Loss Turns Into 5th Straight MIAC Semifinal Berth

ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/21/15)—It wasn't the ending to the regular season that Concordia wanted but it was the position in the conference playoffs the Cobbers were looking to achieve before the weekend started.

Concordia lost its second straight game at St. Catherine to finish off the regular season but still earned the No.3 seed for the upcoming MIAC playoffs and a bye into the semifinals.

The Cobbers gave up a pair of goals 1:14 apart in the third period and lost 3-2 to the Wildcats in the regular season finale. Concordia earned the No.3 seed by virtue of Gustavus' win over Bethel on Saturday. The Cobbers will be playing in the MIAC semifinals for the fifth straight season and sixth in the last eight years.      

The Cobbers will enter the postseason with a 9-6-3 mark in conference play and a 10-12-3 overall record. St. Catherine finishes their season at 7-7-4 in league play and 9-11-5 overall. The Wildcats missed out on the five-team playoffs by a single point.  

Neither team was able to muster any offense in the first period. The two squads combined for a total of 10 shots on goal. The second period shot total was in favor of St. Catherine but they only had a single goal and a 1-0 lead to show for it. The Wildcats outshot the Cobbers 18-6 in the middle frame. They scored the only goal of opening 40 minutes of play on the power play at 3:13.

Concordia would finally break through on the scoreboard in the ninth minute of play in the final period. Tori Davis scored her fourth goal of the year to tie the score 1-1 at 8:34. Jess Nelson was credited with the assist on the play to earn her second point in as many games.

St. Catherine then pushed forward with the decisive stretch of the game when they connected on a pair of goals 1:14 apart midway through the period. They retook the lead at 10:08 and then added the insurance goal at 11:22.

Concordia made a late-period rally to try and equalize but came up one goal short. Senior Maddy Gendreau scored an unassisted shorthanded goal at 16:01 to cut the lead to 3-2 but they would be as close as CC would come. The goal for Gendreau was her ninth of the year and fifth in the last seven games. She has now tallied at least one point in the last 10 games.

The Cobbers were outshot 32-25 in the three periods. Gendreau had a game-high six shots and finished the regular season with a team-high 88 shots on goal.

Madison Denny turned aside 29 shots in the game in goal for CC.

Concordia will now head down to Mendota Heights to take on St. Thomas on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. The Cobbers and Tommies have played in the semifinals of the conference tournament the past three seasons with CC holding a 2-1 advantage in those games.