After the Yellowjackets squandered a third-period lead on Thursday against St. Scholastica, one of two things could have happened when they traveled to UW-Stout on Friday.  They could have collapsed and been beaten by a team below them in the standings, or they could build on the kind of play they presented for most of the game on Thursday. 

They did the latter.

The Yellowjackets outshot the Blue Devils 19-1 in the opening period and scored twice en route to a 4-2 win at Dunn County Arena. 

How big was the win?  The victory snapped a six-game winless streak overall and an eight-game skid in conference play.  The victory, coupled with other things that happened in the NCHA Friday, also allowed the Yellowjackets to jump up into fifth place in the standings.

The opening shift saw the Yellowjackets pound four shots on goal right away as they stormed the Stout goal, a sign of things to come.  They were finally able to break through at 16:03 when Derek Stauber (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School) wristed a shot from the left point that beat Stout goaltender Nick Hopper high over the right shoulder to make it 1-0.  It was Stauber's third of the year.  Just over a minute later it went to 2-0 when freshman Zack Maxwell (Colbert, Wash./Mount Spokane) took a centering pass from Justin Faryna (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop McNally) and ripped a shot over Hopper's glove at 17:07.  Maxwell's first collegiate goal came on the power play, snapping a stretch of 23 straight power play chances without a goal. 

Early in the second period Josh Kesler (Naperville, Ill./Northville) blocked a shot at the Yellowjacket blue line, went in on a breakaway and was hauled down, resulting a penalty shot.  Kesler skated in, faked forehand and went to the backhand, lifting a shot over Hopper to make it 3-0 at 4:29.  Three minutes later it went to 4-0 when Faryna banged home a loose puck in the crease for a power play goal at 7:29.  The Blue Devils were finally able to break through with an even strength goal at 10:43 when Chris Stafne tipped a shot home from Jason Cohen to make it 4-1.  The goal came on the Blue Devils' second shot of the game.  The Blue Devils scored again just 1:35 later when Mike Hartvikson tipped a Cohen shot home to make it 4-2.

The game at that time began to feel like Thursday's game with the Blue Devils scoring quickly, but the Yellowjackets were able to stem the tide and regain the momentum, taking a two-goal lead and a 35-9 shot advantage to the locker room.

The second period dragged along, but the third period regained the pace of the first and the clock ticked down rapidly.  Kesler drew another penalty with his speed but the Yellowjackets were unable to convert.  For most of the period neither team was able to generate anything on offense and the score remained unchanged through the final period. 

Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I) bounced back with a nice outing, making 16 saves to get the win, improving his record to 8-7-2.  Hopper finished with 38 saves for Stout.

The Yellowjackets took two penalties for four minutes, while Stout was called six times for 12 minutes, in addition to the penalty that resulted in Kesler's penalty shot.  The Yellowjackets went 2-6 on the power play, while Stout was 0-2. 

The Yellowjackets (9-8-4, 4-6-4 NCHA) return home to Wessman Arena next Friday (Feb. 3) when they will host league-leading St. Norbert College.  Game time is 7:05 p.m. and can be heard live locally on 91.3 FM KUWS, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.  The game can be heard on the web at www.ifan.tv.  The game can also be seen live through UW-Superior's online partner AmericaOne.  Jon Garver will have the call.