One More Chance To Clinch

STORY LINE: Concordia and Augsburg went back-and-forth for the first 55 minutes of their series opener before the Auggies took advantage of an offensive zone 2-on-1 to score the game winner and come away with a 2-0 victory in the second-to-last game of the regular season. Augsburg tacked on an empty-net goal with 31-seconds remaining to finish off the scoring.
   
RECORDS: Concordia remains winless in its last eight games and is now 9-12-3 in all games and 6-8-3 in conference play. Augsburg is unbeaten in its last nine games and moves to 13-6-5 overall and 10-3-4 in conference play.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE PLAYOFFS: Concordia is still in the driver's seat for the fifth, and final, playoff spot in the conference playoffs. If the Cobbers win the series finale on Saturday they will clinch their ninth straight MIAC playoff berth. CC can still get into the playoffs with a tie, or loss, and a St. Mary's loss at home against St. Mary's.

NOT FOR THE LACK OF TRYING: Concordia had extensive offensive zone time in all three period and came away with 32 shots on goal in the game. The 32 shots on goal is the most in the 2019 calendar year and most since they put up 42 vs. Finlandia. The Cobbers also had several quality chances around the Auggie goal but couldn't find a way to make the final shot into the net. Senior Megan Dondelinger led all players with a career-high nine shots on goal.

THE MOOSE IS STILL LOOSE: Freshman goalie Emily Musielewicz made her seventh straight start and stopped the first 31 shots she faced in the game. Musielewicz finished with 32 saves in the game which is one shy of her career high.    

STAT STUFF: Augsburg held a slim 34-32 edge in shots on goal for the game. Concordia's best period was the second when they outshot the Auggies 13-7. The Cobbers also had 10 shots in the third period. The game was a relative penalty-free affair with only two penalties called in the 60 minutes of play. Both infractions were called against Augsburg and CC went 0-for-2 on the power play.   
 
UP NEXT: Concordia will look to secure the playoff berth when they host Augsburg in the series finale on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center.