NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Eighth-ranked Augsburg University scored twice in the final 2:05 of the third period to top the St. Olaf College women's hockey team by a 2-0 margin in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) series opener on Friday night at St. Olaf Ice Arena.

After nearly 58 minutes of scoreless hockey, Nora Stepan broke the deadlock for Augsburg (15-2-1, 10-1-0 MIAC), which snapped a four-game conference winning streak for St. Olaf (8-9-1, 5-5-1 MIAC) with the shutout win. Elizabeth Fagerlind was credited with a shorthanded, empty-net goal in the final 30 seconds for the Auggies.

After a first period that included just seven combined shots on goal, Stepan had a chance to open the scoring on a breakaway straight out of the penalty box, but junior Hannah Fritz denied the Auggies' leading scorer to keep the game scoreless. St. Olaf had 1:42 of 5-on-3 time later in the period but only generated two shots on goal.

Junior Molly Terebayza had the Oles' top scoring chances of the third period, drawing a save in a 2-on-1 rush six minutes in before forcing a turnover behind the Augsburg net and getting a shot off at the left post that was saved. Stepan eventually made the breakthrough at 17:55 with a wrist shot from the slot that flew in under the bar.

Augsburg committed a minor penalty with 1:42 to go, but St. Olaf ended up flinging the puck into its own goal on a pass that split a pair of skaters inside the final minute. Kayla Simonson logged a 15-save shutout for the Auggies, while Fritz finished with 19 saves for the Oles. St. Olaf dominated at the faceoff dot with a 38-12 advantage, as senior Sophie McBane and junior Solvei Berg-Messerole were both 16-for-19.

The series finale is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis.