Sophomore defenseman Kyle Siemers had a goal and an assist in the Cobbers' 3-2 loss against Wis.-Stevens Point.
Sophomore defenseman Kyle Siemers had a goal and an assist in the Cobbers' 3-2 loss against Wis.-Stevens Point.

Toe-To-Toe With No.1

STORY LINE: Concordia pushed No.1-ranked Wis.Stevens Point all the way to the wire before falling 3-2 in Moorhead in the first game of 2019. The Cobbers scored two straight goals at the end of the first period and start of the second before having the Pointers return the favor in the second and third frames.

RECORDS: Concordia has its 6-game win and 8-game unbeaten streaks come to an end and is now 9-3-2 for the season. Stevens Point remains the only unbeaten team in the nation and ups its record to 14-0-2.

UNLIKELY SCORING THREATS: Concordia got its two goals from a pair of players not used to being on the scoresheet. Sophomore defenseman Kyle Siemers scored his second goal of the season when he 1-timed a shot on the power play at the 17:39 mark of the first period. Blake Berg and Quinn Fuchs were credited with the assists on the Cobbers' opening goal of the game. Matt Donnelly then scored his first collegiate goal in the second minute of the second period to give the Cobbers a 2-1 lead. Siemers set up the goal by breaking down the right side of the ice on a 2-on-1 and then flipping a pass to Donnelly who was camped on the left side of the goal.

STEPHAN STAYS SOLID: Concordia junior goalie Jacob Stephan didn't need any playing time to shake off the Christmas break. Stephan stepped between the pipes and stopped nine of the 10 shots he faced in the first period and then duplicated that feat in each of the next two stanzas. He finished with 27 saves and made several key saves to keep the Cobbers close. The loss is his first in the last seven starts.  

STAT STUFF: Concordia was outshot 30-15 for the game. Stevens Point had 10 shots in every period. The Cobbers period-high for shots came in the first when they put seven on goal. Siemers led Concordia with four shots on goal. Both teams had one power play goal in the game. CC went 1-for-3 on the man-advantage while UWSP was 1-for-2.       

UP NEXT: Concordia will host another Top 5 ranked team in less than 24 hours when they square off against No.4-ranked Wis.-Eau Claire on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. The Blugolds are 12-2-2 on the year and are coming off a 1-0 win at Gustavus on Friday.