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Before touring colleges in 2013, my list was down to three.

My top choice was Iowa State, one of the premier journalism schools in the Midwest. I loved the idea of going to school in Ames, but my bank account didn鈥檛. Financial aid wasn鈥檛 on my side.

My second choice was Augustana. It was a little closer to home but it was smaller than my high school. To be honest, I didn鈥檛 know what Augustana was or where Sioux Falls was. Outside of a family trip to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills when I was younger, I couldn鈥檛 dream of a reason to be in South Dakota.

The third choice was Wisconsin-River Falls. It was mostly on my list because it had a hockey team.

My mom and I began touring schools. River Falls was our first stop. Outside of the hockey rink, which was just your standard Division III barn, I wasn鈥檛 impressed. I knew my choice was down to two.

The next stop was Augustana, which was formerly a college when I toured before becoming a university in 2016. From the moment I stepped on campus I was sold.

My trepidations of Augie鈥檚 enrollment being smaller than my high school鈥檚 went away when I got out of the car. My mom and I didn鈥檛 even tour Iowa State because my decision was made.

There was only one problem. Where鈥檚 the hockey?

Look, as a sports reporter, it鈥檚 certainly obvious I enjoy and appreciate competition of all kinds. I will watch and write about any sport, and most likely, have a killer time doing it.

But hockey is my passion. I got I spent 13 years playing organized hockey.

But when I got to Sioux Falls for my first semester in 2014, finding commonalities with my classmates was tough. Most of my friends weren鈥檛 from Minnesota. They hadn鈥檛 thought about hockey ever, much less used or owned skates.

Two or three times each year, Augustana would host student skating nights at the SCHEELS IcePlex. You could count on one hand how many kids played hockey growing up.

At the time, Augustana was anything but a hockey school, but Sioux Falls was already a hockey town.

During my second semester, the Sioux Falls Stampede won the Clark Cup. Sioux Falls youth programs were growing year after year, setting new participation records at the start of each cycle. NCAA Regional Tournaments were being hosted in Sioux Falls.

There was only one thing missing: the city鈥檚 own college hockey team.

Some time after I graduated in December 2018, Augustana announced its pursuit of becoming a Division I school. It also announced it was attempting to add a men鈥檚 hockey program.

Augie pushed past the collective skepticism and debuted the NCAA鈥檚 64th D-I hockey team last season. I spent (and still spend) years answering questions. Is Augustana D-I? Is Augustana actually getting hockey? Why is Augustana getting hockey? Do people care about hockey at Augustana? Is Augustana ever going to be good?

Yes. Yes. Because it鈥檒l work. Yes. Yes.

The Vikings made the trip to the Sanford Center last season, which was surreal. It was hard to fathom how my school, which was so absolved from hockey while I was there, was playing against the team I cover.

In November, Bemidji State made its first trip to Sioux Falls, which was surreal again. I had seen the pictures and videos of Midco Arena, but seeing it in person 100 yards away from my freshman dorm was indescribable.

Then there was last night.

When Bemidji State fell to the No. 7 seed in the CCHA standings, it hit me that I, an Augie grad (hard to believe, I know), would get the chance to cover the program鈥檚 first-ever postseason game.

On Friday morning, Augustana announced that each of the first two games in the Mason Cup Playoffs quarterfinal series was sold out. Finally, Sioux Falls got its collegiate hockey team to root for, and it showed up.

The Vikings pulled off a comeback 3-1 win over the Beavers in Game 1, setting the stage for Augie to win its first postseason series in program history with one more win over the Beavers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great credit to so many people,鈥� AU head coach Garrett Raboin said after the win. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to think of the environment of tonight鈥檚 game. There鈥檚 a bigger group. We鈥檙e responsible for the on-ice product, the entertainment.

鈥淭om Slattery鈥檚 up in the Viking club entertaining so many folks up there, and I don鈥檛 know that he鈥檇 ever done that at a hockey venue before. There鈥檚 an athletic administration, an event coordinator and an ice tech. It鈥檚 all new for them, too. They鈥檙e all doing it at a really high level, and they deserve a lot of credit.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue to try and grow, certainly as a hockey program with our players and our competitive level, but already in year two, I think that鈥檚 something bigger we鈥檙e celebrating because folks from Bemidji are coming here. You heard Coach (Tom) Serratore. It鈥檚 a hard place to play. It鈥檚 pretty incredible what鈥檚 been done in such a short period of time, and we鈥檙e going to try and keep up with those guys on the ice.鈥�

Day by day, week by week, month by month, and now, year by year, Augustana has answered the call. From the players, to the coaching staff, to the administration, to the collection of hockey operations staff and, last but not least, to the passionate hockey fans in Sioux Falls, Friday night鈥檚 product was the result of effort to make something out of nothing.

Augustana鈥檚 emergence speaks to the growth of hockey, especially western hockey. Kids in the Sioux Falls area get the chance to not only look up to the Stampede, but also the Vikings. It鈥檚 earned growth, and it鈥檚 here to stay.