Shots From The Point Propel Win

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/19/18)---Concordia scored at least one goal in all three periods, had four different players find the back of the net and rolled to a 4-1 win over St. Benedict in the series opener.

The Cobbers never trailed in the game that saw them put up 34 shots on goal and finish the game by scoring three unanswered goals.

The win is the second in the past three games and pushes Concordia into a tie for third place in the league standings. The Cobbers are 5-2-2 in MIAC play and have 12 conference points. CC is now 8-6-2 overall.

A pair of shots from the point proved to be the difference in the game. The first shot came in the back half of the first period when senior captain Tori Davis redirected a shot from the middle of the ice to get Concordia on the scoreboard at the 13:35 mark of the opening period. Amanda Flemming took the shot from inside the blue line and Davis, who was standing at the top of the crease, got her stick on the shot to tip the puck into the net.

St. Benedict (2-12-1/1-7-1 MIAC) tied the game on the power play at 5:56 of the second period.

The second decisive shot from the point came off the stick of freshman Callie Fagerstrom in the final minute of the middle period. The teams looked like they would skate to the second intermission tied at 1-1 but then Fagerstrom was able to fire a shot on net that went between players. The puck surprised the Blazer goalie who was screened on the play and it bounced off her shoulder and into the top part of the net. Davis and Megan Mohr recorded the assists on the eventual game-winning goal.

Concordia then sealed the game with a pair of goals in a span of 1:56 at the start of the third period. Sophomore Ally Wiitala put the Cobbers ahead 3-1 when she kept the puck in the CSB defensive zone on the near boards. She then skated into the middle of the ice and fired a shot back to the right corner of the net. Her shot found the top part of the goal. It was the first collegiate goal of the year and allowed CC to coast into the final 16 minutes of play.

Megan Dondelinger finished off the scoring when she tapped home the puck from just inside the post at the 6:07 mark of the period. Emily Goff skated the puck around the net and tried to wrap the puck around the goal and into the net. The puck came off her stick and slid along the goal line. It was stopped by the far post before Dondelinger just knocked home the bunny. Wiitala recorded her second point of the game as she earned the second assist on the play.

Concordia outshot the Blazers in the first two periods and finished with a 34-28 edge for the game. Flemming had a game-high six shots on goal and Goff added five more.

Brittany Boss went the distance in goal for CC and stopped 27 shots en route to her fifth win of the season.

TORNADO TIME: Tori "Tornado" Davis recorded a pair of points on Friday and now has three multiple-point games in the last five contests. She also has at least one point in five of the past six games. Davis now has eight goals and six assists for 14 points on the year. She has 42 goals in her career and 61 total points.

POWER PLAY PACKS A PUNCH: Concordia scored their first two goals against CSB on the power play. CC has now scored at least one power play goal in five straight games and in 12 of their 16 games this season. The Cobbers have a 29.6% success rate on the PP which is tops in the MIAC and second in all of Division III.

GOING BACK TO CALLIE: Freshman Callie Fagerstrom has now scored a single goal in three of the past four games and coninutes to stay in the Top 3 of the MIAC in scoring by a defenseman and points by a first-year player. Fagerstrom has 11 points this season which is tied for fourth in scoring by blueliners and tied for third in freshman scoring.         

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will hope to gain the series sweep when they square off against the Blazers on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center. The Cobbers have only swept two series this season. CC won twice against St. Catherine on Nov. 10-11 and then swept Finlandia on Dec. 8-9.

CONCORDIA vs. ST. BENEDICT HIGHLIGHTS: