Skip To Main Content

University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics

schedule

Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Jordan Neduzak
Jed Carlson-Superior Telegram

Men's Hockey

Yellowjackets drop season finale

Jordan Neduzak broke an 18-game goal slump with a second period marker on Saturday.
Box Score

Stevens Point 4, Yellowjackets 2

Less than 24 hours earlier the Yellowjacket men's hockey team picked up a victory in their most crucial game of the season, beating UW-Stout to secure home ice in the first round of the WIAC playoffs. The momentum didn't carry over into Saturday's season-finale, however.

UW-Stevens Point drew first blood and never trailed on Saturday, beating the Yellowjackets 4-2 at Wessman Arena in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.

For much of the game Yellowjacket goaltender Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I) was under seige, with pucks coming at him from all directions. He finished the game with 39 saves and in the waning minutes was visibly frustrated. At the other end Brandon Jaeger made 23 saves for the Pointers, and saw less rubber as the game wore on.

The Pointers opened the scoring at 7:09 of the first period. After several shifts of sustained forecheck, Stevens Point made the most of a missed Yellowjacket clearing attempt and Nick D'Avolio pushed a rebound past Strandberg near the top of the goal crease to make it 1-0. The Yellowjackets had their chances in the opening period, including two power play opportunities, but were unable to find the back of the net.

Early in the second the Yellowjackets got another power play, but again were unable to capitalize and just 23 minutes into the game were 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

It was at even strength were they finally did get the tying goal. Eric Shand (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas) caused a turnover in the neutral zone and sent the Yellowjackets on the attack. Jordan Neduzak (Morden, Manitoba/Morden Collegiate Institute) entered the zone on the left wing and from the face-off circle wired a wrist shot over Jaeger's glove hand to tie the game at 6:20 of the period. The goal broke an 18-game goal drought for the freshman forward.

Just 65 seconds later, however, the Pointers regained the lead. Kevin Gibson teed up a shot from the blue line that was heading well wide of the net, but Alex Kromm got a stick on it and deflected it past Strandberg at 7:25 of the second period to make it 2-1.

In the third period the Pointers increased the lead. At 10:48 Joe Kalisz scored unassisted on the power play, picking up a loose puck to the left of the goal, circling out front and waiting out everybody on the defense before firing into the empty net to make it 3-1. Less than two minutes later it went to 4-1 as Kyle Brodie sent a shot from the blue line wide of the goal. The carom off the end boards kicked back out front and two Pointers were left uncovered. Scott Henegar slid a pass to Kromm who tipped home his second of the game at 12:31 to put the game out of reach.

The Yellowjackets did add a goal late.

A good forechecking shift saw the puck move to the right side of the Stevens Point zone, and Eric Shand (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas) let a slap shot go from the circle that beat Jaeger for his second of the year to make the final score 4-2. For Shand, the goal snapped a 22-game goal drought. Joey Massingham (Duncan, British Columbia/Cowichan Secondary) and Cody Hotchkin (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) also assisted on the goal at 17:39 of the third period.

Stevens Point outshot the Yellowjackets 43-25 in the game. On the power play the Yellowjackets were scoreless in four chances while the Pointers went 1-for-3. The Yellowjackets took four penalties for eight minutes while the Pointers took five penalties for 10 minutes.

The Yellowjackets (8-14-3, 3-7-2 WIAC) will open the first round of the WIAC playoffs at home on Tuesday, February 25 when they host UW-Stout at Wessman Arena. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and can be heard live on 91.3 FM KUWS beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. If you are outside the local listening area you can listen online through the iFan Sports Network or the KUWS web site. You can also watch the game live via pay-per-view through UW-Superior's online content provider, AmericaOne Sports. Jon Garver will have the call.
Print Friendly Version