January 25, 2025
3 Unanswered = 3 Key MIAC Points
Concordia exploded for three unanswered goals in the third period to break open a 2-2 tie with St. Olaf in the series finale and earn a 5-2 victory and three points in the MIAC standings.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/25/25)---All the signs pointed to Concordia and St. Olaf heading to a second straight overtime game after the teams were tied at 2-2 after two periods of play on Saturday.
The Cobbers had different plans as they exploded for three unanswered goals in the final 19 minutes of play and went on to win 5-2.
The key MIAC regulation win earned Concordia three points in the league standings and vaulted them into a tie for fourth place. CC is now unbeaten in its last four games and moves to 8-9-2 overall and 4-4-2 in the conference.
Concordia never trailed in the second game of the series as the goals came in bunches on Saturday. Joe Harguindeguy started the 7-goal game by bouncing the puck off one of the St. Olaf defenders on the power play and the deflected shot found the back of the net at the 11:09 mark of the first period. The goal was Harguindeguy's fifth of the year.
Junior Caden Triggs staked the Cobbers to a 2-0 lead in the first minute of the second period when he poked home a rebound from the top of the St. Olaf crease. His strike at the 30-second mark was also his fifth of the year.
St. Olaf (7-7-3, 2-5-1) would tie the game with a power play goal at 3:31 and one more in the final minute of the second period.
Concordia used the same formula to start the third period. They struck early to their second lead of the game. Ben Luedtke picked up his first goal of the year, and third game-winning goal of his career, when he tipped in a shot from the point at 1:20. Hunter Olson was credited with the assist on the play.
Tucker Skime put the icing on the series cake for the Cobbers. He netted the insurance goal at 13:40 on the power play and finished off the weekend with an empty-net nugget at 18:40. Tal Halliday and Triggs got assists on Skime's first goal and first-year defenseman Jackson Lucia finished off his 3-assist game by getting the helper on the Cobbers' fifth goal.
Concordia held a decided 38-24 advantage in shots on goal with John Blake leading the way with five shots on net.
Dan Couture earned his eighth win of the season by turning aside 22 shots. He is now 8-6-2 on the season.
The Cobbers will have a rare weekend off before returning to play on Friday, Feb. 7 when they host Hamline at 7 p.m.
