Moorhead, Minn. – Although the Gustavus men’s hockey team jumped out to 3-0 victory with three unanswered goals, Concordia College refused to go quietly in the series-finale and responded with three consecutive goals all coming within the third period to tie the game at 3-3. Neither team could find the game-winner in the third period or five-minute overtime session and the game went to a shootout.
After Gustavus missed on its opening shootout attempt, Concordia’s Jordie Bancroft beat Gustavus goaltender Erik Johnson (So., Rice, Minn.) to go up 1-0. Bancroft’s goal turned out to the winner as Gustavus could not convert on its next two attempts.
Because of the MIAC’s scoring system, which was adopted last season, Concordia earns two points in the conference standings and Gustavus takes one point. The Gusties are now 3-2-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the MIAC, while the Cobbers move to 2-3-1 overall and 0-1-1 in the MIAC.
Gustavus’s three-goal scoring-spree began at the 4:29 mark of the opening period when Conor Deal (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) scored his second goal of the weekend on assists from Blake Schammel (Sr., Red Wing, Minn.) and Tim Donohue (Fr., Bloomington, Minn.).
Schammel’s assist in the first period was the beginning of a three point night for the senior. Schammel put Gustavus on top 2-0 when Deal returned the favor with an assist at the 4:28 mark of the second period.
With a two-goal lead after 40 minutes, the Schammel show continued. He capped the scoring-surge with a power play goal from Donohue and Deal to give the Gusties a 3-0 advantage just :58 seconds into the third period.
All eight of Gustavus’s points registered in the game came from the Schammel line – Blake Schammel (2G, 1A) and Connor Deal (1G, 2A) finished with three points while Tim Donohue registered two (2A).
Concordia’s three-goal melee began at the 2:16 mark of the third period when Jordie Bancroft scored shorthanded from Garrett Hendrickson’s assist.
Much like Gustavus’s second and third goals, Concordia benefitted from the individual effort of a single player. Andrew Deters first cut the lead to 3-2 with goal from Garrett Hendrickson at 10:36 and then tied the game at 3-3 with a goal off a Jordie Bancroft assist at 17:37.
Following a scoreless third period and overtime session that yielded a combined six shots for Gustavus and 10 shots for Concordia, the two squads embarked on their first shootout of the season. Jack Walsh (Sr., Mahtomedi, Minn.), Drew Aspinwall (So., Maple Grove, Minn.), and Schammel were chosen for Gustavus and were unable to convert on their shootout attempts. Andrew Deters followed Walsh’s missed attempt with the only goal the Cobbers needed to earn the extra point.
Gustavus finished 1-for-3 on the power play, while Concordia went 0-for-3. For the second straight night, Concordia controlled the shot count 28-18.
Erik Johnson moves to 3-2-1 overall after stopping 25-of-28 shots. Jordyn Kaufer is now 1-2-1 after he made 15-of-18 saves.
The Gustavus men’s hockey team will continue MIAC play next weekend when it takes on Hamline University. The Gusties and Pipers will face off on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in St. Paul and Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:05 p.m. in St. Peter.