MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg University men's hockey team fell to St. Olaf College 3-2 in a tightly contested Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest on Saturday evening at Ed Saugestad Rink. Augsburg scored twice in the second period, but St. Olaf secured the win with two third-period goals.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: St. Olaf 3, Augsburg 2
LOCATION: Ed Saugestad Rink, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 6-12-3 overall (3-7-2 MIAC), St. Olaf 9-5-5 overall (5-3-2 MIAC)

GAME RECAP
The first period began with both Augsburg and St. Olaf actively seeking to gain an advantage, but Augsburg's defense, led by Alex Timmons in goal, managed to thwart multiple attempts by the visitors, including saves on shots from Connor McNaughton and Hunter Hayes. Timmons, who has recorded 25-plus saves in nine of his 13 starts this season, maintained his strong performance, contributing to a scoreless tie at the end of the period. Augsburg had a power play opportunity following a tripping penalty on St. Olaf's Connor McNaughton at 14:19, but despite several shots on goal by Nolan Nenow and Landon Parker, the effort did not yield a score. The period ended with both teams locked in a scoreless tie, showcasing a balanced defensive effort on both sides.

Augsburg took control early in the second period with Peyton Hanson scoring the opening goal at the 5:31 mark, assisted by Ryan Comishock and Noah Grolnic, establishing a 1-0 lead over St. Olaf. Hanson, with a team-leading 12 goals on the season, has found the net in three of his last four games, underscoring his offensive prowess. The momentum continued as Cade Stibbe extended Augsburg's lead to 2-0 with a goal at the 14:04 mark, assisted by Conner Schneider and Mario Gasparini. St. Olaf responded with a power-play goal by Tony Leahy at 15:24, reducing the deficit to 2-1. Augsburg maintained their lead to end the period ahead, 2-1.

Augsburg faced a challenging third period as St. Olaf capitalized on a power play at the 4:43 mark when Jonathan Panisa scored, assisted by Hunter Hayes. Despite efforts from Augsburg, including several shots and a strategic timeout at 2:15, St. Olaf secured the lead with another goal by Panisa with 3:49 left. Augsburg's attempts to level the score did not yield the tying goal.

AUGSBURG PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
• Conner Schneider: 1 assist, 64% faceoff win percentage, 9 faceoff wins
• Nick Catalano: 100% faceoff win percentage, 2 blocked shots
• Peyton Hanson: 1 goal, 4 shots
• Cade Stibbe: 1 goal, 3 shots

ST. OLAF PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
• Jonathan Panisa: 2 goals, 1 assist
• Hunter Hayes: 2 assists, 9 faceoff wins, 1 blocked shot
• Matthew Malin: 30 saves

UP NEXT
• Augsburg is idle next weekend, and will face Saint John's University at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn., on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.