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University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics

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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Hotchkin-Hill
Jed Carlson-Superior Telegram

Men's Hockey

Third period collapse costs Yellowjackets a point vs. Saints

Cody Hotchkin (19) and Ryan Hill (22) battle for position during a Yellowjacket power play in the second period against St. Scholastica.
Box Score

Yellowjackets 3, St. Scholastica 3
Box Score

The old adage is that opportunity knocks once and then the door slams shut.  For anyone who was in attendance for the Yellowjackets and the Saints on Thursday night, they can now officially question that line of thinking.  The Yellowjackets had plenty of opportunities - a host of them...or a bevy...or a plethora, but they were unable to put the Saints away and the teams skated to a 3-3 tie at Wessman Arena.

For the first 50 minutes of play it was all Yellowjackets.  Relentless on the forecheck and stingy on defense, the Yellowjackets owned the Saints for the first two-and-a-half periods, building a 3-0 lead.  It could have been worse, but the Yellowjackets were unable to convert a half dozen other glorious scoring opportunities.  And the Saints, second place team in the NCHA, took advantage of it and ran the show for a five-minute stretch in the third period to earn the tie.

After missing the previous two games with an injury, Kyle Leahy (Fort St. John, British Columbia/North Peace Secondary) immediately made his presence felt upon his return to the lineup.  Cody Hotchkin (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) was on the left wing and spotted Leahy coming off the bench and streaking toward the goal.  The pass split the defense perfectly and Leahy lifted a shot over the glove of Saints goaltender Colin Rundell to make it 1-0 just 1:03 into the game.  In the second period it went to 2-0 when Pat Dalbec (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) came down the right side and centered to Justin Faryna (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop McNally) who fired a shot past Rundell on the stick side at 5:23.  It was Faryna's fourth goal of the season and snapped an 11-game streak where Faryna didn't have a goal or a point.  Joey Massingham (Duncan, British Columbia/Cowichan Secondary) assisted on both of the first two goals.

In the third period the Yellowjackets continued their strong play at both ends, and just after the midpoint of the period made it 3-0.  Andy Singerhouse (Hudson, Wis./Hill-Murray) had the puck on the left side and sent a pass toward the goal, finding Leahy going to the net and he lifted a shot past Rundell for his second of the game and fifth of the year at 10:48.  Less than a minute later, however, the Saints broke the shutout and began their comeback.  Paul Marcoux deflected a puck past Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I) just 57 seconds later, his first of the year to make it 3-1.  Just over two minutes later, at 13:46 it went to 3-2 when Alex Valenti's wrist shot from the slot snuck under Strandberg.  Then just over three minutes later the Saints were all the way back as Carter Davis tipped a puck from the left side of the goal up and over Strandberg to tie the game at 3-3 with 3:12 to play in regulation. 

Once the game was tied, the Yellowjackets seemed to once again find their collective stride, but the damage was done and the teams headed for overtime.  The pucked dropped and for the next five minutes the teams swapped shots and chances, but there was never a stoppage in play, nor a great scoring chance, and the teams settled for a point each.

Strandberg finished the game with 16 saves, while Rundell was much busier at the other end, making 33 stops.  In three games against the Yellowjackets this season, Rundell has 100 saves.

The Yellowjackets took just one penalty for two minutes, keeping the Saints power play, which was firing at 29.9% coming into the game scoreless.  The Saints took two penalties for four minutes, and the Yellowjackets were 0-2 with the man-advantage, continuing their current stretch of 21 straight chances.

The Yellowjackets (8-8-4, 3-6-4 NCHA) are looking to get back in the win column and they'll have to do it on the road, as they travel to Menomonie, Wis. to take on UW-Stout on Friday, Jan. 27.  Game time is 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live locally on 91.3 FM KUWS, beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m.  You can listen to the game on the web at www.ifan.tv.  Jon Garver will have the call.
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