SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana hockey hits the road for the ninth time in its inaugural season presented by First PREMIER Bank / PREMIER Bankcard season as the Vikings are set to face off against No. 16 Arizona State in a Friday, Saturday showdown.

About The Game
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.

The Friday, Saturday series is set for 8:00 p.m. (CST) inside Mullett Arena. Both games will be streamed on the Pac-12 Insider.

The Sun Devils
Arizona State (16-5-5) are coming off back-to-back losses to then No. 17/18 Cornell by scores of 3-2 (OT) and 4-1. ASU has been lights out in Tempe, Arizona with a home record of 13-4-3 with strong wins over Denver, Providence, Colorado College and Omaha. 

Senior Lukas Sillinger leads the Sun Devils with 28 points in 26 games by way of six goals and 22 assists. Sillinger, a familiar name in the CCHA, spent two seasons with Bemidji State. 

ASU has three NHL draft picks throughout its lineup including a familiar name in Alex Young. Young, a transfer from Colgate, played three seasons alongside Vikings' captain Arnaud Vachon and defenseman Anthony Stark. The three former Raiders led Colgate to an ECAC Hockey Championship. 

Joshua Niedermyer and Jackson Niedermyer are sons of NHL Hall of Famer Scott Niedermyer. Scott played 18 seasons in the NHL and won four Stanley Cups, three with the New Jersey Devils and one with the Anaheim Ducks. 

The Vikings
Augustana (6-11-3) rides a one-game losing streak into the weekend after dropping a close match by a score of 2-1 to Minnesota State on Jan. 6. 

Shay Donovan continues to produce on the backend for the Vikings with one goal and two assists while seeing time on the power play and penalty kill. Donovan netted his first-career goal in the overtime winner against Alaska-Fairbanks. The fifth-year defenseman was named an assistant captain by his teammates back in November. 

Uula Ruikka, a Providence College transfer, hit the 100 career games mark on Jan. 6 against Minnesota State. The junior defenseman has three goals and six assists for nine points and has been leaned on in special team efforts. 

Ryan Naumovski leads the Vikings with 15 points by way of five goals and 10 assists. The fifth-year forward has played in 152 consecutive games. 

One Last Thing
Head coach Garrett Raboin has returned to Sioux Falls after winning gold with Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships. The inaugural coach was chosen as an assistant coach and helped lead the U.S. to an undefeated tournament that topped the host country Sweden in the gold medal match by a score of 6-2.