Heart Attack Season Starts

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/28/14)—If the first day of March is anything like the last day of February then Cobber fans are in for another nail-biting, heart testing, edge-of-your-seat classic. Concordia rallied from a 1-0 deficit to beat St. Catherine 2-1 in overtime in the first round of the MIAC playoffs.


Postgame interview with head coach Sarah Erickson

"I didn't know at 23-years-old you could have a heart attack," Cobber head coach Sarah Erickson stated on the pressure in overtime. "I was about as nervous as anyone could get."  

Junior defenseman Libby Fransdal was the hero of the day for the Cobbers as her shot from the blue line at 2:55 of overtime eluded a pile of players in front and slid by St. Catherine goalie Alex Hall unnoticed.

"I never saw it go in," Fransdal said. "I thought Bekah [teammate Bekah Wright] might get a stick on it or it would get blocked and I was surprised that it went all the way through."

The win advances Concordia to the semifinals of the MIAC tournament for the fourth straight season and the fifth time in the last seven years. The Cobbers are now 11-1-1 in their last 13 games and up their overall record to 13-9-4. The Wildcats end their season with an 11-14-1 overall record.

The game went scoreless through the first period with neither team being able to create a quality chance on goal. St. Catherine had the best chance to score and had a goal disallowed. A Wildcat player appeared to have knocked the puck in the net but the referee had blown the whistle seconds before.

The game changed at the 6:40 mark of the second period. A Concordia defender hooked Wildcat junior Bailey Rasmussen on a breakaway and Rasmussen was awarded a penalty shot. CC goalie then made the save on the penalty shot and the game suddenly turned up three notches in intensity.

St. Catherine took advantage of a penalty on Concordia and scored their first goal against the Cobbers in three games at the 8:55 mark. CC blanked SCU in both games of the final regular-season series last weekend.

Concordia responded with the game-tying goal less than five minutes later. CC matched the Wildcats' power play marker when freshman Amber Schaack brought the puck out from the right corner and drove to the net. Her initial shot was saved by Hall but the rebound came right back to Schaack and she buried the second chance. Jess Nelson was credited with the assist on Schaack's fifth goal of the season.

The teams then played back-and-forth hockey for the final 6:38 of the second and through the third. The teams combined for just 14 shots in the first period but then had 28 total shots on goal in the second period and 19 in the third.

Both teams had chances in the third period with the best opportunity coming from St. Catherine but Denny was able to make a pair of huge saves late in the period to keep the game tied at 1-1.
That set the stage for Fransdal and the game-winning shot. The Wildcats had the first two shots of the extra session but then Wright had a chance at the doorstep which Hall turned aside. The puck got knocked around and eventually got ricocheted back to Fransdal at the point in the middle of the ice where she hammered home the game winner. The unassisted goal was her second of the season and first-ever game-winning goal in OT.

"I am so happy for this team," Fransdal said. "We have battled all season and it just shows the character of this team to come out with a win in a game like this."

Concordia will have little time to celebrate the win. The Cobbers will play at No.1 seed St. Thomas on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 2 p.m. CC and the Tommies have played in the semifinals the past two seasons with Concordia coming away with a win in each game.

Erickson got the last word by stating, "This game is something you [the team] should be proud of. Now we have to enjoy it for about five minutes and move on to tomorrow."