Goalie Alise Riedel’s 32 saves weren’t enough to pull off a win for the St. Thomas women’s hockey team that lost 2-1 to Concordia-Moorhead in a MIAC tournament semifinal Thursday at home.
The Tommies (14-8-2 overall, 13-4-1 MIAC) needed a win over the Cobbers (13-7-5 overall, 11-4-3 MIAC) to play in the MIAC championship game and to have a chance at earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. The Cobbers outshot the Tommies 34-24.
After splitting two games earlier in the season, the teams were more than ready for their MIAC playoff matchup.
“We knew it was going to be a tight game,” coach Tom Palkowski said. “I told the girls, first one to two (goals) is probably going to win.”
Concordia broke the ice early in the game with a series of chances in the offensive zone. The Cobbers threatened with a deflection on a shot from the point and followed it up minutes later with a set of shots from just outside the crease. Riedel was able to fend off both chances, keeping the score even in the early minutes of the game.
Concordia finally broke through at 11:08 in the first period after a Cobber rush resulted in a scramble in front of the net. Defender Lauren Riley found the loose puck in the chaos and put it away, giving her team a 1-0 edge.
The Tommies responded quickly after the goal when a counterattack produced a Concordia penalty. St. Thomas scored 40 seconds into the power play when a shot from defender Mary Grace Flesher was deflected by defender Megan Juricko, knotting the score at one.
The score would remain tied going into the first intermission.
The Tommies speed and skill caused problems for the Cobber defense in the second period.
“We knew their (defense) was a little bit slow, so we really tried to force the puck in … that was one of our main things we were trying to work on,” defender Maria Bothwell said.
Their hard work nearly paid off in the final minute of the second period as forward Korinne O’Connor’s speed created a 2-on-1 rush for the Tommies. After tearing down the left wing, O’Connor made a backhand pass, through the legs of the defender, to forward Jenny Saxon. However, she couldn’t find the net, and the teams entered the second intermission with the score still tied.
The teams traded punches in the third period with both St. Thomas and Concordia seeing a bundle of chances in the final frame.
Concordia was finally able to pull ahead at 11:46 in the third period. Forward Jenna Westerham carried the puck into the zone on a 2-0n-1 rush and fed it across the face of the goal to forward Kelsey Vandegrift, who tapped in the go-ahead goal.
Despite a furious response from the Tommies that saw them dominate the play for the remainder of the game, the comeback attempt fell short as the Cobbers advanced to the MIAC championship with a 2-1 victory.
With little hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the loss virtually eliminates St. Thomas from any further postseason play.
“If we won, we maybe would have had a chance to pick up an at-large bid, but with the loss it pretty much seals our fate,” Palkowski said.
With O’Connor as the team’s lone senior, the Tommies will look to their younger players for future success.
“It’s been a great four years. I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” O’Connor said. “They have a great team, great group of girls. I think it’s just going to keep getting better.”
Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.