BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The inaugural Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Hockey Showcase kicks off Friday night as Bethel and Augsburg square off in a 2 p.m. contest at the Bloomington Ice Gardens. Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas (5 p.m.) and St. Olaf vs. Hamline (8 p.m.) complete the first day of the three-day event.

GameDay On The Web: Live Stats (all nine games) / Tournament Homepage

Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Oct. 30: Bethel vs. Augsburg, 2 p.m.; Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas, 5 p.m.; St. Olaf vs. Hamline, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31: Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's, 2 p.m.; St. Olaf vs. Concordia, 5 p.m.; Bethel vs. Gustavus, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 1: Concordia vs. Hamline, 2 p.m.; Augsburg vs. Gustavus, 5 p.m.; Saint John's vs. St. Thomas, 8 p.m.

TEAM-BY-TEAM TOURNAMENT CAPSULES

Augsburg Auggie Notes: The Auggies' came out on the short end of a 4-3 decision against Hamline in the opening round of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament a year ago. … Chris Johnson closed out a banner junior campaign a year ago earning All-MIAC, as well as American Hockey Coaches Association/RBK Hockey Division III All-American honors. … Johnson finished the 2008-09 season as the MIAC's scoring champion in both overall and conference play. In overall play, Johnson led the league in both points (42) and assists (28), while standing fifth in goals (14). In league games-only, Johnson led the league in points (33) and assists (22), while standing second in goals (11). He finished the 2008-09 season with a consecutive-game point streak of 12 straight games, claiming a goal or assist in 21 of Augsburg's 26 games last season. … Trevor Doden and Nick Guran were both named to the USCHO?All-Rookie team last season. … Augsburg will have to replace honorable-mention All-MIAC?goalie Andrew Kent, who started all 26 games in goal last seaosn, compiling a 3.96 goals-against-average and an .882 save percentage. … The Auggies went 6-1-1 in their last eight games to earn a spot in the five-team conference tournament a year ago. … Five of Augsburg's nine wins last year came on the Auggies' home ice. … Thirty-one of the team's 98 goals were scored on the power play.

Bethel Royal Notes: The Royals finished sixth in the conference in 2008-09, coming up just short in their bid for the fifth and final conference playoff berth. … This year's Royals squad will be led by honorable-mention All-MIAC?selections Aaron Damjanovic and Chris Fiala. Along with his honorable-mention selection, Fiala was also named to the 2009 USCHO.com Division III Men's Hockey West Region All-Rookie Team. … Fiala finished second on the team in assists (17) and points (26), while chipping in nine goals. … Damjanovic, meanwhile, appeared in all 25 games for the Royals last year. He finished the 2008-2009 season with a .904 save percentage, while compiling a 3.45 goals-against-average. With 39 wins at Bethel, he is also just four wins shy of the school record for career victories. … As a team, the Royals scored 73 goals a year ago, including 27 on the power play. … Missing from the Bethel lineup are graduated seniors Kent Bostrom and Brad Peterson. Bostrom — a?First-Team All-MIAC?pick in each of his four seasons as a Royal — finished last season as the team's offensive leader, posting team highs in goals (11), assists (22) and points (33). Peterson, meanwhile, finished with more than 100 career points while at Bethel.

Concordia Cobber Notes: The Cobbers are looking to bounce back after a tough 2008-09 season, which in which Concordia dropped nine of its last 10 games. … Erick Galt capped a stellar freshman season a year ago by being named to the All-MIAC?First Team. Galt, the team's top defenseman, finished the season with three goals and eight assists for 11 points, while logging more time than any other Cobber. … Marc Harrie also turned a few heads as a freshman last season, sharing the team in goals (9), assists (11) and points (20). … Gait and Harrie were two of 15 freshman on the Cobber roster a year ago. Concordia graduated just two players, captains Cory Johnson and Alec Holen. … Concordia returns 52 of its 62 goals scored from a year ago. … Elliott Okland and Mike Pearson shared the team's goaltending duties a year ago, with Okland compiling a 3.68 goals-against-average and an .878 save percentage, while Pearson finished with a 3.95 GAA with an .875 save percentage. … Concordia scored first in 12 of its 25 games last season. … The Cobbers played five overtime games last season, but came up empty each time, going 0-3-2.

