MINNEAPOLIS – Behind the 10th career shutout and third of the season by goalie Samuel Vyletelka (JR, Zilina, Slovakia/Grammar School of St. Francis of Assisi), the Augsburg University men's hockey team clinched its ninth straight berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference postseason playoffs, claiming a series sweep of Hamline University with a 3-0 win on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 3, Hamline 0
LOCATION: TRIA Rink, St. Paul, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 13-8-2 overall (10-3-1 MIAC), Hamline 7-14-2 overall (3-10-1 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Auggies struck just 18 seconds into the game, as Nick Catalano (SO, Pewaukee, Wis./Arrowhead HS) scored his eighth goal of the season, firing a shot off the pipe that deflected off the Hamline goalie and into the net. Peyton Hanson (SO, Hudson, Wis./Hudson HS) and Landon Parker (FY, East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks HS) assisted on the goal.
• Cade Stibbe (SO, Fargo, N.D./Fargo Davies HS) gave the Auggies a 2-0 lead at the 12:52 mark of the first period, snapping a shot in the deep slot off a defender's foot and into the net, assisted by Logan Kons (SR, Niles, Ill./Niles West HS) and Kyler Yeo (SR, Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray HS).
• Daniel Chladek (SR, Anaheim, Calif./Canyon HS) capped the scoring for the Auggies with an empty-net goal with 1:06 left to play, assisted by Fritz Belisle (SR, Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing HS) and Erik Palmqvist (SR, Linkoping, Sweden/Anderstorpsgymnasiet). 
• Augsburg snapped a seven-game streak of being outshot by its opponent, outshooting the Pipers by a 29-26 margin. Vyletelka stopped all 26 shots he faced to record his third shutout of the season and 10th of his collegiate career.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Moving into first place all alone in the MIAC standings prior to the final weekend of the regular season, Augsburg clinched its ninth straight berth in the five-team MIAC postseason playoffs, its 22nd conference playoff berth in school history. Augsburg has won six MIAC playoff titles in school history (1998, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023).
• Vyletelka leads the MIAC with a 31.30 saves per-game average, with a league-best 720 saves. He is the only MIAC goalie to play more than 1,000 minutes this season, with 1,340:43 minutes played. Entering Saturday's play, Vyletelka ranked third among NCAA Division III goalies nationally in total saves.

FOR THE FOES
• Keaton Woosley had 26 saves in goal for Hamline.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg closes the regular season with a series against St. Scholastica. Friday's (2/16) game is at 7 p.m. in Duluth, Minn., and next Saturday's (2/17) game is at 7 p.m. at Ed Saugestad Rink.