Move Over, Dorothy; The Cobbers Are In The House

MOORHEAD, Wis. (01/05/24)---Dorothy might have originated the phrase, "there's no place like home," in 1939, but the 2024 Cobbers are proving that thesis one game at a time.

A red-hot goalie and an unbeaten home record proved too much for the No.2-ranked team in Division III as Concordia outlasted St. Scholastica 2-1 in the first game of the 2-game series at the Moorhead Sports Center.

The Cobbers scored two unanswered goals in the second period to hand the Saints their first loss in MIAC play and only the second loss in the first 12 games of the year.

Concordia remains a tough out in Moorhead as they up their home record to 6-0-1. CC ends its 2-game losing skid and moves to 7-4-1 overall. The Cobbers are now 3-2-0 in conference play, which is good for nine points and a tie for fourth place in the league standings.

St. Scholastica loses for the second straight game, both coming on the road and are now 10-2-0 in all games and 4-1-0 in the MIAC.

The game was a testament to quality college hockey. It featured two teams that wanted to get up-and-down the ice and get caught up in more of an attacking style of play. The game had 57 combined shots and only four total penalties – with each team going scoreless on a single power play attempt.

All the scoring in the game occurred in the second period. The teams had 19 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, with CC goalie Matt Fitzgerald and Scholastica netminder Jack Bostedt not allowing the other team to get on the board.

The game opened up in the first minute of the second period when the Saints' Filimon Ledenkov got behind the Cobber defense and scored on a breakaway.

The lead would last less than 3 minutes as Troy Dahlheimer knocked home a rebound to tie the game at the 3:31 mark. The goal was Dahleheimer's second of the season and featured a quality assist from senior Kevin Ness. Adam Brown also picked up an assist on the Cobbers' opening goal of the game.

The game-winner came out of nowhere midway through the second stanza. Cole O'Connell took possession of the puck along the left side boards deep in the CSS end. He circled out of the corner and threw the puck toward the goal in an attempted centering pass. The puck caromed off a Saints' defender and slid past Bostedt, who never saw the puck enter the crease.

The goal at 10:51 was O'Connell's fifth of the year.

The third period belonged to Fitzgerald and the Concordia defense. Fitzgerald made several huge stops down the stretch, and the Cobber team defense was able to clear the puck away from the front of the net in a frantic final 50 seconds of play after the Saints had pulled their goalie.

St. Scholastica held a slim 29-28 edge in shots on goal. O'Connell led all players with six strikes on target. All-American Liam Haslam had four shots, while Dahlheimer and Ness ended the game with three on goal.

Fitzgerald stood tall all game and came away with 28 saves.

UP NEXT: Concordia will try to protect its house one more time when they finish off the series with Saints on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2 p.m.         

CONCORDIA vs. #2 ST. SCHOLASTICA HIGHLIGHTS