BSU Men’s Hockey to Battle New Conference Foe Augustana on the Road

Bemidji State men’s hockey heads to Sioux Falls this weekend for a series against Augustana.

BSU played a series with Augie last season, but the Vikings were still in year one of their two-year probationary period in the CCHA. This season, Augustana’s bid to join the conference was accelerated, and they are now full members, meaning this weekend’s series will have relevance in the CCHA standings.

Adding to the stakes is the fact that this will be the only meeting between the two teams during the regular season.

“Our standings this year are going to go, like with them it’s going to be win percentage and that’s big. You know, that’s big for all of us right there,” said head coach Tom Serratore at a presser this week. “So league games are league games, points are points. And you know, you got to remember, this year we’re 12 home and we’re 14 away. So it was unlike last year when we had 14 home and 12 away.”

“I remember they were a good team. They were fast,” said sophomore forward Jake McLean. “They played us hard. I remember it was a series that I think we split with them. And I think we played pretty good the one night and not so great the other. I mean, they’ve been off to a good start too this year. We’ve seen they’ve got some good wins, so it’s not an easy weekend for sure.”

This will only be the second series ever played between Bemidji State and Augustana in men’s hockey, with the series split 1-1.