{"id":14417,"date":"2026-04-09T09:28:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=14417"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:28:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:28:06","slug":"twice-as-nice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2026\/04\/09\/twice-as-nice\/","title":{"rendered":"Twice as nice"},"content":{"rendered":"

On March 14, the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ Women\u2019s Hockey team ended their season with a 24-5-1 record. MIAC regular-season champions<\/a> for the second year in a row, the Auggies earned a straight shot into the NCAA Division III National Tournament\u2019s first round<\/a> against Elmira College, hosted at Ed Saugestad Rink.<\/p>\n

\"Player
The women\u2019s hockey team defends its home ice at Ed Saugestad Rink. (Photo by Remus Repcak \u201927<\/b>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe biggest factor that has propelled our success this year is our confidence. Last season\u2019s successes proved to us that we can compete with the best teams in the country,\u201d defender Tenley Stewart \u201926<\/strong> said. \u201cI think we have leaned into the experiences we had from last season and have used it to focus more on the details this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

This season’s efforts showed as six players earned MIAC honors<\/a>. Named to the All-MIAC team were Kate Haug \u201926<\/strong>, Nora Stepan \u201926<\/strong>, Ella Olson \u201927<\/strong>, and Aunna Schulte \u201928<\/strong>. Stewart earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors and Marissa Paaske \u201926<\/strong> was named to the eight-player All-MIAC Playoff Team. Stepan also received MIAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row, and head coach Elizabeth Bauer<\/strong> received MIAC Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur coaching staff does a great job reminding us that we\u2019re students first and that balance matters,\u201d forward Haug said. \u201cThey\u2019re supportive if we communicate about academic responsibilities and encourage us to manage our time well. That support makes it a lot easier to stay focused both on the ice and in other areas of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Headshot
With two years of coaching under her belt, Head Coach Elizabeth Bauer was named the MIAC Coach of the Year in 2026. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q&A with Elizabeth Bauer, Women\u2019s Hockey Head Coach<\/h2>\n

Tell us a little about your own hockey career, especially as a coach, and how you came to be the head coach at Augsburg.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m in my second year as head coach, having taken over from Michelle McAteer, who\u2019s now the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Commissioner<\/a>. I got to take over a great program\u2014Coach McAteer was here for 14 seasons and led the Auggies to eight consecutive MIAC playoff appearances.<\/p>\n

I always knew I wanted to be in coaching. My dad has coached hockey for over 30 years, and he\u2019s my primary role model for coaching. My siblings are hockey players and figure skaters, so we all grew up around the rink. I played hockey at the University of Wisconsin\u2014Eau Claire and started professional coaching as soon as I graduated: first at Sports Exceleration in Hudson, Wisconsin, and then at MAP Hockey<\/a> in Blaine, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

I loved my experiences as a player. They were very meaningful for my life. So part of coaching for me is definitely giving back to the sport.<\/p>\n

How would you characterize the Augsburg women’s hockey program culture, especially this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, culture is so important, and it really starts with relationships. We have a team approach that focuses on strong leadership from upperclassmen\u2014which I think is just as important as good coaching\u2014and then setting clear expectations for the whole team. We work on team bonding and building trust on and off the ice. Even if a team doesn\u2019t have all the skills you might want, a good culture can take a team far. Our seven seniors this year have really stepped well into their leadership roles.<\/p>\n

In general, Augsburg has a great hockey culture. We co-host an alumni game [where current and former players play each other] almost every season, and host some fundraisers for the program that are well supported by alums. The alums of this program maintain a lot of connections with each other and show up for games. They love to give back, and we really appreciate them. The program wouldn\u2019t be the same without them and all the work they put in as players and now their support as alums.<\/p>\n

\"A
The Auggies are no strangers to celebrating success on the ice. (Photo by Remus Repcak \u201927<\/b>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What’s been the story behind the team’s success this season?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s team is very competitive. They compete with and care for each other. They have a common goal to win and to do it the right way, and they always want ice time. They are happy for others who are succeeding, and that unselfishness is really important in hockey.<\/p>\n

How do you help student-athletes maintain balance between athletic, academic, and personal growth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being at a smaller university helps, I think. The professors have high expectations and are also willing to support reasonable accommodations for student-athletes. We encourage all of our players to develop strong communications with their professors and to work directly with them on academic matters. Balance is important in life, and hockey is only one aspect. Our players know that missing practice because you\u2019re in class is not a huge deal\u2014it\u2019s part of being a student-athlete. And school really should come first. The team had an aggregate 3.8 GPA last semester. They compete to be good in the classroom and on the ice!<\/p>\n

\n

Top image: Augsburg women\u2019s hockey players hold up two fingers, symbolizing their MIAC regular-season championship winning streak. (Photo by Kevin Healy)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On March 14, the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ Women\u2019s Hockey team ended their season with a 24-5-1 record. MIAC regular-season champions for the second year in a row, the Auggies earned a straight shot into the NCAA Division III National Tournament\u2019s first round against Elmira College, hosted at Ed Saugestad Rink. \u201cThe biggest factor that has propelled <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":706,"featured_media":14421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-the-quad"],"wps_subtitle":"Women\u2019s hockey continues its winning tradition in 2025\u201326.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/706"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14417"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14425,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14417\/revisions\/14425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}