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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Dylan Nelson
Jade Jensen

Men's Hockey

Yellowjackets Score Early and Often, Cruise Past Concordia

Dylan Nelson's first collegiate goal opened the scoring in Friday's win over Concordia Wisconsin.
Box Score

Yellowjackets 6, Concordia Wisconsin 2

Typically, when a team has nearly a month go by between wins, it means something went horribly wrong in between. That's not necessarily the case in Division III college hockey, however. Most teams, including UW-Superior, have three-to-four weeks off during the semester break, so a month off between wins may not mean that the season is a total loss.

Such is the case with the Yellowjacket men's hockey team.

After putting an end to a three-game losing skid with a win at the Milwaukee School of Engineering on December 13, the Yellowjackets didn't win again until tonight. Luckily, they've now won two in a row as there were no games in between.

The Yellowjackets scored early in each the first and second periods, then added a pair of goals later in the third period to pull away and defeat Concordia Wisconsin 6-2 at Wessman Arena Friday night.

Friday marked the first time the two teams have ever played each other, and the Yellowjackets wasted little time putting the pressure on their first-time visitors. Just 2:26 into the contest Dylan Nelson (Clearwater, Minn./Annandale) got a pass just inside the Concordia line and snapped a shot from the right circle that went off the glove of Falcon goaltender Domingo Torrenueva and into the net for his first goal of the season, staking the Yellowjackets to the 1-0 lead.

Before the first period ended the lead bulged to 2-0. Wes Judnick (Virginia, Minn./Virginia) spotted Anton Svensson (Soldertalje, Sweden/Igelstavikens Gymnasium) in the neutral zone as he split between the Concordia defense. A perfect pass sprung Svensson in on the breakaway, and after a quick backhand to forehand fake he let a shot go that beat Torrenueva on the stick side for his third goal of the season at the 12:52 mark of the opening frame.

Early in the second the Yellowjackets made it a three-goal game. A two-on-one developed in the neutral zone and, from the left circle, Tanner Dion (Hardisty, Alberta/Central Sedgewick) wired a shot over the glove of Torrenueva and it was 3-0. For Dion, it was his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Concordia didn't go away, however, and they scored the next two goals to close the gap. Some shoddy defensive zone play led to the first goal, as Cody Dixon found daylight and took a shot between the circles that beat starting goaltender Cory Simons (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) low on the glove side to make it a 3-1 game at 7:24 of the second. Less than three minutes later the Falcons made it a one-goal game. This time a turnover in the slot eventually got to Chris Hughes and his backhand eluded Simons on the stick side, giving the Falcons a power play goal at 10:23 and cutting the lead to one at 3-2.

The Yellowjackets were able to stop the bleeding minutes later with a power play goal of their own. An Eric Shand (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas) shot from the high slot was stopped by Torrenueva, but he kicked the rebound to the left of the goal and Jordan Neduzak (Morden, Manitoba/Morden Collegiate Institute) pounced on it, sliding into the open net at 15:54 to push the lead back to two goals, 4-2.

In the third period the Yellowjackets carried the play for most of the frame, outshooting Concordia 14-6 and adding two more goals.

At 13:03 of the period Neduzak scored his second, converting a two-on-one pass from Ian Ecklund (Twig, Minn./Proctor) with a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Torrenueva low. Less than two minutes later the Yellowjackets closed out the scoring with a goal similar to the previous one. This time Tom Paine (Superior, Wis./Marshall School) had the puck on the left side and he slid a pass to Cody Hotchkin (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) in the right circle, and his shot beat Torrenueva low for his fourth of the season, making the final score 6-2.

For the game the Yellowjackets outshot Concordia 38-35. Simons improved his record to 4-3-0 on the year with the 33-save performance. At the other end Torrenueva lost for the first time on the season, giving up six goals on 38 shots.

The Yellowjackets took six penalties for 12 minutes in the game, while Concordia took five penalties for 10 minutes. Each team tallied once on the power play.

Saturday night the Yellowjackets (7-7-0, 0-2-0 WIAC) will look to push their winning streak to three games and sweep the season series from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The Raiders come to town after downing UW-Stout in Menomonie Friday night. Game time from Wessman Arena is set for 7:05 p.m. and can be heard live on 91.3 FM in Superior and the iFan Sports Network beginning with pre-game show at the conclusion of the Yellowjacket men's basketball game vs. UW-La Crosse. Jon Garver will be on the call.
 
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Players Mentioned

Tanner Dion

#12 Tanner Dion

F
6' 1"
Senior
Cody Hotchkin

#20 Cody Hotchkin

F
5' 9"
Senior
Wes Judnick

#8 Wes Judnick

D
6' 3"
Junior
Jordan Neduzak

#9 Jordan Neduzak

F
5' 11"
Sophomore
Tom Paine

#19 Tom Paine

F
6' 0"
Senior
Eric Shand

#5 Eric Shand

D
6' 1"
Sophomore
Anton Svensson

#11 Anton Svensson

F
5' 8"
Sophomore
Ian Ecklund

#4 Ian Ecklund

F
6' 3"
Freshman
Dylan Nelson

#18 Dylan Nelson

D
5' 11"
Freshman
Cory Simons

#30 Cory Simons

G
5' 10"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Tanner Dion

#12 Tanner Dion

6' 1"
Senior
F
Cody Hotchkin

#20 Cody Hotchkin

5' 9"
Senior
F
Wes Judnick

#8 Wes Judnick

6' 3"
Junior
D
Jordan Neduzak

#9 Jordan Neduzak

5' 11"
Sophomore
F
Tom Paine

#19 Tom Paine

6' 0"
Senior
F
Eric Shand

#5 Eric Shand

6' 1"
Sophomore
D
Anton Svensson

#11 Anton Svensson

5' 8"
Sophomore
F
Ian Ecklund

#4 Ian Ecklund

6' 3"
Freshman
F
Dylan Nelson

#18 Dylan Nelson

5' 11"
Freshman
D
Cory Simons

#30 Cory Simons

5' 10"
Sophomore
G