4 Unanswered Ends Title Hopes

STORY LINE: Concordia gave up four unanswered goals in the second period and lost 4-1 at No.6-ranked Augsburg. The Cobbers trailed 2-1 heading into the final minute of play in the third period before conceding a pair of empty-net goals.

RECORDS: Concordia has its 2-game unbeaten streak come to an end and is now 13-8-3 overall and 9-4-2 in the MIAC. Augsburg claims the MIAC regular season championship with the win and is now 18-3-3 overall and 12-1-2 in league play.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE PLAYOFFS: Concordia can still finish anywhere from second to fourth place in the final conference standings. If the Cobbers beat the Auggies in the series finale, CC will either finish with the No.2 or No.3 seed for the upcoming league playoffs. If the Cobbers lose on Saturday then they will either be the No.3 or No.4 seed.

UNLIKELY SCORING STAR: Concordia got on the scoreboard first in the game when Jake Ellingson scored a shorthanded goal at 12:06 of the second period. After the teams skated through a scoreless first period and then the first half of the second frame Ellingson put CC up 1-0 on his second goal of the season. Quinn Fuchs recorded his 10th assist of the year on the play.

STEPHAN MAKES STOPS: Junior goalie Jacob Stephan was sharp from the very first drop of the puck. He stopped 13 shots in the first period and the first 22 shots he faced in the game. The Auggies finally got on the board at 13:38 of the second period. Stephan made 34 saves in the game and has now stopped at least in his last five starts.

STAT STUFF: Augsburg outshot Concordia 38-17 in the game. The Cobbers best period came in the third, with the game on the line, when they recorded nine shots on goal. The game featured only three ower plays and neither team scored with the man advantage. CC was 0-for-2 while the Auggies were scoreless in their one attempt.

UP NEXT: Concordia will finish off the regular season when they play at Augsburg in the series finale on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.