnson (So., Minnetonka, Minn./Wayzata HS) deflected off the crossbar and went into the net. But Augsburg got the game-winner five minutes later.

Johnson made 20 saves for Augsburg to move to 4-1-0 on the season in net, moving her team-leading goals-against-average to 1.69. Ashley Nicolls (Jr., Hibbing, Minn.) made 18 saves in a losing effort.

Augsburg returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a series against St. Olaf. Thursday's (1/16) game is at 8 p.m. in Northfield, Minn., and Saturday's (1/18) game is at 2:05 p.m. at the Augsburg Ice Arena. Wisconsin-Superior returns to Northern Collegiate Hockey Association play with a two-game series at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Friday (1/17) at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday at 2:05 p.m.