MINNEAPOLIS -- Claiming its first series sweep of the University of St. Thomas since the 1999-2000 season, the Augsburg University women's hockey team recorded its 14th straight victory over Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents, closing the regular season with a 3-1 triumph on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 3, St. Thomas 1
LOCATION: Ed Saugestad Rink, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 20-5-0 overall (15-3-0 MIAC), St. Thomas 12-9-4 overall (11-6-1 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Augsburg surrendered the opening goal of the game, but scored three straight goals to claim the victory. The Auggies tied the game at the 11:53 mark of the first period, as Lanie Lobdell (JR, Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley HS) scored her second goal of the weekend and eighth of the season, snapping a wrist shot in the slot off a pass from behind the net by Mikayla Jones (SR, Oak Park Heights, Minn./B.E. Emerson Prep HS). Jeanette Bealke (SR, White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) had the second assist on the goal.
• Augsburg took the lead 76 seconds into the second period, as Jones gained the puck at the blue line off a steal by McKenna Ellena (JR, Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) and sprinted to the net, firing the puck underneath the crossbar for her ninth goal of the year.
• The Auggies capped the victory with an empty-net goal by Nikki Nightengale (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), her fourth goal of the year, in the final minute of play.
• Augsburg outshot St. Thomas by a 42-15 margin, including a 14-2 advantage in the second period.
• Annie Juergens (SR, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) had 14 saves for the Auggies in the win.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• The sweep of St. Thomas was the first for Augsburg since the Auggies won their first four meetings with the Tommies, in the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons.
• Augsburg's 20 wins mark just the second time that it has won 20 or more games in a season, with all its opponents on the varsity level (since 1998-99), in program history. Augsburg went 21-7-1 in the 1999-2000 campaign. The Auggies went 22-8-2 in the program's second season, 1996-97, but just four games were against varsity opponents (2-2-0), with the remainder against club-level competition.
• Augsburg's 15 wins in MIAC play are its most in program history, surpassing its 14-4-0 league record in 2016-17.
• Augsburg has now won 14 straight games over MIAC opponents, outscoring its opponents by a 52-11 margin in the process. Augsburg has now won 17 of its last 19 overall contests and 10 games in a row.

FOR THE FOES
• Allie Monrean scored for the Tommies at the 7:02 mark of the first period, assisted by Emily Nadeau and Luci Bianchi.
• Eryn Cooley had 39 saves in goal for St. Thomas.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg will be the No. 3 seed in the five-team MIAC postseason playoffs, and will travel to face No. 2-seed Hamline (18-3-4 overall, 14-1-3 MIAC) in a semifinal contest on Saturday (2/29) at 2 p.m. at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn.
• St. Thomas is the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, and will face No. 5-seed Saint Mary's in a quarterfinal game on Thursday (2/27), with the winner to take on regular-season champion Gustavus in Saturday's semifinals.