Four-Goal Lead Gets Cobbers Into MIAC Playoffs

WINONA, Minn. (2/15/13)—Concordia bolted to a 4-0 lead just two minutes into the second period in their game with St. Mary's but then had to hold off a late charge by the Cardinals to come away with a 4-3 playoff clinching win in Winona.

The victory is the fourth straight for Concordia and, more importantly, gives CC two points in the MIAC standings. That pushes their season total to 18 and locks them into a three-way tie for third place – only one point out of first place with just one game left in the regular season. The Cobbers are now assured of a spot in the five-team conference tournament for the second time in the past three seasons that CC will make an appearance in the league playoffs.

Chris Beede's fifth goal of the season at the 2:11 mark of the middle period gave the Cobbers a 4-0 lead but then St. Mary's answered with two goals later in the frame and then one at the 1:31 mark of the third period to force a dramatic final 18 minutes of play in the game.      

Concordia junior goalie Chris Neamonitis came up with several clutch stops in the final five minutes of play to preserve the victory. He finished the game with 29 saves to pick up his 12^th win of the season. Neamonitis now has 19 career victories after starting his freshman season with just a single "W".

The Cobbers started their four-goal head start with a pair of scores less than two minutes apart at the start of the opening period. Joe Becker scored on the power play at 4:54 and then Andrew Deters upped the lead to 2-0 with an even-strength tally at 6:25. Becker's fourth goal of the season was assisted by Ben Payne. It would the first of three assists for Payne on the night. He helped set up the second goal as did senior Brian Kang.

Concordia defenseman Caleb Suderman gave the Cobbers a three-goal cushion just before the first intermission when he hammered home his seventh goal of the year at 16:16. Payne and Deters got the helpers.

The game looked like it would turn into a route when Beede scored at 2:11 of the second to put CC up 4-0 but that is when the St. Mary's woke up and started to make the game interesting. Trent Johnson, playing in his first game since suffering an injury back on Jan. 19, earned his sixth assist of the season on the play. The Cardinals then scored only 1:77 after Beede's goal which would suddenly add fuel to their comeback attempt. SMU got one more back before the period ended and then closed the gap to 4-3 with a goal in the first two minutes of the third period.

The Cobbers survived several onslaughts from the St. Mary's offense and Neamonitis came up with the save of the game when he stopped Cardinal forward Nick Nagel on a breakaway midway through the period.   

Concordia was outshot 32-27 for the game. SMU netminder Jason Horstman made 23 saves in the three periods and was handed his fourth loss of the year.

Both teams scored on the power play in the game. Concordia was 1-for-3 while St. Mary's connected on two of their five man-advantage situations. CC has now scored at least one power play goal in four of the last five games and is 5-for-18 on the PP during that stretch.

The two teams will complete their two-game series on Saturday and 2 p.m. in Winona. The Cobbers can still finish anywhere from first to fifth depending on the outcome of their game – and the three others around the league.