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Posted: Mar 30, 2018

Auk signs ATO with Iowa Wild

Auk signs ATO with Iowa Wild

DES MOINES, Iowa – Michigan Tech senior defenseman Mark Auk signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Iowa Wild the team announced Friday (March 30). Iowa is the primary AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.

Auk, a native of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, played four seasons for the Huskies, appearing in 150 games. He was fourth amongst all NCAA Division I defensemen with 84 career points on 21 goals and 63 assists.

Auk was second on the team, fifth amongst WCHA defensemen, and 10th in the country amongst blueliners with 31 points in 2017-18. His 31 points, nine goals, and 22 assists were all career highs. Tech was 9-0-0 when he scored a goal and 16-4-2 when he recorded a point. He scored the game-winning goal in the WCHA Quarterfinal clinching game at Bemidji State and had three assists on game-winning goals this season. Five of his six career power play goals were scored as a senior.

Auk was named the MVP of the Ice Breaker Tournament after he tallied two goals and two assists to lead the Huskies to the title in their first-ever appearance. He was named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Month for October and was twice named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week—once in October and again in February.

Auk's offensive numbers improved every season. He had 13 points (3G-10A) as a freshman in 26 games and also finished 12th nationally and second among all NCAA freshmen with a plus-24 rating. He tallied 17 points with four goals and 13 assists as a sophomore and 23 points on five goals and 18 assists as a junior. He finished his career with a plus-54 rating and averaged 44 blocks per season.

Auk was a member of a senior class that won 97 games—the most since the 1984 class. The class was the first since 1978 to have a winning record all four seasons. They took the Huskies to three NCAA Tournaments, won a pair of WCHA Tournament Titles, won the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular season champs as sophomores, and were ranked the No. 1 team in the nation in 2014-15 after a program-best 10-0 start. They also won the Desert Hockey Classic in 2015-16 and the Ice Breaker Championship earlier this season.

Prior to his time at Tech, Auk played two seasons with Cedar Rapids of the USHL. In two seasons with the RoughRiders, he amassed 39 points (11G- 28A) in 93 games. He also spent part of a season with the Port Huron Fighting Falcons of the NAHL, registering 12 points (3G-9A) in 27 games.

Iowa has eight regular season games remaining on the schedule. The Wild currently sit fifth in the Central Division five points behind the Rockford IceHogs for a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.