3-Goal Rally Keeps MIAC Streak Intact

MOORHEAD, Minn. (12/04/15)—Three goals in less than three minutes pulled Concordia off the ledge of defeat and kept them unbeaten in MIAC play.

The Cobbers saw their two-goal lead disappear on a shorthanded goal midway through the second period and were dangerously close to losing all momentum in the game when a banked shot, a seeing-eye snapper and a top-shelf twisted wrister gave Concordia a commanding three-goal lead in a span of less than three minutes of play.

The Cobbers would add a fourth straight goal in their 6-3 win over St. Mary's which was a rematch of the MIAC semifinal double overtime game from last season.

The win ups Concordia's conference record to 3-0-0 on the year. CC is the last remaining unbeaten team in the league. The Cobbers are now 4-3-0 overall. The Cardinals lose for the first time in the MIAC and drop to 3-1-1 in the league and 6-3-2 in all games.

Concordia jumped all over St. Mary's by scoring a pair of goals in the first 6:18 of the opening period. Junior Garrett Hendrickson wasted little time in staking CC to a 1-0 lead as he buried his second goal of the season at 1:18. Ben McWilliams and Charlie Aus were given the assists on the opener. For Aus it would be the start of a three-point night.

Jordan Christianson scored his first goal of the season at 6:18 and suddenly the Cobbers were threatening to blow out SMU in the match-up of MIAC unbeaten teams.

The Cobber two-goal lead, the most dangerous in all of hockey, lasted over 10 minutes until the Cardinals showed their championship mettle from a year ago and pulled one back at 17:03.

They evened the game at 7:57 of the second period when they were playing shorthanded. The Cobber power play sputtered for the entire two minutes and instead of taking a 3-1 lead, Concordia found themselves tied up at 2-2 and in danger of being passed by the oncoming St. Mary's semi.

Freshman Jake Zeleznikar then took matters into his own hands by scoring two of the decisive three goals starting at the 12:39 mark. The first goal would have made the financial industry happy as he banked in the puck from the left wing side boards.  Zeleznikar rushed the puck over the SMU blue line and fired the puck across the net from the left face-off circle. The puck then banked off the skate of the Cardinal defenseman and caromed between the legs of the goalie for the go-ahead goal.

Aus gave Concordia their second two-goal lead of the game when he snapped home a shot from the right point that eluded a pile of players in front of the net and nestled just inside the post.

Zelznikar finished off the three-goal spree with his fourth goal of the season at the 15:34 mark. While his first goal could be chalked up to good fortune, his second goal was pure skill. He collected the puck on the right point, skated the puck to the middle of the ice and then wristed home a laser that went where Grandma hides the thin mints.

The Cobbers would make it four straight goals after being tied up at 2-2. Another freshman would get on the board to finish off the scoring. Jake Stilwell came out of the penalty box after serving two minutes for a hooking call. Stilwell skated towards the middle of the ice and found the puck that was played forward by Aus. He took control at the SMU blue line, skated towards the goal and went to his backhand where he lifted the puck just under the crossbar.

St. Mary's would end the Cobbers' scoring streak when they got the final score of the game at 16:17.

Concordia outshot St. Mary's 36-30 which included a 19-8 margin in the second period. Jordie Bancroft had a game-high five shots on goal for the Cobbers.

Sophomore goalie Alex Reichle turned aside 27 shots to pick up his fourth win of the year.

The pattern of freshmen and sophomores scoring for the Cobbers continues.  Of the six goals scored on Friday, three were netted by first-year players. Concordia has scored 20 goals this season and 14 have come off the stick of a freshmen or sophomore. It's even more pronounced in MIAC play where nine of the team's 12 goals have been scored by first or second-year players.    

OUCH CHARLIE YOU REALLY HURT THEM
Cobber senior defenseman Charlie Aus scored his second game-winning goal of the season. His two GWG are tied for the league lead. Aus is also tied for third in the MIAC in points scored by a defenseman. He has two goals and five assists for seven points this season.

RUN THIS TOWN
With his two goals on Friday, Concordia's Jay Z (Jake Zeleznikar) moved into a tie for first place in the MIAC in goals scored by a freshman. He now has four goals on the season and is also tied for 14^th in the country in that statistical category.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Concordia will look to keep their unbeaten conference streak intact when they host St. Mary's in the two-game series finale on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center.