O'Connell's 2 Goals Are 2 Little 2 Late At Wis.-Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (01/14/22)---A pair of goals by Cole O'Connell midway through the third period fell into the "too little, too late" category as Concordia conceded three straight goals to start the game and lost 3-2 at Wis.-Eau Claire.

The Blugolds scored two power play goals in the first period, then built a 3-0 lead in the second period before the Cobbers scored twice in a span of 5:08 in the final frame.

The loss evens the Cobbers' overall record at 6-6-2 on the year. The game was only Concordia's third away game of the year. CC is now 0-2-1 on the road. Eau Claire put an end to their 3-game losing streak and up their mark to 5-9-0. The Blugolds are 3-5-0 at home.

Concordia was whistled for four penalties in the first period, three of which led to power play opportunities and Eau Claire scored on two of those chances. It marked the first time all season that The Cobbers have allowed more than one power play goal in a game. CC has now given up four power play goals in the last five games. The Blugolds opened the scoring at the 7:32 mark and then added the second in the final minute of the opening period.

The only even strength goal for Eau Claire came at the 10:36 mark of the second period, and the teams skated into the second break with the Cobbers trailing 3-0.

Concordia's comeback trail would start in the eighth minute of the final frame. O'Connell netted his eighth goal of the year at 7:11 with linemate Tyler Bossert picking up the assist.

The helper for Bossert is his 16th of the season which continues to lead the MIAC and is in the Top 3 in the nation. He also picked up his MIAC-leading 20th point of the year which marks the third time in his four seasons he has reached the 20-point plateau.

O'Connell would put the game on full drama mode when he scored on the power play at 12:19. Eau Claire was whistled for having too many me on the ice at 10:39, and Brady Tatro fed O'Connell for the goal – just 20 seconds before the man advantage chance ran out.

O'Connell now has nine goals on the season which is tied for second in the MIAC. He also has 14 points which places him fifth in the league in that stat category.

Concordia would pepper the Eau Claire net for the remaining 7-minutes of the game but couldn't come up with the game-tying goal. O'Connell had the best chance when he had a shot from in close stopped in the dying seconds of the game.

Eau Claire held a 34-23 edge in shots on goal for the game. CC ended the 60 minutes of play by going 1-for-6 on the power play. The Blugolds were 2-for-5 with the extra skater.

Jackson Nelson saw his first action of 2022 in goal for Concordia. He made 31 saves which marks the second straight game he has turned aside at least 30 shots in a game. Nelson has now made 220 saves on the year and has a .913 save percentage. He is sixth in the MIAC in both total saves and save percentage. 

UP NEXT: Concordia will look to come away with a split in the series when the two teams square off in the series finale on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Hobbs Municipal Ice Arena.