Déjà Vu

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (1/11/13)—For the second straight game Jordie Bancroft set up Tucker Coborn for the game winner, goalie Chris Neamonitis made 40-plus saves and the Cobbers came away with a hard-fought 2-1 road win.

Concordia scored the first goal of the game and the last goal as they downed Augsburg 2-1 in Minneapolis on Friday. The Cobbers used the same script from their win over then No.3-ranked UW-Eau Claire to post the win over the Auggies and earn their fourth win in the past six games. CC is now 7-8-1 overall and 4-3-0 in the MIAC and tied for third in the league standings.

The Cobbers survived a slow start and were able to get their legs going towards the end of the first period and went on to play an up-and-down affair with the Auggies. After Augsburg held the majority of the offensive play in the first few minutes of the game, Concordia scored on their very first shot on goal. The opening score came on a "nothing" play as Joe Becker fired a bad angle shot on goal and Trent Johnson was there to redirect the puck into the net. Johnson's goal at the 4:41 mark was his second of the season. Dan Hrabowych also earned an assist on the play.

The game would remain at 1-0 until midway through the second period. Augsburg got on the board at 12:41 to tie the game at 1-1. The second period was played from end-to-end as both teams clogged up their own defensive end of the ice.

The Cobbers netted the game winner in the final five minutes of the middle frame. Bancroft drove the puck down the right wing and fired a shot from the outside of the face-off circle. The rebound came right into the slot where Coborn lifted the puck over the fallen goalie and into the top part of the net. It was only Coborn's second goal of the season but his second game-winning tally in as many games. Bancroft recorded his team-leading 14^th point of the season. He has now had at least one point in eight of the past nine games.

The third period was all about the Cobber defense and Neamonitis. Concordia limited the number of wide open chances and Neamonitis stopped all 16 shots he faced in the frame.

Neamonitis stopped 42 of the 43 shots he faced in the game and dropped his goals against average to 1.88 and raised his save percentage to .940. Both of those season numbers lead the MIAC.

The two teams will finish off the two-game series on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Ed Saugestad Ice Rink.