MINNEAPOLIS -- Led by the first collegiate hat trick for Luke Dietsch (SR, St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS), the No. 5-ranked Augsburg University men's hockey team completed a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series sweep with a 7-2 home victory over Hamline University on Saturday evening.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 7, Hamline 2
LOCATION: Ed Saugestad Rink, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 12-1-2 overall (7-0-1 MIAC), Hamline 2-11-1 overall (2-6-0 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• In collecting his fifth collegiate multi-goal game, Dietsch scored a goal in each period, bringing his total to nine on the season, tied for fourth-most among MIAC players in overall statistics. Adding a goal in Friday's 6-3 victory, Dietsch had a four-goal weekend for the Auggies.
• Two Auggies had four-assist nights -- Tommy Carey (SO, Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead HS) and Lukas Gillett (SR, Rosemount, Minn./Rosemount HS), both linemates of center Dietsch. The duo assisted on all three of Dietsch's goals, and each added another for career-best single-game assist efforts. Gillett had a seven-point weekend against the Pipers, with a goal and six assists, while Carey had a six-point weekend, adding two goals in Friday's win.
• Austin Martinsen (SO, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) claimed his first collegiate multi-goal game, scoring a goal in the second period and another in the third period. 
• Jake Larson (SR, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) and Eric Brenk (SR, Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead HS) both scored power-play goals for the Auggies, part of a 2-for-3 effort on the man advantage on Saturday. On the weekend, Augsburg scored five power-play goals on seven opportunities. The Auggies are now converting on a 26.2-percent power-play pace (17-of-65), the power-play goals and percentage both tops among MIAC teams.
• The teams exchanged three goals in a 1:30 span early in the game, with Augsburg scoring twice, bracketing a Piper goal. Augsburg then scored four straight goals over the next period-and-a-half, then clinched the win with two goals in a 39-second span in the third period.
• Augsburg outshot Hamline by a 30-22 margin. Nick Schmit (SR, Fargo, N.D./Fargo North HS) had 11 saves in two periods, with Danill Gerasimov (SO, Moscow, Russia/State School 1944) collecting nine saves in the third period.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg entered the game ranked No. 5 nationally in the most recent rankings by both USCHO.com and D3hockey.com, prior to the holiday break.
• Augsburg has outscored its opponents by a 63-34 margin this season, with its 63 goals the most among MIAC teams and its 34 goals tied for second-fewest in the conference.
• Augsburg has four of the top seven overall scorers in the conference, with Alex Rodriguez (SR, Miami, Fla./Shattuck-St. Mary's (Minn.) HS) in second place with 23 points (MIAC-leading 13 goals, 10 assists), Dietsch in fifth with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists), and Carey and Chandler Madry (SR, Bakersfield, Calif./Faribanks (Alaska) BEST HS) tied for sixth with 18 points.
• Eighteen of Augsburg's 21 skaters who have seen game action have figured in the scoring this season, with 15 different Auggies scoring goals.

FOR THE FOES
• Tommy Hall scored from Zak Lambrecht at the 4:41 mark of the first period for Hamline, and Weiland Parrish scored a power-play goal from Kyle Wendorf and Taylor Trapp at the 5:33 mark of the third period.
• Starter Evan Robert had two saves in goal before being relieved by Sam Nelson, who had 21 saves.

UP NEXT
•  Augsburg has a nonconference weekend of games in Wisconsin, starting with a game at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the No. 1-ranked team in both Division III national polls, next Friday (1/11) at 7 p.m., and a game at Wisconsin-Stout next Saturday (1/12) at 7 p.m. in Menomonie, Wis.
• Hamline travels to face Wisconsin-Stout next Friday at 7 p.m., and Wisconsin-Superior next Saturday at 7 p.m.