Facing one of its biggest tests of the season, Concordia found a way to pass it.
Up against the second-ranked team in the nation in St. Scholastica, which had lost only once all season, the Cobbers scored two second period goals that propelled them to a 2-1 win at home on Friday.
Concordia had dropped its last two games but shook that skid off while handing the Saints their first MIAC loss of the year.
Matt Fitzgerald helped the Cobbers hold one of the top scoring offenses in the country to a single goal, stopping 28 shots, while Cole O’Connell scored the game winner midway through the second period, his fifth of the season. Troy Dahlheimer scored the first goal.
Jack Bostedt made 26 saves while Filimon Ledenkov tallied the Saints’ only goal.
St. Scholastica was able to bounce back Saturday, however, winning 6-3 to salvage a split.
The Saints punched in four goals in the third period to secure the win. Two of those goals, though were empty-netters as St. Scholastica ended a two-game losing streak.
Carsen Richels scored twice for the Saints, who were outshot 26-21. Bostedt had 23 saves. Fitzgerald made 15.
Concordia lost a home game for the first time all year and is 7-5-1 overall and 3-3 in the conference. St. Scholastica is 11-2 and 5-1.
Oles upset Blugolds
Off nearly a month, St. Olaf didn’t need much time to get back into the swing of things, upsetting No. 9 UW-Eau Claire 3-2 Friday for its win over a ranked team this season.
The Oles hadn’t played hockey in 27 days but made a statement in their return thanks to a game-winning goal from Bjorn Lervik, who scored midway through the second period. The Blugolds had tied the game moments earlier.
Sean Walsh and Jonathan Panisa also scored goals for the Oles, who have now beaten four ranked teams since 2017 but won for only the second time against UW-Eau Claire in the last 12 meetings between the schools.
Connor Szmul and Aaron Swanson came through with goals for the Blugolds, who fell to 8-5-1, but were able to pick win No. 9 on the year Saturday with a 5-0 win over Saint Mary’s. Ryan Green scored twice in the victory.
St. Olaf improved to 6-6-2 and then got its seventh win of the year a night later as it rolled past Northland 10-0 for its second win in a row. Troy Bowditch and Jonathan Young each tallied a pair of goals to fuel the double-digit win.
UW-Eau Claire bounced back Saturday with a 5-0 win over Saint Mary’s. Max Gutjahr picked up his third shutout win of the year and his eighth victory overall as the Blugolds improved to 9-5-1.
Thunder wins battle of ranked teams
Tyler Blanchard was the hero for Trine in Friday night’s battle against Adrian.
Blanchard scored the game-winner against the No. 4 Bulldogs in the third minute of overtime to lift the No. 14 Thunder to a 5-4 victory.
It was one of two goals scored by Blanchard, who lifted the Thunder to their 12th win of the season.
It appeared early on as if Trine might dominate this battle of nationally ranked teams in the USCHO.com poll. The Thunder scored the first two goals, with Bobby Price and Blanchard finding the back of the net in the opening period.
Trine led 2-1 after one but found itself in a 4-4 tie with the Bulldogs after two.
Neither team scored in the third.
Kyle Kozma made 24 saves for the Thunder while Dershahn Stewart tallied 28 saves.
The Thunder improved to 6-1 on the year at home and are 12-3-2 overall this season.
Adrian came out of the weekend with a 10-4-1 record after beating Aurora 1-0 Saturday in Toledo. Bradley Somers scored the only goal of the game. Adrian held a 31-18 shot advantage.
Pointers power past Auggies
In March, these two teams needed four overtimes to decide a winner in an NCAA tournament game. This one didn’t take quite as long, however, as they beat the Auggies 4-2 in regulation. The nation’s eighth-ranked team defeated Hamline 5-1 to open the weekend with a win.
Against the Auggies, the Pointers surged ahead 2-0 but were tied at 2-2 late in the third before Sean Bunting put UW-Stevens Point ahead for good with under six minutes to play. Fletcher Anderson’s empty net goal sealed the deal. Conor Weatherspoon and Dawson Sciarrino also scored for the Pointers, who have won four in a row.
Alex Proctor tallied 23 saves while Samuel Vyletelka made 31 saves for the Auggies.
UW-Steves Point is 11-3 on the year while Augsburg has dropped two in a row and sits at 6-5-1 on the year.
Sweep success for Johnnies
Saint John’s came up big in a MIAC series against Gustavus, finishing off a sweep of the Gusties Saturday with a 5-1 win.
Along the way they ended a lengthy power-play drought, scoring their first in that situation since Nov. 24 as Jack Olsen got the scoring started for the Johnnies.
Matt DeRosa scored twice to push his season total to a team-best seven, and Jackson Borst scored his first collegiate goal. Garrett Smith also scored a goal, finding the back of the net for the second night in a row.
Bailey Huber made 22 saves, allowing his only goal of the night to Kyle Fenton.
The Johnnies won the opener Friday by a 3-2 score, scoring all three goals in the third period. They are unbeaten in their last three games and have won two in a row, pushing their record to 5-8-2 overall and 3-5 in the MIAC. Gustavus drops to 7-6-2 overall and 2-5-1 in the MIAC.
Falcons win the Border Battle
It turned out to be a big weekend for Concordia, which swept Lake Forest to win the Border Battle Cup.
The Falcons finished off the series Saturday with a 4-2 win after winning 7-6 in an overtime thriller on Friday in the series opener.
Concordia has won two in a row and three of its last four to improve to 6-9 on the season. The Falcons are 4-4 in NCHA action.
Sawyer Wirsing and Dain Sardelli both came up big for the Falcons, scoring two goals apiece. Sardelli scored both of his goals off the power play.
Gabe Rosek also rose to the occasion, racking up nearly 50 saves (49) to help the Falcons claim the cup for just the third time in the nine-year existence of the rivalry game. Concordia won the title for the first time since 2020 and swept the series for the first time since 2018.
Lake Forest dropped to 5-10 overall and 2-6 in the conference.
Wirsing helped Concordia nail down Friday’s win, scoring in the fourth minute of OT. Rosek made 44 saves.
