ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Emily Ach (JR, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center HS) claimed her first collegiate hat trick, with her extra-attacker goal with 12 seconds left in regulation giving her Augsburg University women's hockey team a 4-4 overtime tie at St. Catherine University on Friday night, enabling the Auggies to clinch a berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference postseason playoffs for the fourth straight season.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 4, St. Catherine 4 (OT)
LOCATION: Drake Ice Arena, St. Paul, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 11-6-5 overall (8-3-4 MIAC), St. Catherine 5-13-4 overall (2-9-4 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• With her first hat trick and third multi-goal game of her collegiate career, Ach figured in the scoring on all four Augsburg goals on Friday, scoring three times with an assist. Ach now has eight goals on the season and 17 in her 74-game career.
• Trailing 3-2 going into the third period, Augsburg tied the game at the 12:23 mark, as Valerie Whichello (SR, Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge HS) scored her fifth goal of the season, a power-play marker assisted by Megan Johnson (SR, Madison, Wis./Memorial HS) and Ach.
• The Wildcats took a 4-3 lead on a goal with 2:18 left. Augsburg pulled its goalie with 1:27 left, and 15 seconds later, Ach tied the game on a goal from Mackenzie Molnar (JR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) and Nikki Nightengale (JR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS).
• Ach opened the scoring with a goal 1:49 into the first period, assisted by Hollywood Hermanson (JR, Dover, Minn./Dover-Eyota HS) and Elly Strunk (SO, Blooming Prairie, Minn./Blooming Prairie HS). She scored her second goal at the 14:50 mark of the first, a power-play goal assisted by Bridget Wagner (JR, Niles, Ill./Maine South HS) and Molnar.
• Augsburg and St. Catherine had 27 shots each in the contest, with the Auggies outshooting the Wildcats 2-0 in overtime.
• Annie Juergens (JR, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) had 23 saves in goal for Augsburg.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg has clinched its eighth berth in the MIAC postseason playoffs in program history, and its fourth in a row under ninth-year head coach Michelle McAteer.
• Augsburg is tied for third place in the MIAC standings with Gustavus, with each having 20 points with three games remaining in the regular season. St. Thomas (28 points) and Hamline (26 points) occupy the top two spots in the league table, with Concordia-Moorhead in fifth place with 15 points.

FOR THE FOES
• Hunter Gallus scored from Brede Postier at the 9:27 mark of the first period for St. Catherine. Laken Muller scored from Lexi Muller 34 seconds into the second period, and Veronica Gruett scored 26 seconds later, assisted by Ashlyn Rakos.
• Brede Postier gave the Wildcats a 4-3 lead with a goal from Morgan Tentis at the 17:42 mark of the third period.
• Bryce Boreen had 23 saves in goal for St. Catherine.

UP NEXT
• The teams complete the MIAC series on Saturday (2/9) at 4 p.m. at Ed Saugestad Rink.