SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana hockey makes their inaugural home debut presented by First PREMIER Bank / PREMIER Bankcard against Bowling Green State University Saturday and Sunday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the app store or Google Play. Midco Sports will televise the contests on Midco Sports Two while a stream of the game can be found on FloHockey. 

About The Game
After a historic weekend in Augustana history on the road, Viking hockey makes its home debut to face off against the Falcons from Bowling Green inside the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Saturday's puck drop is at 6:07 p.m. and Sunday's game starts at 5:07 p.m in another pivotal piece of history for Augustana. On Friday, pregame ceremonies will get underway at 5:45 p.m. Saturday evening.

This weekend's affair will be full of festivities as First PREMIER Bank will be handing out limited edition inaugural season pucks to the first 1,000 fans. Every fan in attendance will receive a light up baton to take part in the pregame light show. Sunday's game, fans are encouraged to help celebrate youth hockey night. 

The Falcons
A founding member of the CCHA, Bowling Green returns to the ice after a weekend split with a newly renewed Robert Morris. BGSU was led by sophomore defenseman Dalton Norris who recorded two points throughout the weekend, netting a goal and an assist. 

Junior goalie Christian Stoever recorded a shutout throughout the weekend, making a resounding 27 saves. Stoever's weekend performance landed him as the CCHA Goalie of the Week. 

The Falcons are coming off a strong 2022-23 campaign that saw the team finish third in the conference with an overall record of 15-19-2. Picked to finish third in the 2023-24 preseason poll with 124 points and two first-place votes. 

The Vikings
Josh Kotai made his collegiate debut in net for the Vikings as he made 41 saves in Sunday's 3-0 loss. Kotai came to Sioux Falls after spending last season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for the Battlefords North Stars. Kotai led the league with a record of 32-4-2-1 with a goals against average of 2.39 and a save percentage of .935.

Arnaud Vachon made history when he recorded the first shot in Augustana history in Friday's 4-0 loss to Wisconsin. The graduate student came to Sioux Falls after leading the Colgate Raiders to an ECAC Championship in 2022-23.

Zack Rose made a career high 41 saves in AU's 4-0 lost to the Badgers. Rose transferred to Augustana after four years with the Falcons, posting a 18-9-3-1 record in the brown and orange. Rose ranks Ranks sixth in program history in career GAA (2.69) and 10th in school history in career save percentage (.894). 

Augustana blocked a total of 27 shots last weekend as junior defenseman Brady Ziemer leads the team with four.

Viking hockey ran into penalty issues last weekend as it was forced to kill off a total of 34 penalty minutes. During game two against the Badgers, AU played short handed for nine minutes in the second period. In a back-and-forth battle, Augustana's penalty kill made short work of the Wisconsin power play as it killed off all 13 penalties. 

One Last Thing 
You may have seen the hashtag #WeHoldThePen throughout various social media posts.The hashtag was a term coined by Garrett Raboin and the coaching staff to be used as Augustana hockey plays its first year. The team controls its destiny in how they work, committing themselves to growing together and how they make themselves vulnerable. Viking hockey controls its own destiny and they get to write the first chapter.