BOXSCORE

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Augsburg College scored two first-period goals to take the lead, but host St. Olaf College rallied with three straight goals to claim a 3-2 win in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's hockey game on Saturday evening at the Northfield Ice Arena.

Augsburg (14-8-1 overall, 7-6-1 MIAC) scored goals at the beginning and end of the first period, as Nick Guran (SO, McHenry, Ill./McHenry East HS) scored from Chris Johnson (SR, Verona, Wis./Madison Memorial HS) and David Hines (SO, Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Tech HS) just 26 seconds into the game, and Joel Sauer (JR, Madison, Wis./Memorial HS) scored an unassisted goal with four seconds left in the period.

But St. Olaf (11-8-4 overall, 5-5-4 MIAC) scored three straight goals to take over the game. Thor Josefson scored at the 2:06 mark of the second period, Isak Tranvik scored a power-play goal at the 5:06 mark of the third period, and Britton Smith scored the eventual game-winning goal at the 13:54 mark of the final frame. Tranvik added an assist for the Oles for a two-point night.

St. Olaf outshot Augsburg by a 37-30 margin. Justin Lochner (FY, Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice HS) had 34 saves in goal for the Auggies, while Nick Krauss collected 28 saves for the Oles.

Despite the loss, Augsburg is still in the hunt for a spot in the five-team MIAC postseason playoffs. Three teams -- Gustavus (22 points), Hamline (21 points) and St. Thomas (18 points) have already clinched spots in the playoffs, and Augsburg sits in fourth place with 15 league points.

The Auggies face Bethel (14 points) next weekend in the final series of the regular season, with Friday's (2/19) game at 7:05 p.m. at the Augsburg Ice Arena, and Saturday's (2/120) game at 7 p.m. at the Schwan SuperRink in Blaine, Minn.