Concordia special teams play dealt the Gustavus men’s hockey team a blow in its pursuit of a MIAC Playoff spot as the Cobbers defeated the Gusties 3-1 on Friday night in Moorhead. Special teams played a role in the contest as Concordia registered a power play and shorthanded goal, while Cobber goaltender Joe Duncan withstood the Gustavus attack stopping 30 shots. The Gusties dropped to 13-9-0 overall and 8-5-0 in the MIAC, as Concordia picked up its first conference win of the season and improved to 4-18-2 overall.
After a scoreless first period, the Cobbers lit the lamp first in the second period when Marc Harrie scored an unassisted, shorthanded goal at the 4:38 mark for a 1-0 lead. Gustavus out-shoot Concordia 15-10 during the period as it tried to even the game, but were unable to get the puck past Duncan.
The Cobbers extended their lead to 2-0 early in the third period when Cory Johnson scored one minute into a power play at 3:58. Concordia would later add its third goal of the game as Nick Thielen got the puck past Gustie goaltender Josh Swartout with 7:38 remaining. Eric Bigham put Gustavus on the scoreboard less than a minute later when he tallied his tenth goal of the season to make the score 3-1. The Gusties pulled Swartout for the extra attacker with 1:45 on the clock, but were unable to even the contest.
Gustavus goaltender Josh Swartout made 24 saves and allowed three goals as his record fell to 7-5-0. Cobber goaltender Joe Duncan recorded 30 saves, while giving up just the lone score.
The Gusties will look to split the series and pick up valuable points in the conference standings tomorrow afternoon in Moorhead at 2 p.m. as four teams in the MIAC are separated by two points.