61-Second Scoring Spree Not Enough

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/06/18)-- Concordia scored three of the final five goals in their game against St. Thomas but a two-goal first period by the Tommies was too much to overcome and the Cobbers dropped a 4-3 decision.

The loss drops Concordia to 8-11-2 in all games and 6-5-1 in the MIAC. CC now sits in fourth place in the MIAC standings with four games to play in the regular season. St. Thomas 11-6-4 in all games and 8-2-2 in the league and is in second place in the conference standings.

Concordia trailed 2-0 heading into the second period after allowing a goal in the first minute of the opening period and then another at 14:28 when they were on the power play.

The Cobbers would then outscore the Tommies 3-2 for the final 20 minutes of the game. Freshman Mario Bianchi got the CC scoring line started when he scored at 13:16 of the second period. Jon Grebosky and Ben McWilliams earned the assists on the play.

The Tommies would reclaim their two-goal lead at the 17:50 mark.

Concordia tried to cut the lead back to win for the first half of the third period but couldn't get on the board. CC would end up outshooting UST 12-4 in the final frame as they held of the majority of the zone time.

Concordia would eventually score a pair of goals in a span of 1:01 starting at the 13:05 mark. Unfortunately sandwiched in between was a goal by St. Thomas.

Garrett Hendrickson scored his fifth goal of the season at 13:05 when he was set up by Jordie Bancroft and Matt O'Dea.

The fans hadn't even sat down after Hendrickson's tally when the Tommies went back in front by two with a goal just 9-seconds later at 13:14.

Bancroft then set the stage for a furious final 5:54 when he scored at 14:06. Charlie Aus was credited with the assist on the goal that capped the three-score spree in just 61 seconds.

The Cobbers pulled goalie Alex Reichle with 1:14 left in the game and were buzzing in the Tommie end but couldn't get the game-tying goal. CC forced UST to take a timeout with 20 seconds left in order to regroup but still couldn't score in the dying seconds.

St. Thomas outshot Concordia 34-28 for the game. Bancroft led all players with seven shots on goal.

Reichle made 30 saves in goal for the Cobbers.

The game was a relative penalty-free affair. The teams combined for only four penalties in the game. Concordia was 1-for-2 on their power play attempts while the Tommies were 1-for-2.

FINDING HIS STRIDE
Jordie Bancroft has been on an offensive roll since the middle of January. In the last eight games he has seven goals and 11 total points. He only had five points in the team's first 13 games of the season.  

MARIO MAYHEM
While Bancroft has been on a tear since the middle of January, freshman Mario Bianchi has been racking up goals one at a time. Since Dec. 18 Bianchi has played in 12 games and has scored in seven games. During those seven games he has seven goals which ups his season total to nine for the year. That total is the same as Bancroft. Bianchi is now tied for the lead in the MIAC in goals scored by a freshman.

WHAT'S NEXT
Concordia will look to stay in the top 4 in the MIAC when they play at St. Olaf in a two-game series on Friday, Feb. 12 and Saturday, Feb. 13.