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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Drew Strandberg
Jed Carlson-Superior Telegram

Men's Hockey

Yellowjackets can't overcome Pointers

Drew Strandberg
Box Score

Stevens Point 2, Yellowjackets 1
Box Score

Open up any good book of hockey cliches and you will find that, as playoff time approaches, the outcome of a game usually comes down to two things - special teams and goaltending.

On Friday night the Yellowjackets got one of the two, as Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I) returned from injury to provide solid play between the pipes. Unfortunately, the special teams, in particular the power play, couldn't take advantage of the opportunities that UW-Stevens Point gift wrapped for them.

The Yellowjackets were given six second period power plays and were only able to convert one time, and they dropped their second straight game on the road, 2-1 to UW-Stevens Point at K.B. Willett Arena.

It was the fourth time in the last five games that the Yellowjacket offense has been held to just one goal.

The loss drops the Yellowjackets into fourth place in the conference, where they now cling to the final home playoff spot in the conference with St. Scholastica, UW-River Falls and UW-Stout hot on their heels.

UW-Stevens Point got the scoring going early, converting a power play chance early in the game. With Kyle Leahy (Fort St. John, British Columbia/North Peace Secondary) off for an elbowing penalty on what appeared to be a clean hit, Scott Henegar tipped a puck near the right post that eluded Strandberg to make it 1-0. 

Early in the second period the Yellowjackets trailed but got an early boost when the Pointers Johnny Meo was called for boarding. Seconds later Alex Kromm was called for high sticking and the Yellowjackets were given 1:52 of 5-on-3 power play time, but they were unable to take advantage. A few minutes later Brandon Busse received a five-minute major for boarding when he hit Pat Dalbec (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) from behind. Dalbec was injured on the play and had to be helped off the ice, but later returned to the game. Despite his absence, the power play Dalbec drew allowed the Yellowjackets to tie the game.

With nearly the entire five minutes elapsed, Tanner Dion (Hardisty, Alberta/Central Sedgewick) had the puck in the left circle and moved it to Brett Wold (Westlock, Alberta/R.F. Staples) at the left point. Wold's shot got through and was stopped, but Brad Phenow (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) pounced on the rebound and banged it home to tie the game at 12:06 of the middle period.

Just 43 seconds after the Yellowjackets knotted the game, the Pointers were called for another penalty. This time, they killed it off. As the penalized player exited the penalty box and went to the bench for a replacement, the puck was cleared from the Stevens Point zone, creating a 2-on-1 back the other way. Josh Daley had the puck in the left circle and feathered a pass over to Jerry Freismuth who tipped the puck past Strandberg to regain the lead for the Pointers, 2-1, at 14:52 of the period.

The Yellowjackets got still another power play in the second period, but once again they were unable to convert.

In the third the Pointers asserted themselves and carried the play early. As the period went on the Yellowjackets did create more scoring chances. In the final minutes they had their best opportunities to tie the game, but Pointer goaltender Brandon Jaeger turned them aside time and again. With under a minute to play the Yellowjackets pulled Strandberg for an extra attacker, but they were unable to get the equalizer.

It was a hard-luck loss for Strandberg, who turned aside 13 shots in falling to 8-6-1 on the year. At the other end, Jaeger picked up his ninth win of the year, improving to 9-3-1. He also finished with 13 saves. The Pointers outshot the Yellowjackets 15-14.

The Yellowjackets took just two penalties for four minutes and went 1-for-7 on the power play. UW-Stevens Point, meanwhile, took six penalties for 15 minutes and went 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

The Yellowjackets (11-10-1, 6-8-1 NCHA) return to action with their final road game of the 2012-13 regular season, when they travel to St. Norbert College on Saturday, February 2. Game time from the Cornerstone Community Center is slated for 4:00 p.m. and can be heard live on 91.3 FM KUWS. If you are outside the local listening area you can tune in on the web through the iFan Sports Network. Jon Garver will have the call.
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