Yellowjackets 3, St. Thomas 3
On Tuesday at Wessman Arena, the Yellowjacket women's hockey team came out of the gate and, well, things didn't go according to plan - before the midpoint of the game they found themselves trailing by three goals. Fortunately they were able to flip the switch midway through the game, finding their way and rallying for a 3-3 tie before a crowd of 163.
Ealy on the game was a tight-checking, back and forth affair, with each team having opportunities to break through early. The best chance coming early for the Tommies who parlayed a Yellowjacket mishandle of the puck into a two-on-none break, but Amy Torgerson (Wentzville, Mo./Gilmour Academy) (Wentzville, Mo.) was right there to make the save, something that she would do often in the early part of the game. Later, there was a stretch of play where the teams went six-and-a-half minutes without a whistle, and the Yellowjackets nearly scored, but a shot by Kiara De Kezel (Deloraine, Manitoba/Deloraine) (Deloraine, Manitoba) went off the side of the goal and the game remained scoreless. That changed with under five minutes to play.
Jaci Lang was sent to the penalty box for checking and on the ensuing faceoff, the Yellowjackets turned it over and Taylor Schluter went in on the breakaway. Torgerson didn't bite on the fake and made the save, but she kicked a rebound right back up the slot and Kaylee Keys was there to bury the shorthanded goal and make it 1-0. Minutes later, Christina Rozeske went in alone on the breakaway, but Torgerson again was there to make the save. The game would remain 1-0 into the intermission.
In the second period, the tight checking went by they wayside and the teams opened the game up, combining to score four goals. After going shorthanded three times in the opening frame, the Tommies got a power play and they capitalized early as Jenny Saxon scored at 2:57 to make it 2-0. A short time later the Tommies again scored while up a skater, as Katy Kvasnicka, parked to the left of the goal, took a carom off the end boards and slid it home before Torgerson could get there, and it was 3-0 at 8:17. The Yellowjackets would finally answer, and it was their offensive catalyst from last weekend who did the honors. Just one minute after falling behind by three, Dani Schultz (Morris, Minn./Morris Area) (Morris, Minn.) got in position and deflected a shot from the point by Chelsey Wierschem (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) (Willmar, Minn.) past Tommies' goaltender Alise Riedel for her fourth goal of the early season at 9:17. Seconds after the goal, the Tommies got another breakaway on Torgerson, and the senior goaltender was again up to the task, keeping it a 3-1 game. From there, the Yellowjackets took off and carried the play until the period's final buzzer.
They would also pull to within a goal before the second intermission.
Bailey Lane (Armada, Mich./Armada) (Armada, Mich.) and Teal Crosson (Alexander, Manitoba/Crocus Plains) (Alexander, Manitoba) worked the puck out of the defensive zone, and were able to move it to neutral ice, springing Kerry Mayhew (Littleton,Colo./Heritage) (Littleton, Colo.) on a breakaway. Mayhew, going full speed, slowed down as she faked to her backhand, then went back to her forehand, sliding the puck under Riedel to make it 3-2 at 12:09. Later in the period, Ashlee Olson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) (Superior, Wis.) had a scoring chance along the goal line coming from the left wing, but her shot went over the net with just under four minutes to play. In the closing seconds of the period, Ashley Martin (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) (Superior, Wis.) used her speed to draw a penalty, and the momentum of the power play carrying over into the third period sparked the Yellowjackets to tie the game.
A minute after the power play expired, the line of Martin-Olson-Crosson connected to tie it up. A centering feed from behind the goal found Martin in the left circle, and her wrist shot beat Riedel high on the glove side, tying the score at 3-3 just 1:21 into the third period. Olson and Crosson assisted. For Crosson, the two assist game matched her assist total for all of her freshman campaign.
As the period went on, both teams again had chances, but both goaltenders again proved to be the difference. Torgerson made a pair of tough saves in a flurry just over six minutes into the period, and later stopped Schluter on another breakaway, her second of the game, and this time didn't offer up a rebound. The Tommies came close to preventing overtime, but their last-second effort was tipped wide as time expired.
In the overtime, each team had an opportunity to break the tie, but again the goaltenders came up big. Martin was sent to the penalty box with 44 seconds to play in the game, but the Yellowjacket penalty killers came up big, keeping any shots from getting on goal and ending the game with a tie.
Torgerson finished with 20 saves for the Yellowjackets, while Riedel had 22 stops for St. Thomas.
Each team took five penalties for ten minutes. The Yellowjackets went 0-5 on the power play while the Tommies were 2-5.
The Yellowjackets (1-1-1, 0-0-0 NCHA) will open league play on Friday, November 4 when they host Lake Forest College in the first game of a two-game series. Game time from Wessman Arena is 4:00 p.m.
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