First And Last-Minute Goals Lead To Tie

ASHLAND, Wis. (12/19/15)—One team scored four straight goals while the other ran off three consecutive scores but in the end both teams finished with five goals as Concordia skated to a 5-5 overtime tie at Northland.

The Cobbers scored four straight from the start of the first to midway through the second to take a 4-1 lead over the Lumberjacks but then Northland countered with a three-goal rally in the back half of the second period to tie the game at 4-4. Both teams put one goal on the scoreboard in the final frame to come away with a tie in the final game of the 2015 calendar year.

The tie is the first of the season for Concordia. The Cobbers will enter 2016 with a 5-5-1 overall record. Northland is now 3-9-1 on the season.

The turning point in the game proved to be bookend goals for Northland. The Lumberjacks scored on their first shot of the game in the first minute of play and then tied the game at 5-5 on their final shot of regulation in the final minute of the third period.

The middle 58 minutes belonged to the Cobbers who outscored the Lumberjacks 5-3 and outshot Northland 37-33 in that time frame.

The Lumberjacks scored at the 12-second mark on their very first shot but then Concordia rallied to put up four straight to take a 4-1 lead in the fifth minute of play in the second period.

Jon Grebosky started his three-point afternoon with a goal at 2:41 of the first period that tied the game at 1-1. Bryan Kronberger and Jake Zeleznikar earned the assists. For Zeleznikar it would be the first of his three points in the game.

Jordie Bancroft gave Concordia a 2-1 lead with just under four minutes to play in the opening period. He scored his second goal of the year at 16:03 with assists being handed out to Zeleznikar and Tucker Coborn.

The Cobbers would score a pair of goals 1:13 apart at the start of the second period to take a commanding 4-1 lead. Freshman Mario Bianchi scored his second goal in as many games when he found the back of the net at 3:18. Adam Wiertzema connected on his first goal of the season at 4:31 and it appeared CC was in cruise control. Grebosky had the only assist on Bianchi's goal and Kronberger and Jordan Christianson added helpers on Wiertzema's tally.

Northland's three-goal rally started at 8:23 of the middle period. They added the second and third goals of the run at 15:08 and 17:11 and suddenly the game was tied at 4-4.

Zeleznikar gave the Cobbers a 5-4 lead at 5:12 of the third period when he skated down the slot with the puck and went top shelf for his fifth goal of the year. Grebosky gave the puck to Zeleznikar just inside the blue line to set up the goal.

Northland would wait until the final minute of play before getting the game-tying goal. The Lumberjacks pulled their goalie with 1:05 left in regulation and held the puck in the CC end. The Lumberjacks picked up the final goal of the game at 19:15.

Concordia outshot Northland 5-3 in the overtime period and 42-38 for the game. Zeleznikar had a game-high eight shots on goal. Kronberger and Wiertzema both had five shots for the three periods.  

Freshman goalie Donald Oldreive made 33 saves in his first collegiate start.  

40-SHOT SUCCESS
The 42 shots on goal marked the third time this season they have gone over the 40-shot mark in a game. The Cobbers are now 2-0-1 when they put up 40 or more shots in a contest.   

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
The good news was that Concordia didn't lose to a team from Wisconsin. The bad news is that they remained winless against teams from the cheese state. The Cobbers, who start 2016 with a pair of non-conference games, are now 0-4-1 against teams from Wisconsin.

BIG Z
Jake Zeleznikar is now tied for the team lead in goals scored. His five goals are also tops among defensemen and second for freshmen in the MIAC this season. Zeleznikar now has eight total points for the season which is second for first-year players and fifth for blue liners.

JONNY JUMP UP
Jon Grebosky will enter 2016 as the team leader in points. Grebosky's three-point game helped him jump over Charlie Aus for the top point getter. Grebosky now has five goals and five assists for 10 points for the season. Grebosky also recorded his 100th shot on goal in maroon and goal. He had 74 shots in his freshman season last year and now has 26 this season.       

WHAT'S NEXT
Concordia will start the New Year with their final two non-conference games of the season. The Cobbers will play at Wis.-Superior on Friday, Jan. 8 at 7:05 p.m. and then head south to take on Wis.-River Falls on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.