BOXSCORE MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. -- George Jackson (JR, Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley HS), B.J. McClellan (SR, Cottage Grove, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) and Rory Vesel (FY, Rochester, Minn./Lourdes HS) scored goals for Augsburg College, but the Auggies were not able to come back from a three-goal deficit in a 5-3 loss to the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's hockey action on Friday evening at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.

Vesel's third goal of the season, assisted by Chris Student (SR, Edina, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's HS) and Mack Ohnsted (SO, Vernon Hills, Ill./Adali E. Stevenson HS), cut the Tommie lead to 5-3 with 3:01 left to play, but the Auggies couldn't cut further into the lead.

Five different players scored goals for St. Thomas (14-3-2 overall, 8-0-2 MIAC), the No. 8 ranked team in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division III national poll and No. 9-ranked team in the latest D3hockey.com national poll. Alex Niestrom and Jordan Lovick had a goal and an assist each for the Tommies, while Alex Altenbernd, Tyler Gubb and Michael Dockry also scored goals. Bryce Walker had two assists.

For Augsburg (9-7-3 overall, 2-5-3 MIAC), Student had two assists, giving him 10 on the season. Ohnsted's assist was his 14th of the season, giving him a team-best 17 points on the season. His 14 assists are tied for third-most among MIAC players in overall statistics.

Jackson opened the scoring with a goal at the 3:07 mark of the first period, assisted by Nolan Meyer (SO, Duluth, Minn./Cloquet HS) and WIll Barber (FY, Thorton, Colo./Chaparral HS).

But the Tommies scored three straight goals to take the lead back. Dockry scored just 90 seconds after Jackson's goal to tie the game, Lovick scored the lone goal of the second period, and Niestrom scored at the 4:48 mark of the third period to give St. Thomas a 3-1 lead.

McClellan cut the lead to 3-2 with his third goal of the season, assisted by Dylan Meier (FY, Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista HS) and Student, at the 7:33 mark of the third period, but Altenbernd and Gubb scored goals 30 seconds apart to give the Tommies a 5-2 lead at the 12:08 mark of the frame.

Matthew Bartels (FY, Sun City, Calif./Winston Churchill (Ore.) HS) had 23 saves in goal for Augsburg, while Drew Fielding had 16 saves for St. Thomas.

Augsburg returns to MIAC play next weekend with a series against Saint Mary's. Next Friday's (2/7) game is at 7 p.m. in Winona, Minn., and next Saturday's (2/8) game is at 7:05 p.m. at Ed Saugestad Rink.