Cobbers Run In To Red-Hot Goalie

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/14/20)--- Concordia threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Augsburg goal in the first period but were unable to come up with a goal and then conceded a power play goal in the second period and an insurance goal at the start of the third and fell 2-0 in the showdown between the Top 2 teams in the MIAC.

The Cobbers ran into a red-hot Augsburg goalie which proved to be the difference in the game. Concordia peppered the Auggie net in the first period and put up 14 shots on goal. Many of the 14 shots came from in close and were of the "quality chance" variety.

The loss is the first on a Friday night in a month for the Cobbers. CC is now 10-10-2 overall and remain at 23 league points with a 7-5-1 record. The loss drops the Cobbers into third place in the league standings.

Augsburg wins for the third time in the last five games and remains atop the MIAC with 29 points. The Auggies are now 14-7-1 in all games and 9-3-1 in the conference.

Concordia came out of the game flying on offense and stymied the Auggies in their own end with an aggressive forecheck. This resulted in many chances from around the goal area.

One of the best chances of the period came when Quinn Fuchs broke free of the defense and went in on a breakaway. He made a move to his left and tried to slide the puck inside the left post but the Augsburg goalie went down, stuck out his right pad and snuffed out the chance.

The Cobbers still had the upperhand in the second period and were staked to a pair of power plays in the first half of the middle period. Once again the Augsburg goalie stood tall and kept the Auggies level.

Augsburg gained momentum in the game on the strength of the two penalty kills and then scored the first goal of the game on their own power play. The Cobbers looked like they were about to kill off the power play chance but in the dying seconds, an Augsburg defenseman was able to take get a shot off the inside the blueline and an Auggie forward knocked the puck out of the air and into the goal. The opener came with just 2-seconds left on the power play.

The Auggies added an insurance goal at the 6:32 mark of the final period and then held on to get the win. Concordia had one more power play chance in the game but weren't able to capitalize.

Concordia finished the game with a 27-22 advantage in shots on goal. Alex Stoley had a team-high four shots on goal including one of the quality chances in the first period. Fuchs, Matt Donnelly and Chrtistian Cakebread all had three shots in the game.

Jacob Stephan was solid in goal for the Cobbers and came away with 20 saves.

INSIDE STAT INFO: Concordia went 0-for-3 on the power play in the opener and is now 0-for-20 on the power play in the last six games. CC is 6-for-50 on the power play in MIAC games this season.

UP NEXT: Concordia will look for the series split when they host Augsburg on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. at the Moorhead Youth Rink.