Flaig Continues Hot Hand At Home
Kiana Flaig turned in another 40-plus save performance in Concordia's shootout game with St. Mary's in the series opener.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/17/23)---Kiana Flaig is going to miss the Moorhead Sports Center. The senior goalie opened her final college series by coming away with 42-save performance that helped Concordia post a 1-1 tie against St. Mary's.
The Cobbers gained the extra point in the MIAC standings when sophomore Abbey Hardwick scored the only goal in the shootout after the teams skated through a scoreless 5-minute overtime period.
The 42 saves is a season-high for Flaig who was just 5-seconds away from posting her second straight shutout at the Moorhead Sports Center.
The teams skated through the first two periods without posting a straight-line number on the scoreboard. Flaig kept the Cardinals off the board in the first 40 minutes of play by stopping all 23 shots she faced.
Concordia (6-17-1, 3-13-1) would eventually get on the board first when Jade Ford scored her fourth goal of the year at the 8:47 mark. Ford gained control of the puck just inside the SMU blueline on the right side of the ice. She played a pass off the boards to McKenzie Oelkers who took the puck in stride at the top of the faceoff circle.
Oelkers drove the puck towards the goal line, but then pulled up and slid a perfect pass to Ford who was skating between the circles. Ford collected the puck and slid a shot under the pads of the St. Mary's goalie.
Oelkers collected her fifth assist on the year on the Cobbers' only goal of the game.
Concordia appeared to be headed for the 1-0 win after they killed off a power play with 7:16 left in the period.
St. Mary's (7-15-2, 4-11-2 MIAC) was able to tie the game in the waning seconds of regulation after they pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker.
The Cardinals won a faceoff from the right circle with 11.9 seconds remaining in regulation. They were able to gain control of the puck and get a quick shot off from the bottom of the circle. Flaig made the save on the initial shot and went to bat the rebound away with her stick, but unfortunately the puck went right to the Cardinals' defense player who was crashing the net. The player was able to 1-time a shot past Flaig to tie the game with 5.6 seconds left on the clock.
The teams played an exciting five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime hockey with the goalies coming up big on several occasions. The teams combined for 12 shots in the five minutes, and Flaig kept the score deadlocked with game-saving stops on several occasions.
The extra point in the standings was won by Hardwick on the second shot of the shootout. She skated down on the net, faked a shot – which got the goalie to drop to the ice – and went to the right where she was able slide the puck inside the left corner.
St. Mary's had a 43-21 advantage in shots on goal. Neither team was able to score on the power play. Concordia was 0-for-3 with the extra skater, while SMU was held scoreless in their only PP chance.
Flaig's 42 saves tie her top total of the year which she posted last weekend at #2 Gustavus. Flaig has now made at least 40 saves in four of the last five games. Flaig has 458 saves on the year which is third most in the MIAC.
UP NEXT: The Cobbers will host their annual Senior Celebration Game when they finish of the 2023 season on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.
