Men's Hockey 1/29/05 -- Augsburg 7, Bethel 5

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (1/28/05) -- Critter Nagurski (So., International Falls, Minn.) scored two goals and had an assist for Augsburg College, while teammate Aaron Johnson (So., Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) added four assists, as the Auggies claimed a split in a key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's hockey series with a 7-5 triumph over Bethel University on Saturday night at the Augsburg Ice Arena.

Danny Carlson (Fr., Roseville, Minn.) had three assists, and twin brothers Danny Clements (Fr., Grande Prairie, Alberta/Grande Prairie Composite HS) and David Clements (Fr., Grande Prairie, Alberta/Grande Prairie Composite HS) had a goal and assist each for the Auggies, now 7-7-5 overall and 4-3-3 in MIAC play. Augsburg broke a five-game winless streak (0-2-3) with the victory.

Ryan Adams (So., Litchfield, Minn.) had two goals and an assist, and Joshua Storm (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) had three assists for the Royals, now 11-6-0 overall, 4-4-0 in MIAC play.

Augsburg scored four goals in the first period to jump out to a commanding advantage, holding the lead throughout the game. Danny Clements scored the first Auggie goal just 58 seconds into the game, with his brother David following on the power play at the 5:41 mark.

Bethel's Adams scored at the 6:28 mark to cut the lead to 2-1, but Nagurski scored his team-high 11th and 12th goals of the season in a 3:25 span late in the first period to give the Auggies a 4-1 lead at the intermission.

The teams exchanged power-play goals in the first six minutes of the second period, with Jeff Balvin (Fr., Maple Grove, Minn.) scoring for Bethel and Steve Collova (Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) scoring for the Auggies. Adams notched his second goal of the game at the 15:29 mark, but Augsburg's Joe Haehn (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS) scored his 11th goal of the season with 1:11 left in the period.

Jason Fleck (Fr., Camrose, Alberta/Camrose Composite HS) clinched the win for the Auggies on a goal at the 12:26 mark of the third period, putting the Auggies up 7-3. Bethel scored twice in the final 3:44, including the first collegiate goal for Steve Eastman (Fr., Edina, Minn.) and an extra-skater goal for Josiah Matuszewski (Fr., Granite Falls, Wash.).

Bethel outshot Augsburg by a 31-25 margin, including a 25-13 advantage in the final two periods. But Augsburg's Tony Ciro (Jr., Spring Lake Park, Minn./Hill-Murray HS), a transfer from Bethel and this past week's MIAC Player of the Week, came up with 26 saves to score the win.

Dustin Thompson made eight saves in the first period for Bethel before being relieved by Jesse Farley.

Both teams are back in action with key MIAC series against the top teams in the league next weekend. Augsburg faces St. Thomas in a two-game series, with Friday's (2/4) game at 7 p.m. at the UST/St. Thomas Academy Arena in Mendota Heights and Saturday's (2/5) game at 7 p.m. at the Augsburg Ice Arena.

Bethel faces MIAC leader St. John's, with Thursday's (2/3) game at 7 p.m. at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, and Friday's game at 7 p.m. at the Columbia Arena in Fridley.