Gustavus Gustie Notes: Gustavus is looking for a repeat of 2008-09, as the Gusties earned its first-ever appearance in the NCAA?Dvivision III national championship game, where they fell to Neumann 4-1 in Lake Placid, N.Y. … After finishing tied for second in the MIAC?regular season, the Gusties brought home the conference tournament crown with wins over St. Thomas (3-1) and Hamline (5-2). … GAC?blanked UW-Superior 2-0 in its NCAA?opener, then followed that up with a 3-2 OT?win over UW-Stout to reach the national championship game. … David Martinson capped a stellar junior season in 2008-09, earning First Team All-MIAC?and AHCA All-America honors. … Martinson finished second in Division III in goals scored (26) and was 23rd in points per game at 1.43. He led the Gusties in scoring with 26 goals and 15 assists for 41 points. … Martinson — whose 26 goals were the most scored by a Gustie since Jason Lesteberg netted 26 during the 1995-96 season —  recorded at least one point in 24 of GAC's 29 games. In two seasons at Gustavus, Martinson has tallied 47 goals and 35 assists for 82 points. He is the first Gustie to be named to the All-America Team since Jon Keseley was selected in 2006. … Josh Swartout returns as the Gusties' most experienced goalie, posting a 3.23 goals-against-average and an .883 save percentage in 16 games.

Hamline Piper Notes: The Pipers, who finished fourth in the MIAC?regular-season standings, reached the conference tournament title game, where they fell to eventual NCAA?Division III?national-tournament runner-up Gustavus 5-2. … Chris Berenguer earned First-Team All-MIAC?and AHCA?All-America honors in 2008-09, after leading the Pipers in scoring with 14 goals and 25 assists for 39 points in 28 games. …  During Berenguer's first two years at Hamline, the Pipers have not only recorded their first back-to-back winning seasons — going 28-15-3 — but also won their first MIAC?regular-season champoinship in 60 years and have reached the conference tournament's title game both years. … The Pipers will be without graduated senior Dustin Fulton, a four-time First-Team All-MIAC?selection and First-Team All-American, who finished second on the team in assists (23) and points (35) during his senior season. … Beau Christian, named to the USCHO.com West Region All-Rookie team as a freshman last season,  appeared in 18 games for the Pipers, compiling a 2.56 goals-against-average and a .904 save percentage.

Saint John's Johnnie Notes: The Johnnies are looking to rebound after finishing seventh in the MIAC during coach Doug Schueller's first season a year ago. SJU won seven of its last 10 games and lost seven of its 14 games by one goal in 2008-09. This season, Saint John's is led by senior Gabriel Harren and juniors Brent Brodersen and Mike Wallgren. Harren enters his senior season with 33 career points (13g/20a) and a plus-26 in 54 games. Wallgren tied for second on the team with 18 points (7g/11a) and tied for first on the team with five power-play goals, while Brodersen earned All-MIAC honorable mentioned last season after posting 18 points (6g/12a) in 25 games. Other key returnees for the Johnnies include senior Karl Gilbert, juniors Jared Smith and Pat McClure, and sophomore Grant Ellena. Gilbert collected nine points (4g/5a), while Smith played in 19 games and tallied one goal and five assists. McClure recorded one goal and three assists in 21 games. As a freshman, Ellena was third on the team with nine goals in 24 games played. The Johnnies graduated seven seniors from last year's squad.

Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: The Cardinals struggled to an eighth-place regular-season conference finish under first-year head coach Bill Moore in 2008-09. … Jeff Miller and Nick Carlson earned honorable-mention All-MIAC honors a year ago. … Steve Murphy closed out his first season with the Cardinals as the team's leading scorer, boasting team-bests in goals (11) and points (18). Murphy collected a team-leading three two-goal games this season. … Murphy was one of six players with 10 or more points. Mike Glaesmer, A.J. Woodward, Matt Staehely, Carlson and Anthony Bohn are the other five, boasting 15, 14, 10, 10 and 10 points, respectively. … Woodward finished his junior season with a team-high 10 assists. …?SMU's four game-winning goals came from four different players — Carlson, Miller, Andy Roberts and Eric Tenvoorde. … Fourteen of Saint Mary's 25 games a year ago were against nationally ranked teams. Seven of SMU's nine nonconference games were against teams in the Top 15 — No. 4 St. Norbert, No. 6 UW-Stevens Point, No. 7 UW-Stout (twice), No. 8 UW-Superior, No. 12 UW-Eau Claire and No. 15 St. Scholastica. Conference foes Gustavus, Hamline and St. Olaf were also in the USCHO.com Top 15 when the Cardinals faced them. … The Cardinals' 5-4, season-ending win at Saint John's snapped a season-long, 10-game road losing streak. … SMU played four overtime games this season. The Cardinals are 2-1-1 in those four games, with wins over Concordia (6-5) and UW-River Falls (2-1), a 7-6 loss to defending MIAC regular-season champion Hamline and a 3-3 tie vs. Concordia. … The Cardinals scored a season-high six goals in a 6-3 win vs. Bethel on Jan. 30. … SMU scored the first goal in both games of its season-ending MIAC series against Saint John's. It was the first time all season that SMU scored first in both games of a two-game series. The Cardinals scored first just five times in their 25 games. …  One-third of SMU's 60 goals were scored on the power play.

St. Olaf Ole Notes: The Oles collected their first MIAC?regular-season title in 70 years with their first-place finish a year ago. St. Olaf closed out the season going 7-0-2 in its last nine regular-season games, but was ousted from the conference tournament by fourth-seeded Hamline 5-1. … St. Olaf also swept the conference's post-season awards, as then-senior Dylan Mueller was named the MIAC men's hockey player of the year while Sean Goldsworthy was named the league's coach of the year. … Under Goldsworthy, the Oles have made five MIAC playoff appearances in the last six seasons and have a 63-49-20 (.563) record overall during that stretch. … St. Olaf had five players named to the All-MIAC?First Team, but return just two, Isak Tranvik and Nick Krauss. Tranvik boasted 11 goals and a team-leading 19 assists for 30 points a year ago, while Krauss had great numbers — a .919 save percentage, 2.58 goals against average and 13-3-1 record — in his first season as the Oles' go-to goalie. … With the graduation of Mueller, Roger Trousdale and Nick Stalock, the Olese come into 2009-10 having to replace three of the team's top four scorers —?including 35 goals, 44 assists and 79 points. … St. Olaf scored the first goal in 16 of their 26 games, going 13-1-2 in that span.

St. Thomas Tommie Notes: The Tommies finished tied for second in the MIAC's regular-season standings, but were defeated by Gustavus 3-1 in the conference playoffs. … UST's loss to Gustavus kept the Tommies out of the tournament's title game for the first time in eight years and for just the third time in 22 seasons under head coach Terry Skrypek. … The Tommies wll be without the services of graduated senior Adam Davis, a two-time All-MIAC?First Teamer and a 2008-09 Second Team All-America selection. … Davis was the 40th UST?hockey All-American in the last 38 seasons. … With the Tommies' 5-3 win over Hamline on Jan. 30, St. Thomas won the 1,000th men's hockey game in the program's 86-year history. UST is now 1,003-585-67 —?the lone current Division III program to reach 1,000 victories. … Rob Johnson closed out his sophomore season as the Tommies' leading scorer, boasting team-highs in goals (19) and points (35), while finshing second on the team in assists wiht 16. … UST?had just two players — Johnson (19) and Andrew Kappers (10) with 10 or more goals, while eight Tommies had at least 10 assists. … UST?used four goalies a year ago, led by Cary Wood, who compiled a 2.53 goals-against-average and an .895 save percentage in 13 games.