MINNEAPOLIS -- Luke Dietsch (JR, St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) and Matt Nehls (FY, Boulder, Colo./D.C. West HS) scored goals 40 seconds apart midway through the first period, lifting Augsburg University to a 3-1 win over Marian University (Wis.) in an NCAA Division III men's hockey first-round playoff game on Saturday evening at Ed Saugestad Rink.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 3, Marian (Wis.) 1
LOCATION: Ed Saugestad Rink, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 19-9-0 overall, Marian 20-8-1 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Dietsch opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the season at the 10:24 mark of the first period, scoring from Nate Flynn (SR, Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) and Drew Anderson (SR, Rochester, Minn./Century HS). Nehls notched his third goal of the season at the 11:04 mark, also scoring from Flynn and Anderson.
• After Marian cut the lead to 2-1 with 3:45 left to play, Augsburg clinched the win with an empty-net goal from Anderson, his eighth goal of the year, with 33 seconds left.
• Augsburg's defense held firm in the third period, as Marian outshot the Auggies by a 13-9 margin, en route to a 33-30 shots-on-goal advantage in the game. Nick Schmit (JR, Fargo, N.D./Fargo North HS) had 32 saves in goal for the Auggies, improving to 18-8-0 on the year.
• Anderson and Flynn had five shots on-goal for the Auggies, while Chandler Madry (JR, Bakersfield, Calif./Fairbanks (Alaska) BEST HS) and Jake Larson (JR, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) had three shots each.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Competing in its first home game in NCAA Division III tournament play, Augsburg claimed its first tournament win since 1998. Augsburg is now 4-6-1 all-time in NCAA tournament play. The Auggies are making their fifth NCAA tournament appearance in school history (1984, 1998, 2016, 2017, 2018), finishing fourth in both 1984 and 1998.
• Augsburg will advance to a quarterfinal-round game at St. Norbert (Wis.) for the third straight year, traveling to face the Green Knights next Saturday (3/17) at 7 p.m. at the Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon, Wis. St. Norbert topped Augsburg 6-1 in the 2016 quarterfinals and 4-3 in overtime in the 2017 quarterfinals. The quarterfinal winner advances to the national semifinals/finals, which will be held in Lake Placid, N.Y., March 23-24.

FOR THE FOES
• Marian scored its lone goal on a 5-on-3 power-play in the third period, as Connor Blanck scored from Jake Howie. 
• Hunter Vorva had 27 saves in goal for the Sabres.