Kaufer And A Quartet Gain The Split

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/31/15)—Sophomore goalie Jordyn Kaufer kept Concordia in the game until the offense finally received its wake-up call and struck for four goals in a 4-1 win over Hamline.

The Cobbers were stymied for a full 60 minutes on Friday and then 19:28 more on Saturday before finally finding the back of the net to earn the split in the series and regain a tie at the top of the conference standings.

Concordia is now 6-4-2 in MIAC play which translates to 21 points in the standings. CC is tied with St. Thomas but has played two more games than the Tommies. The Cobbers earn their 11th win of the season and are now 11-7-3.

Kaufer was stellar the entire game but was especially "on point" in the first period when Hamline posted 11 shots on goal and had several point-blank opportunities. Kaufer finished the game by stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced and gave Concordia a chance to finally find their offensive momentum.

Concordia led the league in scoring entering the weekend but had a tough shooting night on Friday and continued that trend in the first 15 minutes of the series finale. The offensive outlook completely changed in the final minute of the first frame when sophomore Jeremy Johnson tipped in Jared Maetche's shot from the point. Johnson's goal at 19:28 was his fifth of the year and gave CC new life headed into the second period. Jordie Bancroft, who played the puck back to Maetche, was credited with the first of two points on the day.

Tucker Coborn then doubled the Concordia lead midway through the second period when he scored the first of his two goals in the game. The eventual game-winning goal was set up by freshman Zach Doerring who chased down the puck behind the Hamline goal, wheeled out front and sent an initial shot on goal. Doerring's shot was kicked into the slot where Coborn pounced on the rebound for his third goal of the year. Ben Gislason also earned the assist on the goal at 10:03.

The game tightened in the third after Hamline scored their only goal of the game on a power play at 6:05. Both teams then had chances to turn the game in their favor but each time both goalies were equal to the task. 

Concordia vs. Hamline Highlights - Jan. 31, 2015

Coborn broke the game open at 12:49 of the final period. His second goal of the game assisted by brother Sam Coborn and Doerring. For Doerring it was his sixth assist of the season and fourth point in the last five games.

Bancroft finished off the scoring when he netted his team-leading 14th goal of the year with just over three minutes left in regulation. Johnson returned the favor to Bancroft on the opening goal of the game as he earned one assist. Bryan Kronberger also collected a helper on CC's fourth score of the game.

Bancroft is now second in the MIAC in both total points (22) and total goals (14).

Kaufer made a couple of breakaway saves in the third period to keep Hamline to just one goal for the game. He finished with the 28 saves and earned his sixth win of the season.

Concordia outshot the Pipers 39-29 for the 60 minutes. Bancroft had a game-high seven shots on goal and has an MIAC best 87 for the season.

The Cobbers will finish off their 2015 regular-season home schedule when they host St. Olaf in a two-game series on Feb. 6-7.