SIOUX FALLS — Christian Manz had yet to see a single minute between the pipes this season for the Augustana hockey team, but on Friday night, the sophomore goaltender was awarded an opportunity.
Steady and ready, Manz took full advantage.
Cole Burtch scored a shorthanded game-winner early in the third period, and Manz made 29 saves to lift the Vikings to a 3-2 win over Colorado College at Midco Arena.
“I thought he was seeing the puck really well,” said Augustana coach Taylor Nelson, who served as bench boss Friday while head coach Garrett Raboin was with Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championship. “There was even a play in the third on a shot from his blocker side that they shot glove, and he just tracked it and stood up and caught it. Albeit later in the game, a true indicator of a goalie that’s seeing the puck really well.
“There was a couple instances in the first where I thought, ‘Yeah, he’s sharp, he’s seeing it.’ … I was really happy for him because of his approach every single day, his work ethic every single day, how he endears himself to his teammates. Those things accumulate over time, so I’m just really happy for him.”
Augustana goaltender Christian Manz is introduced prior to the start of a game against Colorado College on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.
Peyton Bartsch Photography
Colton Friesen had a goal and an assist to lead the Vikings (11-6-3), who improved to 8-1-3 on home ice with the victory.
Friesen got things started at the 4:54 mark of the opening period when he collected a feed from Callum Gau in front of the net, switching to his backhand before lifting the puck into the short side of the net. Will Howard was credited with a secondary assist on the tally.
“It’s just what Friesen does,” Nelson said. “He kind of lingers around and strips pucks when you don’t see him coming and hangs out behind a net front or on the backside, so that’s something we’ve seen from him before. And he’s got a sneaky little backhand.
“I thought he had another one that was going to go there in the third on his backhand. It was just good stick-to-itiveness for him to be able to collect it as he did and make sure he found a space to put that puck home, and it was nice for us to get started that way early.”
However, the Tigers (8-8-3) evened things up at 1-1 inside the final three minutes of the period when Bret Link tucked the puck into an open net while Manz was scrambling to get back into position.
At 5:24 in the second frame, Connor Hvidston took advantage of a fortuitous bounce off the end wall and buried the puck past Manz to move Colorado College ahead 2-1.
But Augustana tied the game at 2-2 a little more than three minutes later on a goal by Brett Meerman, who fired it in on a rebound after Joey DelGreco’s redirect was denied by CC goaltender Kaidan Mbereko. Friesen picked up a secondary helper on the goal.
Augustana’s Will Howard skates up the ice against Colorado College on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.
Peyton Bartsch Photography
Augustana finished 1 of 4 on the power play. The Vikings have now scored a power-play goal in eight of their last 10 games. During that stretch, they’ve scored 10 goals on the man advantage.
“It’s definitely clicking,” Burtch said about the Vikings’ power play, which now ranks second in the CCHA with a 23% conversion rate. “We obviously feel it as a group. That first PP has been doing really well. It’s just a buying-into-the-system type of thing. They’re all a bunch of skilled hockey players. They all know where each other will be, and it kind of makes life a little easier for each other.
“The power play has been good. It’s huge in college hockey. You’ve got to have good special teams, and the power play doing well and scoring goals, it’s a big jump for a group.”
Then, in the third, Easton Young blocked a shot and found a wide-open Burtch, who retrieve the puck in neutral ice and dashed to the net before firing it past Mbereko to seal the final score.
“Younger won that battle there, and I kind of just saw a chance to go on a breakaway,” Burtch said. “It was just obviously a nice play by him to kind of not just throw it down there and take his time, and he found me. And I just ended up putting it in the net.”
Augustana’s Cole Burtch celebrates after scoring a goal against Colorado College on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.
Peyton Bartsch Photography
Link and Hvidston each had a goal and an assist to pace the Tigers, who finished 0 of 3 on the power play. Mbereko stopped 25 shots but was dealt his seventh loss of the season between the pipes.
As a team, CC finished with a slight 31-28 advantage in shots on goal.
After giving up his second goal of the game, Manz turned away the final 14 shots he faced. It was the second win of his collegiate career and his first of the season.
“Once I got settled in there after about five minutes into the second, it was great. I was seeing pucks,” said Manz, who appeared in 13 games with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede prior to joining the Vikings’ program in 2024-25. “The guys did a great job in front of me, blocking shots, taking guys in front of the net, so it made my job really easy just to see the first shot and stop it.”
Augustana’s Callum Gau skates with the puck while being pressured by Connor Hvidston on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls.
Peyton Bartsch Photography
Gau had a game-high three blocked shots for the Vikings, who finished with 12 combined blocks.
Augustana has now won all four of its meetings against Colorado College. Friday night’s victory was the program’s first against CC on home ice.
The Vikings and Tigers will return to action Saturday night for the series finale. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. at Midco Arena.
Augustana 3, Colorado College 2
Colorado College 1-1-0 — 2
Augustana 1-1-1 — 3
First Period
1, AU, Colton Friesen (Callum Gau, Will Howard), EV, 4:54. 1, CC, Bret Link (Connor Hvidston, Fisher Scott), EV, 17:28.
Second Period
2, CC, Connor Hvidston (Drew Montgomery, Link), EV, 5:24. 2, AU, Brett Meerman (Joey DelGreco, Friesen), PP, 8:47.
Third Period
3, AU, Cole Burtch (Easton Young), SH, 1:24.
Shots on goal: Colorado College: 10-13-8—31; Augustana: 8-13-7—28.
Power plays: Colorado College 0-3; Augustana 1-4.
Saves: Kaidan Mbereko, CC, 7-12-6—25; Christian Manz, AU, 9-12-8—29.
Three Stars
1. Christian Manz
2. Colton Friesen
3. Cole Burtch