SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Augustana hockey delivered a historic offensive performance Friday night at Midco Arena, scoring a program-record seven goals to defeat Omaha, 7–4.

The seven-goal outburst marked the most goals scored by the Vikings in a single game in program history, as Augustana improved to 10-5-3 overall on the season.

Leonid Bulgakov and Brett Meerman each recorded multi-goal performances, while Owen Baumgartner added a goal and two assists as the Vikings pulled away late to secure the milestone victory. 

Augustana struck early as Bulgakov opened the scoring just 2:01 into the first period, converting off a setup from Cole Burtch and Easton Young to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. The Vikings continued to control play through the opening frame and doubled the advantage at 13:11 when Bulgakov struck again, this time on the power play, burying his ninth goal of the season.

After opening the second period with extended offensive pressure, Nace Langus pushed the lead to 3–0 at the 2:31 mark, finishing a feed from Young and Burtch. Omaha answered with back-to-back even-strength goals midway through the second period to cut the deficit to one, but Augustana regained momentum late in the frame. With 2:12 remaining in the period, Meerman capitalized on the power play with a top-shelf shot to restore a two-goal cushion and send the Vikings into the intermission ahead 4-2.

The third period featured a flurry of scoring and decisive responses from the home side. Omaha pulled within one again early on a power-play goal at 2:10, but Augustana answered less than two minutes later. Baumgartner netted an even-strength goal at 4:16 to make it 5-3. Augustana continued to press, and Owen Bohn extended the lead to three with 4:21 remaining, scoring off an assist from Young. Omaha responded once more to make it 6-4 with just over two minutes left, but the Vikings closed the door late. With Omaha's net empty, Meerman sealed the historic night at 19:43, scoring his second goal of the game and the seventh of the night for Augustana, officially setting the new program record.

Game Moments

• Augustana scored seven goals, setting a program record for most goals in a single game.
• The Vikings scored two goals in each of the first two periods before adding three goals in the third.
• Augustana went 2-for-4 on the power play. 
• Bulgakov scored twice in the first period, including a power-play goal.
• Meerman recorded two goals, including the empty-net goal that sealed the win.
• Baumgartner posted a three-point night with one goal and two assists.
• Young tallied three assists to contribute to the record-setting offense.
• Augustana scored goals from five different players.
• Josh Kotai made 32 saves to earn the win in goal.
• Augustana blocked 10 shots and finished with a +11 plus/minus as a team.

Goals

• Bulgakov opened the scoring with an even-strength goal, finishing a setup from Burtch and Young.
• Bulgakov added his second of the night on the power play, scoring off assists from Baumgartner and Meerman.
• Langus extended the lead to 3-0 with an even-strength goal assisted by Young and Burtch.
• Marc Lajoie got Omaha on the board with an even-strength goal, assisted by Sean Tschigerl and Spencer Sova.
• Samuel Huo pulled the Mavericks within one, scoring at even strength off an assist from Trevor Wong.
• Meerman converted on the power play, as he fired in a feed from Colton Friesen and Baumgartner to make it 4-2.
• Marcus Nguyen scored on the power play for Omaha, cutting the deficit to one.
• Baumgartner scored a coast-to-coast goal to push the Vikings' lead to 5-3.
• Bohn added an even-strength goal off an assist from Young to give Augustana a three-goal cushion.
• Brett Hyland scored at even strength for Omaha to pull the Mavericks back within two.
• Meerman sealed the win with an empty-net goal, assisted by Kotai, setting the program record with the seventh goal.

Up Next
The Vikings wrap up the first half of the season Saturday with game two of non-conference action against Omaha. Puck drop is slated for 6:07 p.m.