ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul Hearthstone team (4-4) dropped a hard fought matchup with Rochester Institute of Technology (5-3) in five games on Thursday night.
 
GAME ONE: CSP Hunter vs RIT Paladin (RIT Win)
It was a battle of differing styles as the Golden Bears looked to move quickly while the Tigers looked to slow things down and outlast CSP. Concordia managed to get RIT down to 23 health by turn nine, but RIT was able to heal their way back to full health. The Golden Bears further chipped away as they held a 30-17 advantage a few turns later, but once again the Tigers were able to use their healing to regain an edge. Eventually, Concordia ran out of options and they were forced to concede as RIT took a 1-0 lead.
 
GAME TWO: CSP Hunter vs RIT Mage (CSP Win)
Concordia once again looked to overwhelm RIT in the early stages as they delivered 10 damage over the first four turns and 20 over the first six to build a quick lead. RIT evened it up as they knocked CSP all the way down to 11 health on turn seven, but the Golden Bears were able to win the race to the finish line as they picked up just enough damage on turn eight to finish off the RIT hero.
 
GAME THREE: CSP Rogue vs RIT Rogue (CSP Win)
The two teams matched heroes in the third game as both looked to take an edge in the match. It was a fairly slow moving game early on as the two teams traded minions up until turn nine. The Golden Bears shifted the momentum heavily in their favor with a massive 18 damage turn in their ninth turn to drop the Tigers to 11 health before finishing them off one turn later.
 
GAME FOUR: CSP Demon Hunter vs RIT Mage (RIT Win)
Concordia found themselves in position to finish off the Tigers in game four, but a strong start for RIT put them in an early hole. A big turn seven flipped the momentum as CSP healed 11 damage with lifesteal while gaining board control, but RIT turned it back in their favor over the next few turns. They delivered 23 damage over the next two turns, but once again lifesteal helped the Golden Bears stem the tide. Some massive spell damage for the CSP attack cut the Tigers all the way down to one health with just two cards remaining, but they ran out of steam as an Ice Barrier put it out of reach.
 
GAME FIVE: CSP Demon Hunter vs RIT Rogue (RIT Win)
In the decisive fifth game, it was the Tiger that took board control early, but CSP's spell damage was able to clear it out and even the playing field. CSP managed to regain full health in turn seven while knocking RIT down to 21 health as they waited to draw the cards they needed to make their move. The Tigers took back board control by turn 10 and used some good fortune with their card draw to come up with 23 damage to claim the five game victory.
 
The Golden Bears wrap up the regular season on Monday night as an opponent to be determined.