The Augustana Vikings men's ice hockey is an NCAA Division I ice hockey team that began play in the fall of 2023.
History In the summer of 2021, in accordance with plans for Augustana University to raise its athletic programs from NCAA Division II to Division I, the university announced that there was interest in adding a men's ice hockey program. After receiving donations from several sources, spearheaded by T. Denny Sanford, the school was able to move forward with plans for the hockey program, despite the elevation of its other programs to Division I being abandoned. On October 5, 2021, the school broke ground on the Midco Arena, a $40 million, 3,000-seat venue to be used as the team's home rink. On April 18, 2022, the program announced the hiring of Minnesota Golden Gophers' assistant coach Garrett Raboin as the team's inaugural head coach.
The program is the first varsity ice hockey team at any level to call South Dakota home. The Vikings played the first hockey game in team history on October 7, 2023, a 0–4 loss at Wisconsin. A week later, the team played their first home games at the Denny Sanford Premier Center, their home for five games while Midco Arena finished its construction. The team would earn their first wins in this series with a sweep of Bowling Green. On January 26, 2024, Midco Arena opened, and the Vikings have played there ever since. Augie finished its first season as an Independent at a 12–18–4 record.
In mid-2022, the CCHA announced they would be granting the Vikings membership starting in the 2025–26 season with a transitional schedule for their first two seasons, however, in July 2024, the CCHA granted the Vikings full membership for the 2024–25 season, a year ahead of schedule. This allowed the Vikings to compete for a conference championship while playing their abbreviated transitional schedule, leading the CCHA to adopt a points-percentage ranking for determining conference standings due to Augie playing fewer games than the rest of the conference. Augie saw a huge increase in quality of play in their second season, finishing with a 18–13–4 record. The Vikings held first place in the CCHA at various points late in the season, eventually finishing at second place. They played their first conference tournament games in program history against Bemidji State, where they were upset by the seventh-seeded Beavers at home in three games.
The 2025–26 season will mark the completion of Augie's transition into the CCHA, as they will play their first full conference schedule.
Season-by-season results
All-time coaching records As of the completion of 2024–25 season Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. 2023–Present Garrett Raboin 2 30–31–8 Totals 1 coach 2 season 30–31–8
Current roster As of August 29, 2025.
Awards and honors CCHA
Player of the Year Josh Kotai: 2026
Goaltender of the Year Josh Kotai: 2026
All-conference teams First Team All-CCHA
2025–26: Josh Kotai, G
Second Team All-CCHA
2024–25: Josh Kotai, G; Luke Mobley, F
Statistical leaders
Career points leaders
Player Years GP G A Pts PIM 2023–present 68 25 14 39 37 2023–present 64 10 26 36 4 2023–present 61 14 17 31 16 2023–present 66 7 22 29 39 2023–present 56 10 18 28 12 2023–2024 34 8 17 25 0 2023–present 54 12 12 24 26 2023–present 58 5 18 23 6 2023–present 53 7 15 22 42 2023–present 69 4 18 22 40
Career goaltending leaders
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
minimum 30 games played Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA 2023–present 44 2532 19 19 5 98 3 .926 2.32
Statistics current through the end of the 2024–25 season.
References
External links