SAINT PETER, Minn. – After topping Bethel in the MIAC Women's Hockey Playoff Quarterfinals, the Gustavus women's hockey team will travel to Minneapolis to take on the No. 1 seeded Augsburg Auggies at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 28th. The Gusties sit as the No. 4 seed, finishing eight points behind the MIAC regular season champions. The other semifinal matchup will also take place on Saturday between the No. 2 seeded Hamline and the No. 3 seeded Saint Benedict. 

Gustavus (14-10-2, 10-6-2 MIAC) will travel up to No. 2 Augsburg (21-3-1, 15-2-1 MIAC), who earned a bye in the quarterfinal round by winning the MIAC Championship in the regular season with a weekend sweep over Saint Mary's. On Wednesday, the Gusties earned their spot in the semifinal round with a win over the No. 5 seed, Bethel, 2-0 at Don Roberts Ice Rink. 

TICKET INFORMATION

All tickets will be sold and purchased online via HomeTown Ticketing. There will not be cash sales at any venue; however, spectators can purchase tickets using a mobile device, including while at the venue. General admission is $12, students with ID are $3, children under five are free, MIAC passes are accepted, and all tickets are subject to the Hometown Ticketing service charge. 

PAY-PER-VIEW INFORMATION

The 2026 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs will be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network in a pay-per-view format. Individual playoff contests will be streamed for $10 each, or $25 for a "championship pass" to stream the entire tournament live. On-demand access to playoff games will be available after the NCAA Tournament concludes.

PLAYOFF APPAREL

Official playoff apparel will be available for online purchase via the MIAC Shop powered by UNRestricted MKTG. The online MIAC Shop features officially licensed short-sleeve t-shirts, long-sleeves, and hooded sweatshirts to commemorate the 2026 playoff tournament. Team champion apparel will be added and available for purchase shortly after the championship game.

SEASON SERIES

When Gustavus and Augsburg played on December 5th and 6th, the Gusties were ranked No. 10 in the USCHO poll and the Auggies ranked No. 2. The teams split the weekend series, with each team winning their home game in a pair of one-goal games. On Friday night, Gustavus won 2-1 and were four seconds away from a shutout for sophomore goaltender Lily Timmons (Lake Elmo, Minn.). The first period was scoreless in Saint Peter, but sophomore Kaitlin Roberts (Hugo, Minn.) got the scoring started on the power play in the second period, assisted by senior Grace Schuck (Bloomington, Minn.) and fellow sophomore Ellie Groebner (Apple Valley, Minn.) to put the Gusties ahead. The score remained 1-0 heading into the third period, when junior Hannah Thompson (Lino Lakes, Minn.) scored her first goal of the season to double the lead, assisted by senior Lily Mortenson (Champlin, Minn.) and first-year Kayleigh Olson (Delano, Minn.). Augsburg blueliner Nora Stepan scored the late goal for the Auggies, a player who has the most goals and assists for the team this year. 

In game two in Minneapolis, Augsburg struck first, scoring with just over two minutes remaining in the first period. The Gusties responded in the second period with two special situation goals, one shorthanded and one on the power play. Mortenson scored shorthanded, assisted by junior captain Avery Braunshausen (Lake Elmo, Minn.) to tie the game and then sophomore Noelle Hemr (Blaine, Minn.) put the visitors ahead, assisted by Mortenson on the power play. A 1:24 span in the third period proved to be poisonous for Gustavus, with Augsburg scoring two goals in quick succession to retake the lead and lift themselves to a weekend split. 

Gustavus is one of three losses this season for the Auggies, whose other losses came against No. 1 River Falls, 4-0, and No. 5 Hamline, 6-2. Sitting at No. 2 in the USCHO poll and No. 4 in the NCAA's NPI Index, the Auggies are in good position to make the 13-team national tournament regardless of result, but the Gusties, sitting in 16th place in NPI, need to win Saturday's game to keep their national tournament dreams alive. 

