Within One But No Equalizer

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. (2/24/21)---Concordia outscored St. Thomas in the final 40 minutes in their game in Mendota Heights on Wednesday but it was a span of 49-seconds that determined the outcome and sent the Cobbers to a 4-3 loss.

The teams skated through 17 minutes of scoreless hockey to start the contest but then the Tommies put up two goals in 49 seconds to swing the game in their favor and take a 2-0 lead into the second period. The Cobbers would pull within one goal on three different occasions but they were never able to come up with the game-tying goal and lost for the first time this season.

The 1-goal defeat drops Concordia's record to 1-1-1 on the year while St. Thomas improves to 5-1-0.

GAME RECAP: The teams skated through an even first 17 minutes of the opening period of play with UST holding a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. The opening goal came from a power play after Concordia was whistled for a holding call at the 15:31 mark. The Cobbers were almost to kill off the penalty but the Tommies would capitalize with 20-seconds remaining in the player advantage.

The goal at 17:11 was then doubled at 18:00. The Cobbers lost the faceoff after the goal and the Tommies were able to take control and add their second goal in less than a minute.

The Cobbers came out with a quick answer in the second period as they got on the board at the 3:59 mark. Freshman Jerica Friese scored her first collegiate goal with Brenna Mjoness and Grace Doerring earning assists.

Concordia would trail by a single score for the next five minutes before UST pushed the lead back to two goals at 9:03.

The Cobbers finished off the period the same way they started it by scoring in the final five minutes of play. They were awarded the goal-scoring opportunity by virtue of a Tommie penalty at the 15:58 mark. CC would get to within 3-2 in the first 50 seconds of the PP. Megan Mohr brought Concordia within one when she netted her first goal of the year at 16:48. Mjoness recorded her second helper of the night on the play. Senior Kaitlyn Page got into the scorebook for the second straight game with the second assist.

The third period started with the feeling that the next team to score would have the advantage and come away with the win. The Tommies got that ever-important "next goal" with an even-strength tally at 4:28.

Concordia's character showed in the final 15 minutes of the third period as they continued to push for two goals to tie the gam rather than accepting the road loss.

Junior Libby Hinrichs reward the Cobbers for their hard work when she scored midway through the final period to push the drama meter to the top level. Hinrichs scored an unassisted goal at 11:18 which closed the gap to 4-3 and made for an exciting finish.

Concordia had one last push for the game-tying goal when they were given a power play chance at the 15:27 mark. CC had one quality chance on the PP but Paige's shot was turned aside by the UST netminder. The Cobbers pulled goalie Kiana Flaig in favor of an extra skater after the power play ended but they weren't able to come away with a shot in the final 1:05 of play.

Flaig stopped 20 of the 24 shots she faced as St. Thomas outshot the Cobbers 24-21 in the game.

Both teams scored once on the power play. Concordia was 1-for-5 with the advantage while UST went 1-for-3.

UP NEXT: Concordia will host Bethel on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center. The Royals are 3-1 on the year and claimed a 3-2 win over St. Ben's on Wednesday.  

SPONSOR: Tonight's recap sponsor is Red River Trails. Wherever the road takes the Cobbers, Red River Trails makes sure it is a safe journey. They have been the official bus company of Concordia Athletics for over 30 years.