Fantastic Two-Goal Finish

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/04/17)--- Goals by Amanda Flemming and Tori Davis in a span of 192 seconds late in the third period proved to be the difference in Concordia's 5-4 win over St. Thomas in the series finale.

Flemming and Davis broke open a 3-3 tie and helped the Cobbers earn a split in the series between the teams locked in the Top 5 of the conference standings.

The two points earned by Concordia on Saturday push them into sole possession of third place in the league standings with four games remaining in the regular season. The Cobbers are now 12-7-2 overall and 9-4-1 in the MIAC. St. Thomas falls back into fifth place with a 7-4-3 league mark. UST is 8-9-3 in all games.

For the second straight game the second period almost cost Concordia the game. On Friday St. Thomas was able to outplay CC in the middle frame and earn the only goal of the game. On Saturday The Cobbers entered the second stanza with a 2-0 lead but then watched that disappear in a span of less than a minute.

Concordia then took a 3-2 lead on a goal from senior Amber Schaack at the 16:47 mark only to have the Tommies retaliate with another game-tying tally 1:20 later.

The game would stay tied at 3-3 until the final five minutes of play.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game came just before the two Cobber game-winning goals. St. Thomas broke through the CC defense and had a 2-on-0 break. Cobber senior goalie Andrea Klug proceeded to stuff the two-player breakaway and keep the score tied at 3-3.  

Minutes later Flemming took a drop pass from Jess Nelson between the faceoff circles and snapped off a shot that found the left side of the net. The goal at 15:33 was Flemming's seventh of the season.

Davis used an outstanding solo effort in the 19th minute of the period to put Concordia up 5-3. In football terms Davis' goal would have been a "scoop and score" special. Davis forced a turnover just inside the Cobbers' defensive end of the rink. She then turned and went untouched on a breakaway. Davis faked the shot from the top of the crease, slid the puck to her backhand and then pushed it past the outstretch pad of the Tommie goalie. The unassisted tally at 18:45 was Davis' team-leading 10th nugget of the year.

St. Thomas made the game interesting in the final minute of play. After pulling their goalie with 56-seconds remaining UST was able to cash in at the 19:32 mark to bring the final score to a very familiar one-goal margin.

Unlike Friday night, Concordia wasted little time in getting on the board in the finale. Freshman Megan Dondelinger finished off her second goal of the season at the 29-second mark of the opening frame. Sage Barta and Sara Baumann earned the assists on the play.

Schaack then sent Rethwisch on a breakaway when she saucered a perfect pass through the neutral zone and hit Rethwisch in stride through the middle of the defense . Rethwisch made no doubt about the finish when she buried a shot that went just under the crossbar and over the goalie's glove.

Concordia was outshot 30-19 in the game and the play of Klug kept the Cobbers close throughout the 60 minutes. She routinely made point-blank saves to thwart quality chances.

Flemming led the Cobbers with four shots on goal and Davis added three.

WHAT'S NEXT:  Concordia has four games remaining in the regular season and is within three points of the league lead. The Cobbers will start their final four-game drive when they play at St. Olaf on Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11. The Oles are in sixth place in the MIAC and are coming off a win and a tie against Bethel. 

CONCORDIA vs. ST. THOMAS HIGHLIGHTS: