Playoff Preview Ends In Overtime Tie

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/19/24)---Concordia went back-and-forth with league-leading Bethel in the series opener before finishing off with a 4-4 overtime tie.

The Cobbers trailed 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 but then scored two straight before Bethel came back to tie the game at 4-4 and send it into the overtime period. Neither team scored in the extra session, and Bethel won the shootout to claim the extra point in the conference standings.

Concordia is now 8-6-2 in all games and moves to 3-3-1 in league play. CC has 10 MIAC points. The Royals remain tied atop the conference standings. They are 5-2-2 in the MIAC and 11-4-3 overall.

The teams combined to score four goals in the very first period. Bethel struck first at 4:18 before Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe redirected a shot from the point to tie the game at 1-1 on the power play at 12:02. Bauer Barry and Mason Plante recorded the assists on Henkemeyer-Howe's seventh goal of the year.        

The Royals returned the power play favor 1:20 later when they grabbed a 2-1 lead at 13:22. The lead would last only 19 seconds before Jack Westlund notched his second goal of the year at the 13:41 mark. Planter picked up his second helper of the game and the teams skated to the first intermission tied at 2-2.

Bethel took its third lead of the game at the back end of the second stanza and then Concordia finished the period with a 2-goal flurry.

Hanson O'Leary tied the game for the third time when he sniped a shot from between the faceoff circles at 16:55.

The game would stay tied at 3-3 until Hunter Olson came up with a gritty solo effort. He won the puck in the left corner and fought off a couple of Bethel players on his way to the corner of the net. He scored the Cobbers' fourth goal as he was falling and slid the puck under the BU goalie.

Olson's fifth goal of the year came with 28 seconds left in the second stanza and gave CC its first lead of the game.

Bethel tied the game for the final time in the fifth minute of play in the third period. The goal came on the power play as the Royal's went 2-for-3 with the man advantage in the game.

Both teams would have chances to win the game in the final 15 minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime, but both goalies came up big down the stretch.

Both teams scored a single goal in the regulation portion of the shootout period. Caden Triggs made a silky double move to score for CC on the second attempt. The Royals earned the extra point on the first sudden-death attempt when they scored and the Cobbers' were stopped on their attempt.  

Concordia outshot Bethel 47-30 in the game. Olson led all players with six shots on frame.

Matt Fitzgerald made 26 saves in goal for CC.

UP NEXT: The two teams will finish off the series on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center.     

CONCORDIA vs. BETHEL HIGHLIGHTS