A Turkey Wishbone Of A Series At Northland

ASHLAND, Wis. (11/22/23)---Like the pulled apart, dried-up wishbone from a Thanksgiving turkey, Concordia split its series with Northland in their final games of November.

The Cobbers rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the opener on Tuesday and then allowed three of the final four goals on Wednesday and lost 5-3.

The win and loss move the Cobbers' overall record to 2-4-1 on the season. The LumberJills are now 2-6-1.

Concordia gave up a goal in the first period in the opener on Tuesday and trailed 1-0 after the first 20 minutes of play. CC responded by scoring a pair of goals in the second period and adding an insurance goal in the final frame.

A trio of seniors stepped into the spotlight in Game 1. Josie Hell and Ellie Brewer collected their first goals of the season, while McKenzie Oelkers notched her second goal of the year to propel CC to the 2-goal victory.

The Cobbers held a decided edge in shots on goal for the game. CC outshot the LumberJills 58-9 over the 60 minutes of play. The 58 shots are a season-high and the most since they dropped 68 on Northland on Nov. 23, 2021, in Ashland.

Cobber first-year goalie Kate Stephens only needed to make seven saves to record her second win of the season. She has been in goal for both Concordia wins on the year and is 1-0-1 in her last two starts.

The series finale appeared to be headed in the same direction as the opener, with the Cobbers giving up the game's first goal and then outshooting the LumberJills by a large margin.

Northland had other ideas, as they were able to score goals in pairs. They scored the first two goals of the game and then netted two straight tallies after CC had tied the game at 2-2.

Concordia trailed 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes but then cut the lead in half when Jaclyn Lloyd notched her second goal of the season at the 2:53 mark. Oelkers and Abbey Reule picked up the assists on the goal.

The Cobbers would also score their second goal in the third minute of a period. CC tied the game at 2:50 of the final stanza on a power play goal from Morgan Sauvageau. The goal was Sauvageau's second of the season and second in the last three games.

The LumberJills retook the lead 64 seconds later when they scored an even-strength goal at 3:54. They regained their 2-goal cushion with another even-strength marker at 13:24.

Concordia set up a dramatic finish when they cut the lead to one goal, only 37 seconds Northland had scored.       

Taylyn Cope posted an unassisted goal at 14:01 to move the score line to 4-3. For Cope, it was her team-leading third goal of the year.

Northland put the game away when they scored their fifth goal at 18:14.

Concordia held a significant advantage in shots on goal for the second straight game at Northland. CC outshot the LumberJills 44-25 on Wednesday and held a 102-34 advantage in the series.

Hailee Bailey made 24 saves in her second start of the season.                

The Cobbers were 1-for-5 on the power play in Game 2 and held Northland scoreless in their two attempts.

UP NEXT: Concordia will resume play after the Thanksgiving break when they host Hamline in a 2-game series on Dec. 1-2.