It has been an interesting week to say the least. We didn’t have any games this past weekend, so the guys are itching to play some hockey. We have been able to implement some things the past 10 days that we feel will help us this week against Augsburg. We play Augsburg at home on Thursday at 7pm, and then in Minneapolis on Friday night at 7:05pm.

This week has been interesting as SJU canceled school Tuesday and Wednesday due to cold weather and the state of MN pretty much shut down. The National Hockey Center shut their doors since they are a state-run facility, so we had to pack our gear up and move to the Municipal Athletic Complex the past couple days to be able to practice. It is not ideal, but at least that facility is closer to Saint John’s. With that said, just another reason it would be great to have a rink in St. Joseph or on the SJU campus. I had to throw that in there.

This weekend is going to be a great challenge as Augsburg has had a great start to their season and is currently ranked #6 in the country with a 16-3-2 record. They have been a force in the MIAC the past four years and have really done a good job. They have been fortunate to get several Division I transfers that have really elevated their team. They have the leading goal scorer in the MIAC in Alex Rodriguez with 17 goals in 19 games. He is also third in the country for goals per game. Alex was a Division I transfer from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York.

The key this weekend is winning the net front battle and playing smart defensive hockey. We need to play playoff style hockey and sacrifice everything to get these wins. Everything is still in front of us and I am excited to see how we raise our game the next three weeks leading into the playoffs.

I hope to see you at a game soon and if you are in Minnesota, enjoy this beautiful weather.

Go Johnnies!