The St. Thomas men’s hockey team came out strong Friday night against Concordia-Moorhead, shutting out the Cobbers 3-0.

The Tommies showed up ready to play and used a power play to their advantage when junior forward Rob Phillipp scored just 5:13 into the first period.

“I think that power play at the beginning of the game where we scored a goal really helped our team and their confidence,” head coach Jeff Boeser said.

In the second period, the Tommies almost scored again, but a net violation canceled out the score.

Five minutes into the third period, senior forward Rob Johnson sneaked a goal past Concordia’s goalie with an assist by junior forward Chris Hickey. The Tommies sealed the game with 11:34 remaining when senior forward Andrew Kappers scored the final goal of the game.

Tommie goalie sophomore Tyrone Simcoe recorded his second straight shutout with 30 saves.

Despite the win, Boeser said the team could have played better.

“I wasn’t always particularly happy with our play,” Boeser said. “I thought we were running around a little bit. Second period got a little better.”

He said the team played the best during the third period.

“We kept the game really simple. This team needs to keep things simple,” Boeser said. “If we try to do too much that gets us in trouble.”

This is the Tommies’ second win against Concordia this season after beating the Cobbers 4-2 in October. The two teams will match up again tomorrow afternoon.

The Tommies are 10-6 overall and 5-2 in the MIAC. The team will play 10 more conference games in the next five weeks and hopes to continue its 28-year streak of placing in the top three in the MIAC.

Maggie Clemensen can be reached at clem0427@stthomas.edu.