They Came, They Saw, They Made History

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (11/29/14)—They came, they played, they made history. Concordia became the first invited team in 17 years to win the prestigious PrimeLink Shootout Tournament as they beat No.2-ranked Norwich in a shootout.

The Cobbers tied the three-time national champion Cadets 2-2 in regulation then skated through a scoreless overtime period before coming away with the 2-1 victory in the shootout. The game goes into the NCAA record books as a tie but Concordia skates away with the impressive PrimeLink Tournament trophy.

"It had the feel of an NCAA Tournament game," stated Concordia head coach Chris Howe. "The pressure and atmosphere all had the same intensity of a national playoff game."

Concordia also becomes the first western team to win the title in a tournament which is annually hosted by Norwich, six-time national champion Middlebury and two-time national champion Plattsburgh State. The three host schools have won a combined 11 national championships, have been to the Final Four a combined 33 times and have participated in 49 different NCAA tournaments.

The Cobbers won the tournament with their ability to withstand pressure, rally from multiple-goal scoring sprees, timely scoring and solid goalie play. Those four attributes led Concordia to extend its unbeaten streak to five games.  CC is now 5-3-2 overall and is 3-0-2 since dropping their first conference game of the year on Nov.14.  

Concordia vs. Norwich Video Highlights
(courtesy of WCAX-TV) 

Norwich remains unbeaten on the season and moves to 7-0-1 overall.

Concordia earned its second shootout victory of the season by scoring on two of their five attempts while Cobber freshman goalie Alex Reichle stopped four of the five shootout attempts by the Cadets. Andrew Deters scored on the very first shootout shot but then CC was held scoreless in their final two attempts of the regulation shootout period. Reichle stopped the first two Norwich shots but then the Cadets connected on their third to send it into extra shots. Neither team made their fourth shot and then freshman Jon Grebosky stepped up and went to his backhand and then lifted he puck into the top shelf of the net to give CC a 2-1 lead. Reichle then stood his ground and stopped the final Norwich shooter to give Concordia the win.     

Norwich broke to a 2-0 lead in the first minute of the second period. The Cadets dominated the opening period with physical play. Norwich got on the board first at the 5:38 mark of the opening frame and then outshot Concordia 12-6 for the first 20 minutes of the contest.

The Cadet's second goal served as a wake-up call for the Cobbers. Concordia once again showed off their new-found resiliency by slowly getting back into the game and tilting the ice in their favor.

"It was great to see our team respond after their second goal," said Howe. "It was all the players doing and credit goes to our captains as they rallied the team and let everyone know that we could skate with Norwich."

Concordia outshot the Cadets 11-4 in the second period and finished off the 45 minutes of regulation play and then overtime with a 20-16 edge in shots.        

The Cobbers started the comeback trail in the eighth minute of the second period when Jordie Bancroft scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Bancroft was able to jump on a rebound after Jordan Krebsbach's shot hit off players standing in front of the net. Bancroft then slid the puck on the ice into the far right corner of the net.

CC continued to press for the game-tying goal in the second half of the middle period but weren't able to come away with their second score.

Concordia finally tied the game in the fifth minute of the third period after Norwich was about to be whistled for a delayed penalty. The Cobbers gained the extra attacker and had the play in the Cadet's zone when the puck came out to Krebsbach just inside the blue line in the middle of the ice. Krebsbach then fired off a wrist shot that elude the players in front of goal and found the top portion of the net. Krebsbach's goal at 4:20 of the third period was his first of the season and assisted by Deters and Garrett Hendrickson. For Hendrickson it was his MIAC-leading 10th assist of the season.

Neither team was able to score in the final 15 minutes of regulation. Norwich had the better of the play in the overtime period but was never able to beat Reichle.

Reichle stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced in the game and made 62 saves on the weekend. He was named the PrimeLink Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Jordan Christianson had a game-high five shots for the Cobbers in the title tilt.

Concordia had two other players earn All-Tournament honors. Bancroft and Grebosky were also selected for the All-Tournament Team.

The Cobbers will return to MIAC play when they face St. Thomas on Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6 in a two-game series in St. Paul. 

2014 PrimeLink Great Northern Shootout All-Tournament Team
Jordie Bancroft - Concordia
Anthony Calabrese - Plattsburgh
Ronald Fishman - Middlebury
Jon Grebosky - Concordia
William Pelletier - Norwich
Alex Reichle - Concordia
Austin Surowiec - Norwich

Tournament MVP:  Alex Reichle – Concordia
Tournament Top Rookie: Jon Grebosky - Concordia