A Superb Sunday Senior Success Story

MOORHEAD, Minn. (02/20/22)---A pair of first collegiate goals, including one in the final 90-seconds of play, gave Concordia's nine seniors the perfect end to their final regular-season home game at the Moorhead Sports Center.

Paige Hanson's shot from the point with 61-seconds remaining in regulation broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Cobbers a split in their series with second-place Hamline.

Concordia dropped a 4-3 overtime decision in the opener on Saturday, but then came back to turn the tables on the Pipers and come away with the 1-goal win.

The last-minute victory gives the Cobbers momentum heading into the playoffs, which begin on Wednesday. CC will host No.10-seed St. Catherine on Feb. 23 at p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center in the first round of the MIAC tournament.

Concordia finishes the regular season with a 9-13-1 overall record and a 5-10-1 mark in conference play. Hamline will be the No.2 seed for the playoffs as the enter the postseason with a 13-9-0 record in all games and an 11-5-0 mark in the MIAC.

The first period on Sunday was very similar to Saturday. Neither team was able to score, and both teams played well in their defensive zone and didn't allow any quality chances.

The only goal of the first 40 minutes came courtesy of the hustle, hard work and determination of senior defenseman Hannah Christian. Christian was in a group of players trying to win the puck in front of the Cobber bench. The puck squirted free and was played in behind the Hamline goal. Christian took off on a sprint and raced to put pressure on the puck. The Piper defense was unaware of Christian's hustle and she beat everyone to the puck.

Christian then went around the goal and centered the puck to fellow senior Lynze Swanson who was standing all alone between the faceoff circles. Swanson's 1-timer off the pass from Christian was a snipe that went bar down, and gave CC a 1-0 lead.

The goal at 18:31 of the middle period was Swanson's first collegiate goal. Christian earned her sixth assist of the year on the play.

Like Saturday, the Cobbers went into the second intermission with a lead. And like Saturday, Hamline was able to tie the game in the third period.

The Pipers finally got a puck past Kiana Flaig when they scored on the power play at 3:45 of the third period.

The game would stay deadlocked at 1-1 until the final 90-seconds play. The game-winning goal came directly from a faceoff on the right side of the Piper goal. The Cobbers won the draw back to Hanson who had to control the puck after it hit off the right sideboards.               

Hanson dragged the puck towards the middle of the ice and then fired a wrist shot that bounced at the bottom of the faceoff circle and found its way to the back of the net. The game-winning goal with 61-seconds left in the third period was Hanson's first career goal.

Flaig finished with 36 saves in the game and picked up her seventh win of the year. The seven wins are a career high in a single season for Flaig. She had six victories in her freshman season in 2020.

UP NEXT: Concordia will host St. Catherine in the first round of the MIAC playoffs on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center.