From 0 To 2 Points In 10 Minutes

ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/24/14)—Concordia was 55-seconds away from losing at home to Augsburg and giving away three valuable conference points. 10 minutes later the Cobbers were skating off the ice with two points after an overtime shootout win over the Auggies.

Freshman scoring sensation Garrett Hendrickson scored the game-tying goal with 54-seconds left in regulation and then CC skated through a scoreless overtime session before getting an extra point in the standings following a 1-0 victory in the newly-added shootout.

The game officially goes in the books as a tie and moves Concordia to 9-6-3 on the year. The Cobbers are now 3-4-2 in the conference and have 12 league points. CC is currently in fifth place in the MIAC standings. Augsburg earns one point for the overtime shootout tie and is now 9-5-2 and 2-3-2 in league play.

The Cobbers had five different players score in a game which turned into a scoring fest at the start of the second period. The Cobbers gave up the first goal of the game on a power play and then scored the next two to take a 2-1 lead into the first break.

Jordan Christianson and Jordie Bancroft staked CC to a 2-1 advantage. Christianson's goal was one of the strangest in the past several seasons. He broke free on the left wing and hammered a shot that hit the top corner and quickly bounced out. Christianson started a four-player celebration in the right corner while Augsburg broke down the ice on a 4-on-1 break out. The referees never signaled for a goal and it wasn't until CC goalie Chris Neamonitis made the save, and froze the puck, on the odd-man rush did the officials review the goal-scoring situation and rule that Christianson's shot had crossed the goal line. Dan Hrabowych was given the assist on the play.

Bancroft scored his seventh goal of the season less than two minutes later with assists from Jeremy Johnson and Rylan Henley.

The all-star offensive showcase in the middle period started 40-seconds into the frame when Augsburg converted on a penalty shot after Concordia was called for a tripping penalty on an Auggie breakaway.

Andrew Deters put the Cobbers in front 3:18 later and then Augsburg scored a pair of goals 1:34 apart. The teams combined for four goals in the first 6:46 of the second period. Sam Coborn brought the Cobbers level when he netted his first collegiate goal at the 10:24 mark. His snap shot from the left faceoff circle went "bar down".

Augsburg finished off the six-goal period when they went ahead 5-4 with only 1:30 left.

The one-goal lead would last until the final minute of regulation after Concordia pulled Neamonitis in favor of an extra skater. Hendrickson potted the game-tying goal at 19:06 when he slammed home a rebound from the left side of the crease. Bancroft and Deters were credited with assists on the play. For Hendrickson it was his ninth goal of the season and sixth in the last five games. Hendrickson leads the MIAC in scoring by a freshman.        

Both teams had two shots in the five-minute overtime period but neither had any quality chances to score.

Deters was the only player to score in the three-shot shootout. Deters was the very first shooter in the format and hesitated at the top of the crease to make the Augsburg goalie to commit and then flipped the puck into the top part of the net. Neamonitis was rock solid in the shootout, making all three saves on the Augsburg shooters.

Augsburg outshot Concordia 38-30 for the 65 minutes. Augsburg was 2-for-6 on the power play while the Cobbers were held scoreless in their three man-advantage situations.

The same two-teams will try and repeat the thrilling series opener when they play on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.