Awesome Third Period Gives Augustana Hockey First Home Arena Win

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Fans knew it would eventually happen as the Augustana Vikings skated to its first Midco Arena win of the season on Friday thanks to four goals in the third period.

In the 4-2 win over St. Thomas, Ryan Naumovski tallied his 100th career point in the third period off Chase Brand’s fifth goal of the season.

Brett Meerman and Shay Donovan tallied two points each while Kayden Hargraves collected his third win of the season with 31 saves.

The Vikings dominated on the penalty kill as multiple players covered shooting lanes and spoiled scoring chances for the Tommies. Augustana’s strong penalty kill unit kept the score within one after 20 minutes of play.

The second period raged on as both teams battled for possession throughout the neutral zone. The Vikings’ power play unit went to work twice throughout 20 minutes as the Tommies were called on back-to-back two-minute tripping calls. Augustana’s special team unit found multiple scoring chances but St. Thomas’ Jake Sibell held strong to keep the game 1-0.

The third period belonged to the Vikings as Evan McIntyre found the back of the net for his third goal of the season off a pass from Brett Meerman. Less than 15 seconds later, Chase Brand electrified the crowd with a shot from the slot to gain Augustana’s first lead of the game.

The scoring continued for Augustana as Uula Ruikka powered in his fifth of the season off a five-on-three power play to grab a two-goal lead on the Tommies. St. Thomas nailed in their second of the game to stop Augustana’s momentum but Brady Ziemer slotted in an empty net goal from the defensive zone to grab the first win in Midco Arena.