History Made Off Third Period Frenzy in Viking Hockey Victory

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana hockey made history Saturday night as it recorded its first win in program history against Bowling Green in a packed inaugural home opener at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The 3-2 win gave head coach Garrett Raboin his first-career victory as a head coach.

Augustana hockey's inaugural season is presented by First PREMIER Bank / PREMIER Bankcard

After an intense back-and-forth battle throughout the first 15 minutes of play in the first period Hunter Bischoff etched himself into Augustana history as the first goal scorer in program history. Bischoff found the back of the net off a rebound from graduate senior Arnaud Vachon.

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As the second period played on, Bowling Green looked to make things square but Zack Rose stood tall as he squandered any offensive momentum the Falcons had. Augustana picked up the pace midway through the second period as it recorded four shots within a one-minute span. Things remained 1-0 throughout 40 minutes of play.

Augustana’s offense found a surge of momentum eight minutes into the final frame as Ryan Naumovski danced his way past the Falcons defender as he entered the offensive zone and backhanded one past the netminder. Naumovski’s goal was assisted by Jack Jensen and Chase Brand who connected through the neutral zone to create an Augustana scoring chance.

The Falcons answered back with a Brody Waters shot from the hash marks off a pass from Brayden Krieger. Bowling Green netted the game-tying goal minutes later as Dalton Norris wired one in from the blueline off a failed breakout attempt by the Vikings.

Vachon played hero in the Vikings’ historic night as he scored the game-winning goal on a ricochet from the boards off a successful dump by Uula Ruikka. The graduate senior tallied a game-high two points in Augustana inaugural home opening win.

Game Moments

Zack Rose recorded his 19th career NCAA win after making 25 saves on 27 shots. Rose transferred to Augustana from Bowling Green last summer.

Augustana outshot Bowling Green 41 to 27 while both teams soaked 13 blocked shots a piece.

Head coach Garrett Raboin recorded his first career win as a head coach.

Playing in a temporary home, Augustana fans exceeded the capacity of the future on-campus home in Midco Arena with an attendance of 3,664.

Augustana killed off a 6 on 4 with just over two-minutes of play to secure the 3-2 win.

Goals

Hunter Bischoff tallied the first goal in Augustana hockey history as he fired in a shot to the back of the netting. Arnaud Vachon and Brady Ziemer recorded assists on the play.

Ryan Naumovski found the back of the 4x6 after he danced past the Bowling Green defenseman, Jack Jensen and Chase Brand added applies with their quick work through the neutral zone.

The Falcons answered back as Brody Waters fired in his first career goal off a pass from Brayden Krieger.

Dalton Norris leveled the game at two with a wrist shot from the point off a failed breakout attempt by AU.

Arnaud Vachon made history as he tallied the game-winning goal past the netminder's shoulder to secure Augustana’s first ever win.

Up Next

Augustana returns to the ice Sunday night at 5:07 p.m. as it faces off in the second game of the weekend series against Bowling Green.