The Concordia men’s hockey team is led by 10 seniors. Jake Ellingson, one of those seniors and a forward from Brainerd, Minnesota, is getting ready to hang up the skates for the last time, but not before the Cobbers take a run at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) title.
Ellingson grew up and played hockey for Brainerd High School before going to play juniors with the Minnesota Iron Rangers in Hoyt Lakes, MN. He has been an important part for the Cobbers the last four years.
The Cobbers have had a successful season, finishing the regular season in 2nd place with a 10-5-1 record in conference play, just one point away from 1st place St Johns.
The season did not start out like the Cobbers hoped, losing five of their first six and starting the season 5-8. “We had a very long Christmas break and since then we’ve been rolling,” Ellingson said. Since the break he explains that the team has been “clicking better and playing hockey the right way.”
A couple players that have really stood out for the Cobbers are the goalies Jake Stephan and Cam Haugenoe. The second part of the season they have each played one game every weekend. “We’ve had good success with our goaltending. They’ve both done a good job of standing on their heads for us each night. They’ve been doing a good job of being a tandon goaltending duo for us, which is very tough to sit one night and play the next” Ellinson said.
As the Cobbers look to continue their hot run into the playoffs Ellingson looks into the future of the squad, “There’s a lot of young guys, like a couple freshmen, that have very bright futures ahead of them.”
The Cobbers take on the #3 seed Augsburg in the MIAC playoff semifinals on Saturday, February 29th in Moorhead. Time TBD.
