Siemers' 2-Goal Outburst Not Enough
Kyle Siemers scored his first two goals of the season but it wasn't enough as Concordia gave up five unanswered goals and lost 7-2 to No.3-ranked Wis.-Eau Claire.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/17/20)--- Concordia gave up five unanswered goals and lost 7-2 to No.3-ranked Wis.-Eau Claire. The Cobbers tied the game at 2-2 midway through the second period but then the Blugolds scored four goals in the back half of the period and one more in the first half of the third frame to come away with the win in the first game of the 2-game series.
Concordia got all their offense from an unlikely source. Junior defenseman Kyle Siemers scored both of the Cobber goals which were his first two goals of the season. The two goals also match Siemer's output from last year when he had a career-high two goals in a single season.
Cobber senior goalie Jacob Stephan kept the game close in the first period. He stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced as Concordia entered the first intermission tied at 1-1.
Siemers staked Concordia to a 1-0 lead when he netted an even-strength goal at 10:10 of the opening period. Brock Montgomery was credited with the assist on the opener. The Blugolds tied the game with 2:14 left to play in the first frame of play.
Eau Claire would take a 2-1 lead in the second minute of the second period and then Siemers struck again to tie the game at the 9:29 mark. His second even-strength goal of the game was assisted by Tyler Bossert and Aaron Herdt. It was Bossert's team-leading 11th assist and 14th point of the season.
The lead would be short lived as Eau Claire took a 3-2 lead just 38-seconds later. The goal would be the first of four in the period and the first of three in a span of 4:33. The Blugolds pushed the lead to 4-2 only 24-seconds later at the 10:31 mark and then added a sixth goal at 18:44.
Concordia was outshot 35-16 in the game. Siemers and Herdt led he team with three shots each. Joe Burgmeier and Matt Donnelly had two shots each.
Stephan finished the game with 28 saves.
Eau Claire scored the only power play goal of the game. UWEC went 1-for-3 on the power play while Concordia was 0-for-3.
INSIDE STAT INFO: Senior Aaron Herdt upped his point streak to eight games. He has posted at least one point in eight straight games in a streak that dates back to Nov. 19 vs. Hamline in St. Michael-Albertville. Linemate Tyler Bossert has posted a point in seven of the past eight games.
UP NEXT: Concordia will host Wis.-Eau Claire in the series finale on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center. The Cobbers are 1-5 in games played on a Saturday while the Blugolds are 6-1-1.