Odds Are Even, Even Is Down

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/03/17)--- A goal midway through the game proved to the difference in Concordia's game with St. Thomas. The Tommies scored the only goal of the contest at the midway marker and the Cobbers offense was never able to get on track in a 1-0 loss.

The defeat drops Concordia into a tie for fourth place with the Tommies with 17 league points. The Cobbers are 8-4-1 in the MIAC while UST is 7-3-3. CC owns an 11-7-2 overall record and the Tommies are now at .500 with an 8-8 mark in all games.

The first and third periods of the game went back and forth with each team having quality chances to score. The shots on goal showed the similar offensive pressure in the two periods with St. Thomas holding a one-shot advantage at 18-17. The second period was tilted all in favor of the Tommies as the UST offense applied constant pressure on the CC net and held a major edge in zone time.

Cobber senior goalie Andrea Klug kept the St. Thomas offense off the board for the first 18 shots of the contest. The Tommies would score on their 19th shot and then Klug would once again slam the door for the final 17 shots.

Concordia's best opportunities for a goal came in the third period came at the start of the frame when Megan Dondelinger beat the St. Thomas defense around the left wing. Her shot from the left faceoff circle was stopped and her rebound went right to teammate Sage Barta on the right side of the crease. Unfortunately for CC the puck bounced over Barta's stick as the wide open net yawned in front of her. Amanda Flemming had a chance moments later when she intercepted a clearing pass at the blue line and stepped between the faceoff circles but her open wrist shot whistled just past the left post.

The drama increased until late in the third period when Concordia was awarded their second power play opportunity of the game. Flemming and Jessica Kongelf broke in on a 2-on-1 from the right wing and Kongelf was able to float a centering pass to Flemming at the bottom of the faceoff circles but her redirected shot slid just inches wide of the post. The final chance from in close came when the puck slid out to Tori Davis in front of the Tommie net but Davis couldn't corral the puck to lift the puck over the sprawled UST goalie.

Concordia was outshot 36-22 for the game with Davis having a team-high four shots on goal. Barta, Amber Schaack and Abbie Canton had three shots each.

Klug stopped 35 of the 36 shots she faced.

The Cobbers went 0-for-2 on the power play while the Tommies went 0-for-1.

CLOSE CALLS: The Cobbers and Tommies have a tradition of playing close, one-goal games. Nine of the past 12 meetings between the teams have either resulted in a tie or one-goal decision.

SAVES UPON SAVES UPON SAVES: Andrea Klug upped her season save total to 491. She has at least 34 saves in four of the past five games. Klug's season total is tops in the MIAC and almost 100 full saves more than the next goalie in the league. Her total is also the second most of any goalie in the nation.      

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS OUT: Concordia was shutout for the second straight Friday night. Last week it was a 5-0 defeat at Gustavus. Before the last two Fridays CC had been 5-1 in games played on the opening night of the weekend.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will be looking to jump back in front of the Tommies in the league standings when they host St. Thomas in the series finale on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center.