MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – After handing Augsburg its first loss of the season the night prior, the St. Thomas men’s hockey team upset the nationally-ranked No. 3 Auggies yet again with a 5-4 win Saturday night at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.

Friday night’s matchup didn’t see a goal until the third period when forwards Johnny Panvica and Cullen Willox scored to give the Tommies (5-3-1 overall, 2-1-1 MIAC) the 2-0 victory over the Auggies (8-2 overall, 4-2 MIAC). Saturday night’s matchup was a different story, as both teams came out firing.

“Augsburg really had a sense of urgency,” coach Jeff Boeser said. “They’re a really, really good hockey team. In my opinion, they’re probably one of the top two teams in the nation.”

St. Thomas refused to shy away, as Panvica and Willox picked up right where they left off in Friday night’s game, scoring the Tommies’ first three goals of the game in the first period. Two by Willox, one by Panvica.

“We scored some big goals,” Boeser said. “We’re not a big goal-scoring team and to get five (goals) on them, we’ll take it.”

With Augsburg tallying up two goals of their own, the first period ended with a 3-2 Tommie lead.

“Our goalie was struggling a bit tonight, so the team finally picked him up” Boeser said. “He picked us up last night as a team and kept the game low. He had 38 saves.”

The goal-scoring of both teams slowed down in the second period, but not by much. The Tommies saw two goals and the Auggies saw one, bringing the score to 5-3 going into the third.

“We kind of got out played a little bit for parts of the game, but the parts that we played our game I thought we looked really well,” Panvica said. “We took the pace and played our hockey, and when we can do that I think that we prove that we can play with anybody.”

A late third-period goal by the Auggies did not cause St. Thomas to blow the lead, as the team went on to finish its weekend sweep of one of the top teams in the nation.

“It’s a good feeling,” Panvica said.

Boeser is pleased with the strides the team has made from the beginning of the season to now, but admits that they are still in search of their identity.

“I don’t think we’re there yet, but this is a big step,” he said. “We still have a long way to go.”

In its final game in 2017, the team will face Finlandia next Friday at 6 p.m. at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.

Gamiel Hall can be reached at hall0211@stthomas.edu.