No More Playoff Lives After Loss To St, Mary's

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/17/24)---The playoff cat finally lost its ninth life. Concordia fell behind St. Mary's 2-0 and rallied to tie the game 2-2 before losing 3-2 on an empty-net goal in the waning seconds of the third period.

The loss officially knocks the Cobbers out of the MIAC playoffs. CC entered the day needing a win in regulation and a loss by St. Olaf in overtime or the shootout to clinch their 11th straight conference postseason berth.   

Concordia finishes the year with a 10-12-3 overall record and a 5-9-2 mark in league play. St. Mary's moves to 10-13-1 in all games and 8-7-1 in the MIAC. They will be the No.4 seed in the upcoming league playoffs.

The Cardinals broke out to a 2-0 lead when they scored a pair of event-strength goals in the first period. They opened with a marker at 7:08 and then went up 2-0 with 1:29 left in the frame.

The teams would skate through a scoreless second period despite combining to put up 18 shots in the period. CC held a 15-3 advantage in shots for the middle 20 minutes of play.

The Cobbers were finally rewarded for their offensive zone pressure in the eighth minute of the third period. Cole O'Connell hammered a 1-timer on the power play that was labeled for the back of the net the minute it left his stick. O'Connell's seventh goal of the year was assisted by Joe Harguindeguy and Liam Haslam.

Concordia tied the game 4:07 later when Cobber leading scorer Mason Plante found himself wide open inside the right faceoff circle. Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe made the perfect cross-ice pass and Plante was able to settle the puck and go top shelf to knot the score at 2-2.

Plante's 11th goal of the season came at 12:04 and was assisted by Henkemeyer-Howe and Braden Costello.

The Cobbers upped their offensive momentum and rattled off numerous shots on goal in the next 6 minutes of play to try and get the game winner to complete their playoff-clinching task.

Concordia was held off the board and head coach Kirk Olimb pulled goalie Matt Fitzgerald for an extra skater at the 18:07 mark to get the season-saving win. CC proceeded to pummel the SMU goal with five straight shots but couldn't get the puck in the net.

St. Mary's put the game, and the playoffs, out of reach when they posted the empty-net goal at 19:51.

For the second straight game, the Cobbers held a decided edge in shots on goal. CC came away with a 47-25 lead in shots for the game and a 95-42 advantage for the series.

Fitzgerald stopped 22 shots in the final game of his CC career.