{"id":151368,"date":"2025-02-19T10:00:46","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T16:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=151368"},"modified":"2025-02-18T22:03:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T04:03:52","slug":"this-week-in-ccha-hockey-augustana-making-major-impact-in-conference-as-our-guys-have-held-their-own-in-2024-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2025\/02\/19\/this-week-in-ccha-hockey-augustana-making-major-impact-in-conference-as-our-guys-have-held-their-own-in-2024-25\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in CCHA Hockey: Augustana making major impact in conference as ‘our guys have held their own’ in 2024-25"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Augustana has had a solid season and swept Lake Superior State at home Jan. 31-Feb. 1 (photo: Kenneth Lenger).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Augustana\u2019s first full season as CCHA members is turning out better than most outsiders could have expected.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been pretty clear since they started conference play that they were going to be one of the teams to beat in the conference, and have spent much of the season\u2019s second half fighting a handful of teams at the top of the standings for the right to call themselves conference champions and hoist the MacNaughton Cup.<\/p>\n

The Vikings, who are 17-9-4 overall, went 9-5-2 in their inaugural season as full CCHA members. Last season, they were 7-7-2 against their future conference foes. They played 16 games (eight series) against every other conference team in both of their first two seasons. Augustana will play a full 26-game CCHA schedule next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis league\u2019s a hard league; this is our second tour of duty,\u201d Augustana coach Garrett Raboin said on Saturday, after his team fought to rally for a tie against Michigan Tech. \u201cNow we\u2019ve been everywhere once, and everyone\u2019s been to us once. I think our guys have held their own. I’m proud of our group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vikings showed just how many steps they\u2019ve taken as a program against the Huskies. Last season, Michigan Tech took five of the six points from the series in Houghton. This year, with Tech making its first ever trip to Sioux Falls, S.D., the Vikings turned the tables and showed off their depth. A 5-1 win on Friday was followed up by a hard-fought tie on Saturday in which Augustana rallied from a 3-0 deficit then again needed a third-period goal to tie it up and earn the extra point.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as I didn\u2019t like our start, I did like our fightback,\u201d Raboin said. \u201cWe were able to do it down 3-0, we were able to come back and even the score, and then down 4-3, the power play scored again.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo come away with four of six points on the weekend, against a tough team like Tech, I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vikings have done a good job whenever teams have visited Sioux Falls this season. They are 8-2-2 at the newly-opened Midco Arena. Their only losses at home were against Long Island at the beginning of the season and in overtime against Bemidji State. Of the rest of the CCHA, only Minnesota State (12-4-2) has a better home record than the Vikings, and that\u2019s because they\u2019ve played six more home games than Augustana.<\/p>\n

Luckily for the Vikings, they\u2019ll be home for at least another two weekends. After they host Alaska in a nonconference serie this weekend, they will be at home in the first round of the Mason Cup playoffs. Their win against the Huskies on Friday night clinched at least a first-round playoff series.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something we put a whole lot of stock into,\u201d Raboin said when told the Vikings secured home ice for at least the first round of the Mason Cup playoffs after Friday\u2019s 5-1 win. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to play our best hockey late in the year. It\u2019s great for our fans, let\u2019s blow the roof off this place.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we still have (two) more games before we get there. We still have a lot of stuff that needs to get sorted out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Augustana finished its CCHA schedule and will only be able to watch as the rest of the league plays out the rest of their games against one another. The Vikings host Alaska this weekend and have a week off before the playoffs begin.<\/p>\n

That means the Augustana doesn\u2019t control its own fate when it comes to the league standings. The Vikings are currently in second place behind Minnesota State, with a points percentage of 0.625. The Mavericks are at 0.697. Minnesota State can clinch the MacNaughton Cup over the next two weekends with five points for at least a share of the MacNaughton and six points to win outright. They travel to Lake Superior State before hosting Bemidji State in the final weekend of the regular season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Augustana\u2019s first full season as CCHA members is turning out better than most outsiders could have expected. It\u2019s been pretty clear since they started conference play that they were going to be one of the teams to beat in the conference, and have spent much of the season\u2019s second half fighting a handful of teams […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":151369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[854],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in CCHA Hockey: Augustana making major impact in conference as 'our guys have held their own' in 2024-25 - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Augustana\u2019s first full season as CCHA members is turning out better than most outsiders could have expected. 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