2023–24 Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings men's ice hockey season explained

The 2023–24 Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings men's ice hockey season was the inaugural season of play for the program and 1st in the CCHA. The Vikings represented Augustana University, played their home games at Midco Arena and were coached by Garrett Raboin in his 1st season.

Season

Due to ongoing construction of the Midco Arena, Augustana played its first five home games at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.[1] The Vikings will play a transitional conference schedule in their first two seasons, meeting each CCHA opponent for one weekend series each year (16 games). None of the games against their conference opponents were counted in the league standings. As a result, Augustana is ineligible for the conference tournament until 2026. Despite this, because Augustana was starting its program at the Division I level and not moving up from a lower level, they were eligible for the NCAA tournament in their first season.[2]

Unsurprisingly, Augustana finished with a losing record in their inaugural season but the team was anything but unsuccessful. Early in the season, a tie against one of the top teams in the nation, Denver was followed up by defeating another tournament-hopeful in Colorado College. While the Vikings weren't able to sustain that level of play, the team did demonstrate that they were more than just a collection of spare parts and castaways. The team had many close losses throughout the year, several against well-regarded programs such as Notre Dame. The season's biggest win, however, came against #16 Arizona State, the first victory for the Vikings over a ranked opponent.

Departures

None; Augustana did not field a club team prior to their first varsity season.

Recruiting

The entire roster was complied of new entries to the program.

Roster

As of July 20, 2023.[3]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season

Scoring statistics

34 8 17 25 0
34 12 7 19 23
34 8 8 16 27
29 5 9 14 30
32 4 10 14 10
28 5 8 13 14
29 3 10 13 2
29 5 7 12 12
31 6 5 12 18
30 5 7 12 15
24 3 8 11 6
34 3 8 11 16
34 3 7 10 10
25 4 5 9 6
32 2 6 8 14
15 4 4 8 23
26 4 4 8 2
26 0 7 7 4
28 2 3 5 20
30 2 3 5 4
19 0 2 2 8
16 0 1 1 0
21 0 1 1 6
9 0 0 0 0
13 0 0 0 0
16 0 0 0 8
Total 88 147 236 278
[4]

Goaltending statistics

15 863:31 6 6 2 39 463 2 .922 2.71
9 462:27 4 3 0 21 241 0 .920 2.72
13 722:36 2 9 2 40 378 0 .904 3.32
Empty Net - 24:24 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 34 2072:58 12 18 4 105 1082 2 .912 3.04

Rankings

See main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings.

PollWeek
Pre 1 234567891011121314151617181920212223242526 (Final)
USCHO.comNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
USA TodayNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[5]
Note: USA Today did not release a poll in week 12.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Augustana Hockey’s Inaugural CCHA Slate Unveiled . Augustana Vikings . May 4, 2023 . August 5, 2023.
  2. Web site: Augustana Hockey’s Inaugural CCHA Slate Unveiled . Augustana Vikings . May 4, 2023 . August 5, 2023.
  3. Web site: Augustana Vikings. 2023–24 Men's Hockey Roster. July 20, 2023.
  4. News: Augustana Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats . Elite Prospects . March 7, 2024.
  5. Web site: USCHO Division I Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.