MINNEAPOLIS -- Behind a 29-save shutout by goalie Rebecca Sonnek (JR, Edina, Minn.), the Augsburg College women's hockey team maintained its lead in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings with a 3-0 victory over the University of St. Thomas on Friday night at Ed Saugestad Rink.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 3, St. Thomas 0
LOCATION: Ed Saugestad Rink, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 16-6-0 overall (12-3-0 MIAC), St. Thomas 8-10-3 overall (7-5-3 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Sonnek improved to 13-5-0 on the season in goal for Augsburg, recording her fourth shutout of the season and fifth of her career.
• Danielle Heitkamp (SR, Bismarck, N.D./Grand Rapids (Minn.) HS), Emily Ach (FY, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center HS) and Megan Robertson (JR, Boissevain, Manitoba) scored goals for the Auggies in the win, with Ach adding an assist for a two-point night.
• Heitkamp opened the scoring with a goal from Bridget Wagner (FY, Niles, Ill./Maine South HS) and Callen Naasz (SR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) at the 3:17 mark of the second period, extending consecutive-game point streaks to four for all three players. Heitkamp now has five goals on the season, and six points (one goal, five assists) in her last four games. Naasz has seven points (three goals, four assists) in her last four games, while Wagner had two goals and two assists in the span.
• The Auggies took a 2-0 lead at the 9:26 mark of the second period, when Ach scored an unassisted goal, her fourth goal of the year. Robertson scored her fourth goal of the season at the 12:17 mark of the third period, assisted by Ach and Bridget Walter (SO, Princeton, Minn.).
• St. Thomas outshot Augsburg by a 29-23 margin, including a 12-3 margin in the third period. Megan Johnson (SO, Madison, Wis./Memorial HS) had five shots on-goal for the Auggies, while Robertson and Ach had three shots each.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg, ranked No. 10 in the latest USCHO Division III national rankings, maintained sole possession of first place in the MIAC with 24 conference points, a point ahead of second-place Gustavus (14-5-3 overall, 10-2-3 MIAC). The Auggies had already clinched a berth in the five-team MIAC postseason playoffs, and Gustavus, Concordia-Moorhead (10-4-1 MIAC, 21 points) and Hamline (10-5-0 MIAC, 20 points) all clinched playoff berths on Friday. Three teams -- St. Thomas (17 points), St. Olaf (13 points) and Bethel (12 points) remain in the hunt for the final playoff berth.
• Augsburg's shutout win was its third over St. Thomas in program history, and its first since a 7-0 win at St. Thomas on Feb. 12, 2000.
• With three games remaining in the regular season, Augsburg's 16 wins are now all alone for the second-most wins in a full varsity-opponent season in program history, surpassing a 15-10-2 record in 2003-04. Augsburg's most wins in a season are 21 (21-7-1) in 1999-2000. Augsburg's 12 MIAC wins are now tied for the most in a single season in program history, along with the 12-1-1 league mark in 1999-2000.
• Sonnek's 13 wins, the most among MIAC goalies in overall statistics, are the second-most goalie wins in a single season in school history. Meg Schmidt set the single-season goalie win record with a 17-6-1 mark in 1999-2000. Sonnek's .949 save percentage is tops among MIAC goalies, while her 1.17 goals against-average and .722 winning percentage are both second-best.

FOR THE FOES
• Leah Schwartzman and Erica Bjorkman had four shots on-goal each for St. Thomas.
• Mackenzie Torpy had 20 saves in goal for the Tommies.

UP NEXT
• The teams complete the MIAC series on Saturday (2/11) game at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Thomas Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn.