MINNEAPOLIS -- Behind a four-goal performance from Fritz Belisle (JR, Red Wing, Minn./Roseville Area HS) and the fifth shutout of the season by goalie Samuel Vyletelka (FY, Zilina, Slovakia/Grammar School of St. Francis of Assisi), the No. 4-ranked Augsburg University men's hockey team advanced to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff Championship game with a 7-0 semifinal triumph over Bethel University on Wednesday evening.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 7, Bethel 0
LOCATION: Ed Saugestad Rink, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 24-3-0 overall, Bethel 15-11-1 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Belisle generated a natural hat trick, scoring the first three goals of the game in the first 23 minutes of play, including two power-play goals. His fourth goal, another power-play marker, capped the scoring for the Auggies in the dominating effort. The four-goal effort marked Belisle's first collegiate hat trick and his fourth multi-goal game of the season. Belisle now has 16 goals on the season, with eight assists for 24 points -- one of six Auggies with 20 or more points on the season.
• Augsburg excelled in all aspects of the game, outshooting Bethel by a 42-7 margin in the contest. The Auggies also went 4-for-6 on the power-play and added a shorthanded goal by Kyler Yeo (SO, Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray HS), an unassisted score late in the second period -- Augsburg's first shorthanded goal of the season.
• Andrew Hicks (SO, Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka HS) scored his first collegiate goal for the Auggies in the second period, and Austin Martinsen (SR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) scored his 15th goal of the season, a power-play marker midway through the third period.
• Keenan Lund (JR, Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS) had a three-assist effort for Augsburg, while Mason Palmer (JR, Plymouth, Minn./Plymouth HS) and Austin Dollimer (SR, Rosemount, Minn./Rosemount HS) had two assists each. Jarod Blackowiak (SR, Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS), Erik Palmqvist (JR, Linkoping, Sweden/Anderstorpsgymnasiet) and Grant Reichenbacher (JR, Verona, Wis./Madison Edgewood HS) also had assists for the Auggies.
• Vyletelka picked up the fifth shutout of his young career, and Augsburg's sixth of the season, with a seven-save effort. He is now 10-2-0 on the season.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Belisle's four-goal effort is the first for an Auggie since Nate Flynn scored four goals in a 5-0 win over Saint John's on Nov. 1, 2015. Belisle now has eight goals and two assists for 10 points in his last five games.
• Augsburg has now outscored its opponents by a 106-44 margin this season. Thirteen different Auggies have 10 or more points on the season. Seventeen different Auggies have scored goals on the year, and 21 of the 23 Auggie skaters who have seen playing time have contributed either a goal or an assist.
• It's the third time this season, and second game in a row, that Augsburg has scored four power-play goals in a game this season. Augsburg is now connecting on a 26.8-percent rate on its power-play opportunities (30-of-112).
• Augsburg has five of the top eight point-scorers in the MIAC, led by Martinsen's MIAC-leading 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists). Augsburg has four of the top-nine goal-scorers in the MIAC, led by Belisle's 16 goals, second-best in the MIAC, and Augsburg has three of the top-four assist producers in the MIAC, with Dollimer and Palmer both tied for second with 21 assists each.
• Augsburg's goalie tandem of Vyletelka and Jack Robbel (JR, Bloomington, Minn./Shattuck-St. Mary's HS) are the top two goalies in the MIAC in goals against-average, with Vyletelka leading the way with a 1.42 GAA and Robbel standing second at 1.72. Vyletelka leads the MIAC with a .941 save percentage, while Robbel is third with a .927 save percentage.

FOR THE FOES
• Travis Allen had 35 saves in goal for Bethel.
• Colin Mehren had two shots on-goal for the Royals.

UP NEXT
• The MIAC regular-season champions and No. 4-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division III national poll for most of the season, Augsburg will host No. 7-seed St. Olaf in the MIAC Playoff Championship Game on Saturday (3/5) at 7 p.m. at Ed Saugestad Rink. St. Olaf has claimed two upsets on the road in MIAC playoff action, topping No. 2-seed Concordia-Moorhead on Friday and No. 3-seed Saint John's 3-1 on Wednesday. The Auggies swept the Oles in their series on Jan. 28-29, winning 3-2 in overtime at St. Olaf and 7-1 at Augsburg.
• The winner of Saturday's MIAC title game will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 12-team NCAA Division III national tournament. Augsburg is now the No. 2 team in the nation in the Division III PairWise rankings after Wednesday's play, which could put Augsburg in a good position to receive one of the four at-large bids in the NCAA field if it loses on Saturday.