Seniors Step Up On Senior Night

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/31/20)---It was Senior Night on Friday for the Cobbers in their game against Bethel and it was the group of seniors who stepped up to help Concordia edge the Royals 2-1 in the opener of the 2-game series.

Senior Aaron Herdt scored the game-winning goal midway through the second period and senior goalie Jacob Stephan made it stand up as he stopped the final 19 shots he faced to give Concordia the 1-goal win.

The victory is the fourth straight for Concordia who reaches the .500 mark for the first time all season. CC is now 8-8-2 overall and 5-3-1 in the MIAC. The Cobbers now have 17 points in conference play which is good for sole possession in the league standings.

Bethel has its 3-game unbeaten streak come to an end and falls to 5-12-3 in all games and 4-4-3 in the MIAC.

Concordia never trailed in the series opener. The Cobbers got on the board at the 11:36 mark of the first period when Jacen Bracko recorded his fifth goal of the season. Tanner Breidenbach and Parker Simonson earned the assists on the first goal of the game.

Stephan helped the Cobbers take a 1-0 lead into the first break as he stopped all 10 shots he faced in the period. CC outshot the Royals 16-10 in the first 10 minutes of play.

Bethel would tie the game in the second minute of the second period. The goal came at the 1:38 mark and was only 5-seconds after Concordia killed off a penalty. CC was unable to clear the zone and Bethel scored the game-tying goal just after the penalty had expired.

The game would stay tied at 1-1 for the next 5:50 and that is when Herdt came up with the eventual game winner. The goal came directly after a faceoff in the Bethel end. Tyler Bossert won the draw and Beau Wilmer was able to collect the puck and slide it to Herdt who slammed it home for his team-leading ninth goal of the year.

Bossert earned his 16th assist of the season which is second in the MIAC.

The Cobbers killed off two penalties in the third period to seal the win.

Concordia outshot Bethel 35-30 for the game. Stephan finished with 29 saves to collect his fifth win of the year.

Bossert led the team with six shots on goal while Bracko had five and Tanner Okeson and Keaton Leininger both added four each.

INSIDE STAT INFO: The win marks the first time all season that the Cobbers have come away with a victory when scoring less than three goals. CC entered the game with a record of 0-8-2 in games when they scored fewer than three goals.

INSIDE STAT INFO II: Jacen Bracko had put up just one goal in the first 16 games of the year but has broken out of his sophomore slump by netting four goals in the last two games. Bracko has accounted for four of the team's seven nuggets in the last two team wins.

UP NEXT: Concordia will look to extend its win streak when they finish off their 2-game series with Bethel. The Cobbers and Royals will square off on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.at the Moorhead Sports Center. Concordia is 3-5-0 in games played on a Saturday while Bethel is 1-5-3.    

CONCORDIA vs. BETHEL SENIOR NIGHT PREGAME/GAME HIGHLIGHTS