ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- The Augsburg University women's hockey team opened a key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's hockey series with a 3-2 victory over the College of Saint Benedict on Friday evening. Augsburg scored twice in the final period to overcome a 2-1 deficit, sealing the win with a goal from Ella Olson with 5:45 left to play. Augsburg is ranked No. 2 in both the latest USCHO.com Division III and D-III Hockey News.com national polls, while Saint Benedict is receiving votes in both polls.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 3, Saint Benedict 2
LOCATION: Municipal Athletic Complex, St. Cloud, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 18-3-1 overall (12-2-1 MIAC), Saint Benedict 12-6-4 overall (7-5-3 MIAC)

GAME RECAP
Despite a series of shots from players such as Tenley Stewart and Kelsi Ries, Augsburg was unable to convert their offensive efforts into goals in the first period, with Lexi Badali of Saint Benedict making crucial saves. Saint Benedict took the lead with a power-play goal by Helena Siska for Saint Benedict at 15:47, assisted by Presley Kraemer and Merrill Delich. Augsburg concluded the period with a power play opportunity of its own after a penalty on Saint Benedict's Jorja Jusczak but could not capitalize, ending the period trailing 1-0.

Augsburg responded swiftly after Saint Benedict's early second-period goal by Siska at the 3:53 mark. Just eight seconds later, Aunna Schulte scored for Augsburg, assisted by Ries, bringing the visitors back within one goal. Despite facing pressure, Augsburg's Marissa Paaske recorded several key saves to maintain the score, ending up with 24 saves on the evening.

Augsburg took control in the third period, as Schulte tied the game at 2-2 with a goal by Schulte at the 7:08 mark, assisted by Nora Stepan and Kate Haug. With two goals in this game, Schulte now has 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points this season. It marks her second multi-goal game of the season and third of her career. The Auggies capitalized on their momentum when Ella Olson scored the game-winning goal at the 14:15 mark, with another assist from Stepan.

Olson's goal marked her third game-winning goal of the season, and she is currently on a six-game point streak with six goals and four assists for 10 points in the span. With two assists, Stepan claimed her 10th multi-point game of the season and leads the team with 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points.

AUGSBURG PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
• Ella Olson: 1 game-winning goal, 100% faceoff win percentage
• Aunna Schulte: 2 goals, +2 rating
• Nora Stepan: 2 assists
• Marissa Paaske: 24 saves

SAINT BENEDICT PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
• Helena Siska: 2 goals, 5 shots on goal
• Chloe Lewis: 12 faceoff wins, 54% faceoff percentage, 1 blocked shot
• Lexi Badali: 16 saves

UP NEXT
• Augsburg will aim for the series sweep of Saint Benedict on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. at Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis.