Home For The MIAC Championship

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/29/20)--- Sophomore Parker Simonson picked the perfect game to double his goal total for the season. Simonson put home a pair of goals and helped No.2 seed Concordia beat No.3 seed Augsburg 3-2 in the semifinals of the MIAC playoffs.

The Cobbers advance to the MIAC championship game for the first time since 2011 and will host No.4 seed St. Thomas who upset top-seeded St. John's 4-1 on Saturday. The title contest will be played on Saturday, Mar. 7 at the Moorhead Sports Center. The game time will be determined later in the week.

The win is the fourth straight for the Cobbers and 10th in the last 12 games. CC is now 14-10-2 on the year. The 14 wins marks the second time in the last four years Concordia has put up 14 victories. They went 14-11-2 in 2017. Augsburg ends their season with a 14-11-1 overall record.

The semifinal game was determined by Simonson's two goals and a 5-0n-3 penalty kill that lasted a full two minutes.

Simonson opened the scoring midway through the first period when he slammed home a 1-timer from just outside the right side of the crease. His third goal of the year was set up by Quinn Fuchs and Jaret Lalli. For Fuchs it was his 11th helper of the year.

Augsburg would tie the game with a shot that fooled Cobber goalie Jacob Stephan from the top of the faceoff circles at the 17:26 mark of the period.

Concordia then opened the second period by scoring two goals in a span of 1:48 starting at the 6:51 mark. Concordia forced a turnover in the Auggie end and Keaton Leininger gave the Cobbers the lead back from his knees. His goal from between the circles was assisted by Eddie Eades.

Simonson then added the eventual game-winning goal at 8:39 when he knocked down a chest high shot from the point and then batted the bouncing puck past the Augsburg goalie who was in position to make a save on the initial shot from Tanner Okeson.

The game-changing penalty kill came midway through the second period when the Cobbers were whistled for two penalties on the same play to the same player. CC then gave up the 5-on-3 power play 50-seconds later when they went to the box for a boarding call.

Augsburg was able to score 10-seconds into the 5-on-3 which negated the initial penalty of the two called at the same time. The Auggies then had a 2-man advantage as CC killed off the final two penalties.

Concordia was able to keep the Augsburg power play on the outside and Stephan handled all the shots that the Auggies put on goal. He also did a good job of controlling the rebound and limited any second-chance attempts.

The third period was exactly to the Cobbers' liking as they tightened up their defense and didn't take any chances on offense. Concordia only gave up five shots on goal in the final 20 minutes as they locked down their first playoff victory since 2017.

Stephan earned his 10th win of the year by turning aside 20 of the 22 shots he faced.

The Cobbers outshot the Auggies 24-22 with Simonson and Okeson leading the way with four shots each.

INSIDE STAT INFO: Concordia is now 12-1-2 when they allow fewer than three goals in a game. The Cobbers haven't allowed more than two goals in nine of the past 10 games.

UP NEXT: Concordia will host the MIAC championship game for the first time since the 1987 season when they also squared off against St. Thomas and won the 2-game series. The Cobbers and Tommies will battle for the Ed Saugestad Cup on Saturday, Mar. 8 at the Moorhead Sports Center.

CONCORDIA vs. AUGSBURG HIGHLIGHTS