Augustana Vikings Sweep Bemidji State Beavers in CCHA Mason Cup Quarterfinals

Colton Friesen's third-period snipe with the game still scoreless after 57 minutes ended Bemidji State's season and delivered something Augustana had never accomplished in three years of Division I hockey: a playoff series win.

The third-seeded Vikings swept the sixth-seeded Beavers 2-0 in the CCHA Mason Cup quarterfinals, winning Game 1 at a sold-out Midco Arena in Sioux Falls on Friday, March 6, by a score of 5-2, then grinding out a 2-1 victory Saturday night to complete the sweep. The series sends Augustana, which carries a 22-10-4 record into the next round, to the Mason Cup semifinals for the first time in program history.

Game 2 was defined by tension and goalkeeping. For 57 minutes, neither the Beavers nor the Vikings could solve the opposing netminder. Friesen finally broke through late in the third period with what the Bemidji Pioneer called a "history-making" snipe, and Joey DelGreco sealed it with an empty-net goal with 1:28 left in regulation. Bemidji pulled a goal back but could not complete the comeback. Augustana goaltender Josh Kotai stopped 38 shots in the finale.

"Thank god for Josh Kotai," Augustana coach Garrett Raboin said. "He stood on his head, as he has many nights this year. We were able to do a really tough thing and advance through the first round in the CCHA playoffs. Give our guys a lot of credit; they stuck with it all night. It took us until late in the third to get one by their young goalie, who played outstanding."

Game 1 was considerably less tense. Landon Fandel opened the scoring at 17:46 of the first period, converting feeds from Hayden Hennen and Brett Meerman to give Augustana a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. The Vikings then broke the game open in the second period with three goals in just over seven minutes: Easton Young scored at 6:53 off a pass from Friesen, Joey DelGreco added another at 10:26 with help from Samo Meritähti and Maxwell Chakrabarti, and Nace Langus pushed the lead to 4-0 at 14:09 on assists from Owen Bohn and Friesen. Bemidji State rallied with two third-period goals but could not overcome the deficit. Kotai finished with 31 saves to secure the victory.

For Bemidji State, the sweep ends a season that featured eight seniors playing their final games in Beaver green: Adam Flammang, Connor McClennon, Mitch Wolfe, Vince Corcoran, Patrik Satosaari, A.J. Macaulay, Kirklan Irey and Funk.

Coach Tom Serratore was candid and emotional in his postgame remarks. "I can't ask anything more out of the Beavers," he said. "We did everything tonight. This might've been the best game we played this year. I'm emotional right now, so maybe that's why I say that, but five of our last six games we played 60 minutes of hockey. We threw everything at them, and it wasn't meant to be."

Serratore also acknowledged the Augustana program directly. "Congratulations to Augustana on their first playoff series win. They've had a heck of a season and they're a heck of a representative in our league."

Of his departing players, Serratore said: "These guys are not only great hockey players, but they're high-character individuals. They've had their share of success here in this program. I was just hoping I'd have one more weekend with them."

Augustana now advances to the Mason Cup semifinals, the furthest the three-year-old program has ever gone in the CCHA playoffs.