Small Signs Of Improvement In Opener

STORY LINE: Concordia gave up eight consecutive goals between their two games at No.7-ranked Wis.-River Falls and lost a pair of contests on the opening weekend. The Cobbers cut the Falcons lead to 3-2 at the beginning of the second period in Friday night's opener but then River Falls scored four straight to win 7-2. The Falcons then opened the second game by scoring four straight and came away with a 4-2 victory.

SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT: The two losses to the nationally-ranked Falcon marks the second straight season that CC has been swept by UWRF. The Cobbers have closed the gap in margin of losses. Last year Concordia was outscored 20-7 and was outshot 87-38. In the 2018-19 opener Concordia narrowed the gap to 11-4 on the scoreboard and 76-38 in shots on goal.

PENALTY TIME: Concordia and River Falls combined for 23 penalties in the two games. The Cobbers were whistled for three penalties on Friday and then five on Saturday while the Falcons were sent to the box a total of 15 times on the weekend. Concordia scored two of their three goals in the series on the power play as they went 2-for-9. River Falls was 2-for-6 in PP opportunities.

BALANCED SCORING ATTACK: Concordia got goals from three different players in the two games. Sophomore Kaitlyn Page scored the first goal of the Mo Greiner era for the Cobbers when she found the back of the net in the second minute of the second period on Friday. Megan Mohr then pulled CC within a goal when she scored three minutes later on the power play. Sophomore defenseman Callie Fagerstrom got the lone goal for the Cobbers on Saturday when she scored on the power play at 3:02 of the third period. Fagerstrom also had an assist on Mohr's goal on Friday. The goal by Page matches her season total from all of last year. Fagerstrom also scored in the second game against the Falcons last season. 

UP NEXT: Concordia will stay on the road when they open conference play. The Cobbers will travel to St. Paul to take on St. Catherine on Nov. 9-10 at Drake Arena. The Wildcats are 2-1 on the season and coming off a split with Wis.-Superior.