Pointers slip past Yellowjacket women

Dani Schultz had the only goal of the game for the Yellowjackets on Friday night.

Box Score

Stevens Point 2, Yellowjackets 1

At one point during the 2013-14 season the Yellowjacket women's hockey team was among the hottest teams in the nation. On January 25, after a 5-0 win over UW-Eau Claire, the Yellowjackets were 14-2-4 and in the thick of the WIAC race and NCAA tournament discussion. They had won seven in a row and were unbeaten in 11.

Since then, however, the road has been bumpier than expected and now their season appears to be on the brink.

Stevens Point scored twice in the first period and, despite being handily outshot by the Yellowjackets the Pointers escaped Friday's WIAC semifinal opener with a 2-1 win at Ice Hawks Arena.

With the loss the Yellowjackets now must win on Saturday night and be victorious in the mini-game just to advance to the WIAC final next weekend.

In the other semifinal, UW-River Falls blasted UW-Eau Claire 8-0 to seize the lead in its series.

The Pointers opened the scoring at 7:50 of the first period when leading scorer Cassandra Salmen netted her 17th goal of the season to grab the 1-0 lead. Less than six minutes later, Emily Lester scored on the power play and the Pointers were up 2-0 after the first period.

Early in the second the Yellowjackets went on the power play and cut the deficit in half. Junior captain Dani Schultz (Morris, Minn./Morris Area), with an assist from Kelsey Firkus (Chilliwack, British Columbia/Chilliwack Senior Secondary), scored her 12th goal of the year, tying her for the team lead, making it a 2-1 game.

From there the Yellowjackets continued to apply pressure, outshooting the Pointers 13-7 in the second period and 9-4 in the third, but they just couldn't generate the opportunity that would allow them to tie the game.

Shanley Peters (Gnadenthal, Manitoba/Garden Valley Collegiate) again got the start in goal for the Yellowjackets, and was tagged with the loss. She finished with 22 saves as the Yellowjackets outshot the Pointers 35-24. The star of the game was at the other end of the ice, as standout goaltender Janna Beilke-Skoug made 34 saves in earning the victory.

Stevens Point gave the Yellowjackets several chances on the power play to tie the game, taking six penalties for 12 minutes. The Yellowjackets, meanwhile, took four for eight minutes. Each team scored once on the power play, the Yellowjackets going 1-for-6 and the Pointers 1-for-4.

The Yellowjackets (14-6-6) and the Pointers will square off in game two of their WIAC semifinal series on Saturday in Stevens Point. The opening face-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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