Men's Hockey 1/31/04 -- Augsburg 4, St. Olaf 4 (OT) 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (1/31/04) -- Dave Nelson (So., Woodbury, Minn./South St. Paul HS) scored two goals for Augsburg College, while Josh Biser (So., Waunakee, Wis.) scored twice for St. Olaf College, as the teams played to a 4-4 overtime tie in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's hockey game on Saturday night at the Augsburg Ice Arena.

Jake Wegscheider (Sr., Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) had a goal and an assist for the Auggies, who moved to 5-9-4 overall, 3-4-3 in MIAC play. Mitch Mudra (Fr., Edina, Minn.) had two assists for the Oles, who moved to 6-7-4 overall, 3-2-3 in MIAC play.

The teams played to ties in both games of the weekend MIAC series, a series that featured the two teams currently battling for fifth place, the final postseason conference playoff spot. Augsburg has three conference weekends remaining, while St. Olaf has four left.

Augsburg jumped on the board early, as Nelson scored a power-play goal from Joe Haehn (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS) at the 1:36 mark. But St. Olaf quickly followed with its own power-play goal, from Joel Ihrie (So., Woodinville, Wash.) who scored from Mudra at the 3:49 mark. The Oles took the lead at the 15:24 mark, as Kyle Hilmershausen (Fr., Wausau, Wis.) scored from Mudra, also on the man advantage.

Five of the eight goals scored in the game were on power-plays, as Augsburg went 3-for-6 and St. Olaf went 2-for-6.

Augsburg tied the game at the 1:48 mark of the second period, as Wegscheider scored a power-play goal from Collin Nash (Sr., Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) and Steve Belde (Jr., Lake Elmo, Minn./Hill-Murray HS). Biser scored his first goal of the game for the Oles at the 6:09 mark, on a feed from Wally Cisewski (Sr., Wayzata, Minn./Minnetonka HS). But the Auggies were able to tie the game again at the 13:43 mark, as Brad Bjorgum (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) found the net on the power play from Wegscheider.

Biser put the Oles in front with his 10th goal of the season, and second of the game, at the 2:20 mark, redirecting a pass from Ron Guild (So., Kent, Wash.) into the net. But Nelson tied it five minutes later, scoring his sixth goal of the year from Tony Beaulieu (Fr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS).

St. Olaf outshot Augsburg by a 44-37 margin, including a 5-3 edge in the scoreless overtime period. Erik Young (Jr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) stopped 40 shots for the Auggies, while Garret Hasti (Sr., St. Louis Park, Minn.) made 33 saves for the Oles.

The teams return to MIAC action with series next weekend. Augsburg faces Bethel, with Friday's (2/6) game at 7:05 p.m. at the Columbia Ice Arena in Fridley and Saturday's (2/7) game at 7:05 p.m. at the Augsburg Ice Arena. St. Olaf faces St. John's in a two-game series, with Friday's game at 8 p.m. at the Northfield Ice Arena and Saturday's game at 7:05 p.m. at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.