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University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics

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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Drew Strandberg
Jed Carlson-Superior Telegram

Men's Hockey

Yellowjackets rally, tie Eau Claire

Drew Strandberg made 25 saves on Saturday as the Yellowjackets tied UW-Eau Claire 2-2 at Wessman Arena.
Box Score

Yellowjackets 2, Eau Claire 2

First periods have not been kind to the Yellowjackets this weekend. After Friday's debacle that saw the Yellowjackets fall behind 4-0 after 20 minutes, UW-Superior came out flat again on Saturday and again fell behind early. This didn't bode well, as UW-Eau Claire was unbeaten coming into the game when they scored first. This time around, however, the Yellowjackets rallied and tied the game before the first period was completed.

That was all the offense on this night, as the Yellowjackets and Blugolds skated to a 2-2 tie on Saturday night, giving each team a point in this early-season WIAC tilt at Wessman Arena.

Saturday's first period was eerily resemblant of Friday's, with the Yellowjackets coming out flat and the opposition taking advantage. The Blugolds opened the scoring at 4:50 of the period when Ethan Nauman wired a slap shot from the right circle under the glove of Yellowjacket goaltender Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I) to make it 1-0. Just over two minutes later it went to 2-0 when a Yellowjacket clearing attempt took a funny hop off the boards and came out front of the goal where Chris Fischer flipped it over a pile of bodies and into the net for his first goal of the year.

With the 2-0 lead, the Blugolds applied tremendous pressure and threatened to take a bigger lead, but Strandberg shut the door and kept the deficit at two.

A late penalty put the Yellowjackets on the power play and opened the door for the team to get back into the game. They got on the board when Michael Rey (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Garden City Collegiate) moved the puck to Jeff Forsythe (Campbell River, British Columbia/Timberline Secondary) and the right point who let a shot go that was tipped in front by Cody Hotchkin (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld). The deflection got past Eau Claire goaltender Jay Deo to make it 2-1 at 17:59. For Hotchkin it was his fourth goal of the season, surpassing his total from all of last year, and it also pulled him into a tie for the team scoring lead. Both he and Pat Dalbec (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) have nine points on the year.

Before public address announcer Mark Fleischer could finish belting out the Hotchkin goal the Yellowjackets made the goal horn bellow again. Tanner Dion (Hardisty, Alberta/Central Sedgewick) and Nick Stoskopf (Warroad, Minn./Warroad) worked the puck down low and centered a pass to Brad Phenow (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) who buried his second goal of the season from in tight to tie the game 2-2 just 28 seconds later.

In the second period the Yellowjackets carried the play and outshot Eau Claire handily, but they were unable to pull into the lead. The Blugolds outshot the Yellowjackets in the third period and carried the play for stretches, but they too were unable to grab the lead again.

The Yellowjackets were the recipients of a pair of power plays in the third period, but still were unable to capitalize.

In the extra session the Yellowjackets had the first good scoring chance when Hotchkin intercepted a pass in the right circle of the Eau Claire zone. Thinking he had less time then he did, Hotchkin sent a shot wide of the Eau Claire goal, but a quick look to the left of the goal would have shown Marc Fortin (Pottageville, Ontario/King City Secondary) coming out from behind the net unguarded for what could have been a golden scoring chance. After the Hotchkin shot Eau Claire went the other way on a rush of their own, ending with a Dan Olszewski shot from the right circle that beat Strandberg high, but it rang off the crossbar and the score remained knotted.

Olszewski, in the final minute of overtime came out of the left wing corner with speed and was hauled down, putting the Blugolds on the power play for the final 39.5 seconds, but the Yellowajcket penalty kill again was up to the task and the teams went home with a point apiece.

Strandberg was strong once again in the net for the Yellowjackets, finishing the night with 25 saves. His record now stands at 2-3-1 on the year. At the other end Deo was also good. He made 24 stops.

Both teams took five penalties for ten minutes. The Yellowjackets went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Eau Claire was 0-for-5.

The Yellowjackets (4-6-1, 0-1-1 WIAC) will return to the road next weekend when they travel to Hancock, Mich. for a pair of games against Finlandia University. Game time on Friday, December 13 is set for 6:00 p.m. Central Time and can be heard live on 91.3 FM KUWS beginning with the pre-game show at 5:45 p.m. If you are outside the local listening area you can tune in online through the iFan Sports Network or the live web stream of KUWS and Wisconsin Public Radio. Jon Garver will have the call.
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