2018-19 ALL-USCHO DIVISION III WOMEN'S TEAM RELEASE

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University women's hockey defender Nikki Nightengale (JR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) was named to the All-USCHO Division III Women's Team as a third-team honoree by the USCHO.com website, it was announced on Friday.

Nightengale is the first Augsburg player to be named to the All-USCHO Team since the Division III women's team was first announced in the 2013-14 season. The team is made up of three six-player squads, organized by three forwards, two defenders and a goalie on each team, along with a six-player rookie team of three forwards, two defenders and a goalie.

The award is the latest for Nightengale, who also earned CCM Hockey/American Hockey Coaches Association Division III All-America Team honors as a second-team West Region selection in March. It's the 10th time an Augsburg women's hockey player has earned a national postseason honor by various organizations since the sport began at the university in 1995. Nightengale also earned All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors in February for the second season in a row.

Nightengale is one of five MIAC players among the 24 selected to the All-USCHO squads; Hamline had three players selected -- first-team forward Bre Simon, second-team forward Leah Schwartzman and rookie forward Molly Garin, and St. Thomas goalie Kenzie Torpy was a first-team selection. The All-USCHO teams are selected by USCHO.com, a website that covers college hockey.

Nightengale was one of the best scoring defenders in the country this season, compiling 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points. Among NCAA Division III defenders nationally, Nightengale led the country in goals, while her 0.81 points per-game average was sixth-best and her 21 points were tied for 11th-most. Among MIAC defenders in overall statistics, she led the conference in goals and finished third in points. Her goal total was tied fifth-most overall among all MIAC players regardless of position, with her point total tied for 12th-most overall. 

Nightengale tied for the team's lead in special-teams goals with five power-play markers and one shorthanded goal, with the power-play goals tied for third-most among MIAC players (and tied for 15th-most nationally), and her nine power-play points (five goals, four assists) tied for sixth-most. She had a goal or assist in 15 of her 26 games this season, with six multi-point games. In her 79-game career, she now has 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points.

Under ninth-year head coach Michelle McAteer, Augsburg finished 14-7-5 overall, 11-3-4 in MIAC play, finishing in a tie for third in the MIAC standings and earning the program's fourth straight berth in the MIAC postseason playoffs. Augsburg has had 13 or more wins, and nine or more MIAC victories, in each of the last four seasons.

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(NOTE: Story includes information taken from Augsburg's All-America women's hockey release.)