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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Marc Fortin
Jed Carlson-Superior Telegram

Men's Hockey

Late goal forces Yellowjackets, Falcons to tie

Marc Fortin
Box Score

Yellowjackets 2, River Falls 2
Box Score

There are two kinds of people in the world - optimists and pessimists. Following Friday night's Yellowjacket tie with River Falls, the pessimist would say that the Yellowjacket winless streak has now reached four games. The optimist, however, would look at it differently, remarking how the team controlled the play for most of the night, picked up a point in the conference standings and put a halt to a three-game losing skid.

Regardless of how you choose to view Friday's game, the one resounding truth is that the Yellowjacket men's hockey team did not pick up a much needed victory at home on Friday night.

Following a Yellowjacket turnover, Adam Cardwell converted a perfect centering feed with 3:56 to play in regulation time, forcing overtime and eventually making the Yellowjackets settle for a 2-2 tie with UW-River Falls.

The Yellowjackets did pick up a point in the NCHA standings, but that wasn't good enough. St. Scholastica defeated UW-Eau Claire on the road, putting them one-point ahead of the Yellowjackets for sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings.

Depending on what happens on Saturday night, the Yellowjackets can finish no higher than fourth or lower than fifth in the NCHA. The notion of a first round playoff series with Twin Ports rival St. Scholastica is now much closer to becoming a reality.

The Yellowjackets came out flying in the first period and nearly converted a pair of chances early. Cody Hotchkin (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) was left wide open at the right side of the goal, but his deflection just went wide of the net. Later in the period, Joey Massingham (Duncan, British Columbia/Cowichan Secondary) was on the doorstep with a wide open net when a rebound came his way, but he, too, was unable to convert.

With under five minutes to play in the frame the Yellowjackets did finally break through. Nick Stoskopf (Warroad, Minn./Warroad) had the puck on the right wing in the neutral zone and fed a perfect pass ahead that sprung Marc Fortin (Pottageville, Ontario/King City Secondary) behind the defense. Fortin faked to his backhand, went back to the forehand and slid the puck underneath Falcon goaltender Scott Lewan to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead. Fortin's third of the year came at 15:17 of the first period.

In the second period the Falcons began to carry the play slightly, but still, neither team was generating offense with a majority of the play taking place between the tops of the circles in the two zones. Following a faceoff in the neutral zone, Willie Hess skated into Yellowjacket territory and wired a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I) up high to tie the game at 1-1 with 7:32 remaining in the period.

The Yellowjackets regained the lead before the middle frame concluded. Brett Wold (Westlock, Alberta/R.F. Staples) started the rush in his own zone and sent a pass cross-ice to Massingham who had a step on the defender, and his shot beat Lewan on the stick side to make it 2-1. Massingham's 10th goal of the season came at 18:30 of the period.

In the third, the Yellowjackets again had chances, but Lewan stymied them on several opportunities. Late in the frame, the Falcons' Caleb Wolfgram intercepted a clearing pass, fed Hess who centered to Cardwell and his one-timer beat Strandberg to knot the game at 2-2.

As the overtime period progressed, the Yellowjackets had the better opportunities, outshooting the Falcons 4-to-1, but time and again Lewan was there with the save.

Strandberg played one of his best games of the season, finishing with 25 stops. At the other end, Lewan made 26 saves.

Each team took two penalties for four minutes, and each team went 0-for-2 on the power play.

The top two spots and the bottom two spots in the NCHA standings are settled, but the middle three, involving the Yellowjackets, St. Scholastica and UW-Stevens Point are yet to be determined. All of that will be decided on Saturday night.

The Yellowjackets (11-11-2, 6-9-2 NCHA) will close out the regular season on Saturday, February 9 when they host conference champion UW-Eau Claire. Game time from Wessman Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and can be heard on 91.3 FM KUWS. If you are outside the local listening area you can listen online through the iFan Sports Network or watch the game pay-per-view on AmericaOne. Jon Garver will have the call.
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