Heart Break And Character In St. Peter
ST. PETER, Minn. (3/03/12)-- Concordia gave up
four straight goals in the second and third periods and lost 4-2 at
Gustavus in the championship game of the MIAC Tournament. The loss
is the first in the last nine games for the Cobbers and puts CC in
a pool of teams for three at-large bids for the NCAA
Tournament.
Concordia (15-5-5) had the better of the play in the early going
of the game. The Cobbers were able to get the puck through the
neutral zone and into the Gustie end and then create chances with
their forecheck. Concordia was rewarded for their early-game
momentum when Katelyn Dold scored midway through
the opening frame. Dold slammed home a centering pass from
Ali Nelson after Nelson carried the puck into the
Gustavus zone on the left wing. Dold's 11th goal of the
season at the 10:49 mark would spark the Cobbers for the rest of
the period and then into the second stanza.
Neither team was able to generate much offense in the first 20
minutes of play as the teams combined for only 11 shots on goal in
the period. The play went back and forth from the tops of the
circles with each defense refusing to give away quality chances in
the middle of the ice.
The game continued at the up and down pace until the six minutes
of the second period. The pivotal play of the contest came with
just over 5:00 minutes to go. With Concordia already trying to kill
of an interference penalty, Cobber defenseman Allie
Bondy was blatantly checked from behind into the boards,
fell face first into the glass and crumpled to the ice. With Bondy
lying motionless on the ice, the play continued and Gustavus was
able to play the puck in front of the Concordia goal. A Cobber
player then knocked down a Gustie forward in front of the goal and
was whistled for a penalty. Concordia was then faced with having to
kill off a 5-on-3 man-advantage situation while Bondy was still
lying prone on the ice. There was no call on the textbook check
from behind into the boards - a check whose equal has severely
injured players and has been a point of emphasis in enforcement
this season – and the play was allowed to continue until the
fateful penalty on CC was called.
The Cobbers were able to kill off the first penalty but then gave
up the game-tying goal on the gift-wrapped second power play.
Concordia's momentum had been drained and Gustavus was able to add
a second goal in the final minute of play before the second
intermission.
Seizing control of the game, Gustavus (23-2-2) then put the
contest on ice in the first seven minutes of play in the final
frame. The Gusties scored a third time at the 2:19 mark and then
made the score 4-1 on a nifty passing play in the Cobber zone that
freed Mollie Carroll for her second goal of the game.
The size of Concordia's heart and character were shown in the
final 10 minutes of the game. Facing a three-goal deficit, the
Cobbers turned up their offensive attack and produced several
quality goalmouth chances that nearly produced a goal. CC wound up
outshooting GAC 8-3 after allowing the fourth goal of the game.
Nelson would get the Cobbers within two goals when she hammered a
shot from the point that found the top right corner of the net. Her
power play laser at 13:49 was her sixth goal of the season.
Concordia tried to press to get within one, and even pulled their
goalie with less than three minutes to go in the game, but was
never able to come up with another goal.
Shots on goal were virtually even for the game. Gustavus held a
22-20 edge in a game that was controlled by the defense. Both
Cobber freshman goalie Becca Hendrickson and
Gustavus goalie Danielle Justice made 18 saves in
the game.
Both teams had one power play goal in the game. Concordia was
1-for-2 on their man-advantage situations while GAC had one goal in
their three power play chances.
The Cobbers will now have to wait until Monday morning to find out if they are selected for one of the three at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament. Concordia was ranked second in the final NCAA West Region rankings. The NCAA selection show will be on Monday, Mar. 5 at 9 a.m. on the NCAA.com website.