SIOUX FALLS — A year ago around this time, the Augustana Vikings were still discovering who they were as a team.
What a difference a year makes.
In mid-November, the Vikings find themselves sitting right at .500 on the season and are coming off their first two series as full members of the CCHA in which they captured seven of a possible 12 points against a pair of teams expected to contend for league supremacy.
For Augustana (5-5, 2-2 CCHA), familiarity and growth go hand in hand.
“With our guys, it’s still the pursuit of consistency. That doesn’t change,” Vikings coach Garrett Raboin said. “We’ve played a better brand of hockey. We’ve had some young guys elevated into some key roles, but there’s still some areas of our game 10 games in that need a lot of improvement.
“We’ve played two series in the CCHA. I wish I could tell our guys it’s going to get easier. It’s not. It’s so tough every night. The points are so important, and you’re seeing around the league that the parity is just so tight.
Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live
At least for now, conference play will take a backseat for AU, which will hit the road this weekend for an exhibition series against the skillful United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) Under-18 team at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.
Last weekend, the Vikings welcomed Bemidji State to town, dropping
a 4-3 decision in overtime
on Friday before responding with
a 5-1 win the following night.
Neither team led by more than a goal in Friday’s contest, as Jere Vaisanen won a clean draw in overtime that was finished off by Vince Corcoran to seal the Beavers’ victory.
However, on Saturday, the Vikings never trailed. Freshman Joey DelGreco provided the eventual game-winner in the second period, extending his goal streak to three games, and Brett Meerman had two third-period goals and an assist to help guide Augustana to a bounce-back win for the second week in a row. Between the pipes, Josh Kotai made 22 saves to pick up his fifth win of the season.
Besides a shaky first period on Friday, Raboin was pleased with the way his team played for the other five periods throughout the two-game series. He was particularly encouraged with the way his players performed at even strength to close out regulation and felt as if that momentum spilled over into the start of Saturday’s game.
“Our guys played a really solid game,” Raboin said about the series finale. “I felt like Kotai had a strong performance when needed. We defended quick, and then you saw us comfortable making plays up the rink, getting to the net.
“[Colton] Friesen gets us going, and then you see Joey DelGreco and Tyler Hennen score their third goals in three games, which is a good sign for our young guys to get rewarded and come to life a little bit in a tough weekend of CCHA hockey.”
Rena Laverty / USA Hockey’s NTDP
Scouting the USNTDP U-18 team
The series with the USNTDP Under-18 team comes at a peculiar time, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a challenge for the Vikings.
Originally, the two teams were slated to play March 14-15, but after AU was admitted into the CCHA as a full member in July, the series had to be moved. Last season, the Vikings closed out their regular season at home against the USNTDP Under-18 team, losing 8-3 and 3-0 in back-to-back games.
“It’s a great series for us to be in,” Raboin said. “You think back to a year ago, the national team put on quite a show at the end of the season.
“It’s a great teaching moment for our guys to understand that every time you take the ice, whether they’re college players or amateur players at the national team level, you have to be ready.”
Thus far, the USNTDP Under-18 team has a 7-11 record. Their lone win against college competition came Oct. 12 in a 3-2 decision over Robert Morris. Meanwhile, they have losses against Division I programs Notre Dame (5-2, Oct. 4), Western Michigan (4-1, Oct. 5), Lake Superior State (6-1, Oct. 11), Harvard (5-4, Oct. 18), Boston College (8-4, Oct. 19) and Michigan (5-4, Oct. 25).
Forward Will Moore, a 17-year-old Boston College commit, leads the USNTDP Under-18 team in scoring with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 18 games. He also leads the team with three power-play tallies.
Defensively, Michigan commit Asher Barnett and Harvard commit Donny Bracco each have nine points to pace the blue line.
“This week is very much about us,” Raboin said. “We’re going to have to be tight in our systems. We’re going to have to manage the puck. It’s a fun team to play against because they try to make plays. They’re young. They skate. They demand the puck. They’re on the national team for a reason. They’re confident with it. They’re unintimidated.
“It’ll be maybe a little bit different of a brand of hockey that we’ve played to this point, but it’s certainly great for our guys to live through it. And I’m excited to see what we have.”
It’s a great teaching moment for our guys to understand that every time you take the ice, whether they’re college players or amateur players at the national team level, you have to be ready.
Augustana coach Garrett Raboin
Raboin plans to dress all of his available players for the two-game set, which coincides with Team USA’s Carnival Weekend.
“I do think we need some work on some special teams. We haven’t had many opportunities, especially through the power play,” Raboin said. “You have to give some guys a taste to stay fresh for the following week, but you also have some guys that have maybe played some limited minutes that you’d like to see more and give a greater opportunity as we evaluate what we have within our roster.
“We’ve had some lines that have found a way to stick together. We have some lines that are still in question. We need some guys to step up, and we’ll use this weekend as an evaluation to see what might give us the best chance to win next week.”
Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live
One trend that continues to bode well for AU has been the play on the blue line.
The Vikings rank third in the conference in goals allowed per game (2.1) and second in blocked shots per game (14.6).
With five assists, a plus-4 rating on the ice and 21 blocks, sophomore Hayden Hennen has been one of the team’s top defensemen, and the lineup recently got another boost with the addition of Uula Ruikka, who played his first games of the season last weekend after being unavailable for the first eight games of the 2024-25 campaign.
“I think we’re defending hard, which is helping us keep pucks out of our net most nights,” Raboin said. “It’s certainly helping on the penalty kill. We’re trying to encourage our guys to make better plays as we want to stay connected moving pucks up the rink — not so many long passes, just move pucks to tight support — and we feel like our guys are moving in the right direction.
“Offensive zone, we’ve had moments of good and moments we feel like we can be better as we have teams trapped or maybe have more time to make a better decision. Overall, we’re happy with that group and feel like we’re headed in a good direction.”
Here’s a look at the defensive pairings against BSU:
- Evan McIntyre — Hayden Hennen
- Uula Ruikka — Easton Young
- Will Svenddal — Brady Ziemer
- Extra skater: Jeff Hutchinson
Thursday, Nov. 14
- Bemidji State at Minnesota, 7:07 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 15
- Augustana at USNTDP U-18, 6 p.m. (exh.)
- Bowling Green at St. Thomas, 7:07 p.m.
- Ferris State at Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m.
- Northern Michigan at Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 16
- Augustana at USNTDP U-18, 6 p.m. (exh.)
- Bowling Green at St. Thomas, 6:07 p.m.
- Lake Superior State at Ferris State, 5:07 p.m. (Traverse City, Mich.)
- Minnesota at Bemidji State, 6:07 p.m.
- Northern Michigan at Minnesota State, 6:07 p.m.
* All times are Central Standard Time.