A Pre-Christmas To Remember

STORY LINE: Concordia killed off eight penalties, scored three unanswered goals and beat Hamline 5-1 to record the conference series sweep. The Cobbers had five different players score goals as they ran their unbeaten streak to eight games and their win streak to six.

STREAK TALK: Concordia's 8-game unbeaten streak is the longest since the 1990-91 season when the Cobbers won 10 straight games at the end of the year. The 6-game win streak is the most since 1999-2000 when they won seven straight en route to a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals.   

PRE-CHRISTMAS PROGRAM RECORD: The Cobbers are now 9-2-2 on the season. The nine overall wins before Christmas break are the most in school history. Concordia had eight wins prior to Christmas in 2013 (8-3-1) and 1980 (8-1-1).

MOVIN' ON UP: The win also helped Concordia to its second straight conference sweep. The Cobbers are now 5-0-1 in league games which is good for 17 points. That total is one more than No.9-ranked Augsburg who is also 5-0-1 in the MIAC.

GET THAT PUCK: For the second straight game against the Pipers the Cobbers had a player record his first collegiate goal. Sophomore Alex Mimmack got Concordia on the board when he settled a pass from Jake Ellingson and went far side from the left side of the slot at 13:14 of the first period. The goal comes in Mimmack's third game in maroon and gold.

MAKING IT HERDT: Junior Aaron Herdt is relishing his time back at the Moorhead Sports Center. Herdt, who played high school hockey for the Moorhead Spuds, had his second straight multiple-point game of the weekend. He scored the eventual game-winning goal at 1:25 of the second period and then added an assist on CC's fourth goal in the third period. Herdt now has 12 goals and nine assists for 21 points this year.  

HIGH 5: Herdt's game-winning goal was his fifth of the season. He has scored the game-winning goal in five straight games for the Cobbers.

SCORING WRAP: Blake Berg, Tyler Bossert and Tanner Okeson had the final three goals of the game.  Blake's goal was his first of the season. Okeson capped the scoring with his third goal of the year. He also has five assists and his eight points is second in the MIAC in scoring by a defenseman.

20-POINT CLUB: Concordia now has three players with at least 20 points on the season (there are no other 20-point scorers in the MIAC). The Cobbers are led by sophomore Tyler Bossert who only had a goal on Saturday and now has seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points. His 27 points is tied for second in all of Division III. Joining Bossert was Aaron Herdt with his goal and assist which gives him 21 points and Mario Bianchi who put up a couple of helpers and now has 11 goals and 10 dimes for 21 points. Bianchi has now recorded 21 points in three straight seasons and has 78 career points in maroon and gold.  

PENALTY KILL PROWESS: Concordia held Hamline scoreless on their eight power play attempts on Saturday and the Pipers were 0-for-18 in the series on the power play. The Cobbers have now killed off 43 straight power play opportunities in a streak that dates back to their last loss on Nov. 9 at Wis.-River Falls. Concordia is fourth in the nation in penalty kill percentage (93.1%).

MOST OVERLOOKED PLAYER IN THE NATION: While Concordia's M-A-T line continues to steal the headlines, the play of goalie Jacob Stephan might be the most overlooked part of the Cobbers' success. Stephan stopped 34 shots and made it look easy as the puck continues to look as big as a beach ball. Stephan has allowed fewer than two goals in four of his last five starts and lowered his GAA to 1.55 which is fifth best in Division III. He is also fourth in save percentage (95.1%) and 10th in win percentage (.833/7-1-1).

UP NEXT: Concordia will now have almost a month break before returning to action on Friday, Jan. 4 when they host No.1-ranked Wis.-Stevens Point at 7 p.m. The Pointers are currently 12-0-2 on the season and own the longest unbeaten streak in the nation.

CONCORDIA vs. HAMLINE HIGHLIGHTS: