SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana hockey team (10-7-1, 5-3 CCHA) opens up the new year with a weekend series against No. 8 Colorado College (10-5-1, 4-3-1 NCHC) on Friday and Saturday. The weekend affair will be the second meeting between the two programs. 

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 series starts on Friday at 8:00 p.m. (cst.) and concludes on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (cst.). The games will be streamed on NCHC.tv

Series History
Augustana and Colorado College played in one game last season where the Vikings finished on top by a score of 4-3. Former Viking, Ryan Naumovski and current Vikings Uula Ruikka, Ben Troumbly, and Luke Mobley recorded goals in the win. 

The Tigers
Colorado College comes into the New Year with its best start after 16 games since the 2009-10 season when it went 10-4-2. Seven of the Tigers' last eight games have been decided by one goal or less. 

Noah Laba and Kaiden Mbereko were named Preseason All-NCHC at the start of the year. Laba sits in a tie for second among his teammates with 11 points while Mbereko was named National Co-Goaltender of the Month for his performance in November. 

CC has nine NHL draft picks on the 2024-25 roster. 

The Vikings
Payton Matsui continues to leave his mark on the 2024-25 season with 15 points through four goals and nine assists. The senior forward also holds a team-high plus/minus of plus-14. Matsui recorded five points throughout the month of December. 

Sophomore goaltender Josh Kotai has started in 15 games this season for the Vikings and holds a record of 9-5-1. Kotai was named National Co-Goaltender of the Month with a record of 3-2-0 with a save percentage of .950 and a goals-against average of 1.63. 

Assistant coach Taylor Nelson mans the bench this weekend while head coach Garrett Raboin is with Team USA in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships. Raboin is serving as an assistant coach and has helped lead Team USA to a 3-0-0-1 record through the preliminary games.