Augustana Vikings beat Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 2:1 on Saturday night in an NCAA match that lived up to the tension expected from two sides with similar records. The hosts took all three points at home, a result that kept them competitive in their division while the visitors drop further behind.
We backed the home side before kickoff with 43 per cent confidence, and the prediction came through. The Vikings have been stubborn at home this season, and tonight they showed the same grit that carried them through a 4:3 win over the same opponents earlier in the calendar.
By then the visitors had already played two games against Long Island Sharks, winning 4:0 and losing 7:4, so they knew the stakes. The Bulldogs finished sixth in the standings with 29 games played, 13 wins, 13 draws and only three defeats, a record that should have given them more than a single point from this fixture.
And here's the thing about results like this — they are rarely decided by the full ninety minutes. The Vikings ran out of legs in the closing stages but held on. The Bulldogs pushed for an equaliser and found no answer.
The home side's recent form has been mixed: a 1:2 loss to St. Thomas Tommies followed by two wins against Bemidji State Beavers, and a 4:0 victory over the same St. Thomas side before that. Tonight added another three points to that tally.
For the visitors, the run continues. They had beaten Nittany Lions Penn State 3:1 and lost to Michigan Wolverines 3:4 in March, then returned to action against Long Island with mixed results. This defeat keeps them in sixth place, though the gap to the teams above them has not changed.
