Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings men's ice hockey

The Augustana Vikings men's ice hockey is an NCAA Division I ice hockey team that began play in the fall of 2023.^[2]

Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings men's ice hockey
Current season
University	Augustana University
Conference	CCHA
First season	2023–24
Head coach	Garrett Raboin 2nd season, 30–31–8 (.493)
Assistant coaches	Taylor Nelson Blake Hietala Brady Ferner
Arena	Midco Arena[1] Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Colors	Navy and Gold

History

In the summer of 2021, in accordance with plans for Augustana University to raise its athletic programs from NCAA Division II to Division I, the university announced that there was interest in adding a men's ice hockey program.^[3] After receiving donations from several sources, spearheaded by T. Denny Sanford, the school was able to move forward with plans for the hockey program, despite the elevation of its other programs to Division I being abandoned.^[4] On October 5, 2021, the school broke ground on the Midco Arena, a $40 million, 3,000-seat venue to be used as the team's home rink.^[5] On April 18, 2022, the program announced the hiring of Minnesota Golden Gophers' assistant coach Garrett Raboin as the team's inaugural head coach.^[6]

The program is the first varsity ice hockey team at any level to call South Dakota home. The Vikings played the first hockey game in team history on October 7, 2023, a 0–4 loss at Wisconsin. A week later, the team played their first home games at the Denny Sanford Premier Center, their home for five games while Midco Arena finished its construction.^[1] The team would earn their first wins in this series with a sweep of Bowling Green. On January 26, 2024, Midco Arena opened, and the Vikings have played there ever since. Augie finished its first season as an Independent at a 12–18–4 record.

In mid-2022, the CCHA announced they would be granting the Vikings membership starting in the 2025–26 season with a transitional schedule for their first two seasons,^[7] however, in July 2024, the CCHA granted the Vikings full membership for the 2024–25 season, a year ahead of schedule.^[8] This allowed the Vikings to compete for a conference championship while playing their abbreviated transitional schedule, leading the CCHA to adopt a points-percentage ranking for determining conference standings due to Augie playing fewer games than the rest of the conference. Augie saw a huge increase in quality of play in their second season, finishing with a 18–13–4 record. The Vikings held first place in the CCHA at various points late in the season, eventually finishing at second place. They played their first conference tournament games in program history against Bemidji State, where they were upset by the seventh-seeded Beavers at home in three games.

The 2025–26 season will mark the completion of Augie's transition into the CCHA, as they will play their first full conference schedule.

Season-by-season results

Main article: List of Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings men's ice hockey seasons

All-time coaching records

As of the completion of 2024–25 season

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
2023–Present	Garrett Raboin	2	30–31–8	.493
Totals	1 coach	2 season	30–31–8	.493

Current roster

As of July 30, 2024.^[9]

No.	Nat.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Christian Manz	Freshman	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2004-01-13	Blaine, Minnesota	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	—
4		Carter Theissen	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2003-07-10	Plymouth, Minnesota	Wisconsin Windigo (NAHL)	—
5		Easton Young	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-07-25	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Johnstown Tomahawks (NAHL)	—
7		Evan McIntyre (A)	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2000-10-17	Oakville, Ontario	Ohio State (Big Ten)	—
8		Ben Troumbly	Junior	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2001-11-21	Bovey, Minnesota	Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)	—
9		Hayden Hennen	Sophomore	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-08-13	Hallock, Minnesota	Anchorage Wolverines (NAHL)	—
10		Joey DelGreco	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2003-11-25	Plymouth, Minnesota	Chicago Steel (USHL)	—
11		Tyler Hennen	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	2004-08-31	Hallock, Minnesota	Anchorage Wolverines (NAHL)	—
12		Hunter Bischoff	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	2003-03-24	Cohasset, Minnesota	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	—
13		Will Howard	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-07-30	Grand Forks, North Dakota	New Mexico Ice Wolves (NAHL)	—
14		Payton Matsui (A)	Senior	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2000-04-15	Lakeville, Minnesota	Alaska (NCAA)	—
15		Luke Mobley (C)	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1999-11-25	St. Louis Park, Minnesota	Clarkson (ECAC)	—
19		Will Svenddal	Junior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-10-12	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)	—
20		Uula Ruikka	Senior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	2000-05-28	Oulu, Finland	Providence (HEA)	—
21		Quinn Rudrud	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-08-18	Farmington, Minnesota	Alaska (NCAA)	—
22		Brady Ziemer (A)	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-05-24	Carver, Minnesota	St. Cloud State (NCHC)	—
23		Simon Falk	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2000-01-20	Västerås, Sweden	Alaska (NCAA)	—
24		Colton Friesen	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-12-09	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Wisconsin–Superior (WIAC)	—
26		Callum Gau	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-06-19	Camrose, Alberta	Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)	—
27		Garett Drotts	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2003-11-21	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)	—
29		Kayden Hargraves	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-02-25	Cheyenne, Wyoming	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)	—
32		Josh Kotai	Sophomore	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-03-13	Abbotsford, British Columbia	Battlefords North Stars (SJHL)	—
72		Brett Meerman	Sophomore	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	2002-02-04	Blackfalds, Alberta	Blackfalds Bulldogs (AJHL)	—
81		Owen Bohn	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2002-02-12	Morgan Hill, California	Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)	—
84		Jeff Hutchinson	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2002-05-02	St. Louis, Missouri	New Mexico Ice Wolves (NAHL)	—
86		Nace Langus	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2004-12-05	Jesenice, Slovenia	IK Oskarshamn J20 (J20 Nationell)	—
96		Owen Baumgartner	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-07-01	Owatonna, Minnesota	Air Force (NAHL)	—

Awards and honors

CCHA

All-conference teams

Second Team All-CCHA

• 2024–25: Josh Kotai, G; Luke Mobley, F

Statistical leaders

^[10]

Career points leaders

Player	Years	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Luke Mobley	2023–present	68	25	14	39	37
Brett Meerman	2023–present	64	10	26	36	4
Hunter Bischoff	2023–present	61	14	17	31	16
Hayden Hennen	2023–present	66	7	22	29	39
Colton Friesen	2023–present	56	10	18	28	12
Ryan Naumovski	2023–2024	34	8	17	25	0
Owen Bohn	2023–present	54	12	12	24	26
Simon Falk	2023–present	58	5	18	23	6
Uula Ruikka	2023–present	53	7	15	22	42
Evan McIntyre	2023–present	69	4	18	22	40

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

minimum 30 games played

Player	Years	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Josh Kotai	2023–present	44	2532	19	19	5	98	3	.926	2.32

Statistics current through the end of the 2024–25 season.