Augsburg comes into the game riding a 10-game winning streak, dating back to January 23rd, their loss to Hamline. Along the way, that included three wins over MIAC Playoff teams by a combined three goals, the first of which was a 4-3 win over No. 5 seed Bethel, followed by a weekend sweep of No. 3 seed Saint Benedict, 3-2 and 2-1.

 In non-conference play, the teams have played four games against common opponents, who are now-ranked No. 1 UW-River Falls, No. 8 Adrian, and No. 11 UW-Eau Claire. As for UW-River Falls, the national powerhouse topped both teams, beating the Gusties 5-1 and 5-0, while topping the Auggies, 4-0. Adrian made the trek from Michigan to play both teams in their home rinks on separate weekends, and only went back to their home state with one combined win. In November, Augsburg started their season with a high-powered regional matchup, winning game one, 4-1, and game two, 3-2. When playing the Gusties, Gustavus won the first game, 3-1, but was defeated 2-0 the next day to round out the 2025 slate. When it comes to strength of schedule, the Gusties hold one of the best in the country, not playing a single team that is not either ranked or receiving votes in their seven-game non-conference slate this season, but Augsburg is no slouch either, with five of their seven non-conference games coming against teams in that same pool. 

SCOUTING THE GUSTIES

Gustavus comes into the contest with a record of 14-10-2 and 10-6-2 in the MIAC. The team has struggled on the road this season, holding a 5-8-1 record when traveling to their opponents. 

In terms of team offense, the Gusties have scored 54 goals and have converted 15 times on 80 power play attempts (18.8 percent). Two goals for the team have come shorthanded, three on an empty net, nine unassisted, and three in overtime. Mortenson leads the team with 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 goal contributions, while Hemr and Scott trail shortly behind with nine and eight, respectively. Scott has been clutch all season, leading the team with four game-winning goals, which ranks 14th in the country. Faceoffs have been another strong point for the team, where Gustavus ranks 11th in the country and first in the conference with a 56.4 percent win percentage and Mortenson ranks 22th in the country with 287 faceoff wins alone. 

Defensively, the team has given up 45 goals for a nine goal margin this season and have only allowed opponents to operate at a 16.7 percent clip (11-for-66) on their power play and average 3.4 penalties per game against the Gusties and 6.9 minutes in the plexiglass prison. The Gustie defense has kept shots away from Timmons and the goaltending collective, only allowing 21.2 shots per game and blocking another 162 shots throughout the course of the season. 

SCOUTING THE AUGGIES

The Auggies have been dominant at home this season with a 13-1-1 record at Ed Saugestad Rink, the only loss coming to No. 1 UW-River Falls. Coupled with a 8-2-0 record on the road, Augsburg starts the postseason with a 21-3-1 overall record, their second 20-win season in a row. 

While the Auggies do not lead the MIAC in any offensive category, they also do not rank worse than fourth in any category, either. Augsburg ranks second in scoring offense, averaging 3.32 goals per game. The Auggies are led by senior blueliner Nora Stepan who has 17 goals and 15 assists this season, averaging 1.28 points per game, followed by Ella Olson and Aunna Schulte who each average 0.92 points per game. On the power play, the team ranks fourth in the MIAC, scoring at a 19.5 percent rate on 87 chances. The scoring margin for the Auggies also ranks second at 1.72, only behind Hamline. 

One shining point of the Augsburg defensive group is their consistent rotation of goalies Marissa Paaske and Kayla Simonson. Paaske has held a slight advantage over Simonson, ranking sixth in the country with a 1.09 goals against average, but her one loss of the season came at the hands of the Gusties. Paaske also ranks fifth in the country in save percentage, bringing a 95.2 percent clip into the MIAC Playoffs. The Auggies average 2.2 penalties per game and draw 3.6, being able to turn penalty margin into goals as well, scoring 17 on the power play so far this season. 

The other semifinal between Hamline and Saint Benedict is set to also take place on Saturday, dropping the puck at 3:00 p.m. at TRIA Rink. The winner of the two semifinal matchups will face off on March 7th with an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament on the line.