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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Eric Shand
Jade Jensen

Men's Hockey

Power Play Goals Push St. Olaf Past Yellowjackets

Eric Shand
Box Score

St. Olaf 4, Yellowjackets 3

The Yellowjacket men's hockey team entered play unbeaten Friday night and ranked No. 13 in this week's US College Hockey Online Division III poll. Unfortunately, they aren't likely to remain that high when next week's poll came out.

That's because St. Olaf knocked the Yellowjackets from the ranks of the unbeaten, using a pair of third period power play goals to defeat the Yellowjackets 4-3 Friday night at the Northfield Ice Arena.

The key moment in the game came at the 8:55 mark of the third period when, with the score tied 2-2, Anton Svensson (Sodertalje, Sweden/Igelstavikens Gymnasium) was called for a five-minute major for contact to the head and assessed a game misconduct. St. Olaf scored twice with the extended power play then withstood a late Yellowjacket surge to get the win.

Things started off quickly, and well for the Yellowjackets. Just 1:23 into the game Nik Kosman (Calgary, Alberta/Centennial)'s shot was stopped by Ole goaltender Luke Andriuk, but he left a rebound to the left of the goal and Jordan Neduzak (Morden, Manitoba/Morden Collegiate Institute) pounced, hammering home his second of the season to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead. Tyler Nystrom (Superior, Wis./Superior) also earned an assist on the play, his first collegiate point.

St. Olaf tied the score at 4:01 of the first when the Yellowjackets got careless in their own and Peter Lundblad scored on a one-timer from between the circles. The Oles took the lead at 13:06 when Jonas Fredriksson took a shot from the top of the left circle with heavy traffic in front, beating Yellowjacket goaltender Bryce Fink (Tacoma, Wash./Keystone) low.

Just over a minute later the Yellowjackets came back and tied it. Svensson started with the puck in the left corner and moved it behind the goal to Ian Ecklund (Twig, Minn./Proctor), who then dropped it back to Svensson. The junior slid the wraparound underneath Andriuk for his fourth of the season to make it 2-2. Daniel Litchke (Superior, Wis./Superior) also assisted.

After a scoreless second the Yellowjackets pressed early in the third, but Andriuk stood his ground to keep the score tied. Then with the extended power play St. Olaf landed the knockout punch. They broke the tie at 10:05 when David Rath drove down the slot and slid a cross-ice pass home to make it 3-2. Then 44 seconds later the Oles used some precision puck movement to find Lindblad in the slot and he buried a one-time for his second of the game to push the lead to 4-2.

In the waning minutes the Yellowmjackets got another power play chance and closed the gap. Matt Audette (Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln) moved the puck to Eric Shand (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas) in the right circle and the junior defenseman buried his second of the season with 37.8 seconds to play to pull the Yellowjackets within 4-3. Ecklund also assisted.

As the seconds wound down the Yellowjackets continued to apply pressure, and nearly tied the game with under ten seconds to play, but Andriuk withstood the challenge, sending the Yellowjackets home with their first loss of the season.

The Yellowjackets outshot the Oles 32-18 in the game, with Andriuk making 29 saves. Fink suffered the loss, falling to 1-1-1 on the year. He finished the game with 14 saves.

For the game the Yellowjackets took five penalties for 21 minutes, while the Oles took five for 10 minutes. On the power play the Yellowjackets were 1-for-3 and the Oles were 2-for-6.

The Yellowjackets (3-1-1, 0-0-0 WIAC) return to action Saturday when they take on Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Game time from Oscar Johnson Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. and can be heard live on 91.3 FM beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. Jon Garver will have the call.
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Players Mentioned

Matt Audette

#3 Matt Audette

D
5' 10"
Junior
Ian Ecklund

#4 Ian Ecklund

F
6' 3"
Sophomore
Bryce Fink

#1 Bryce Fink

G
5' 8"
Sophomore
Jordan Neduzak

#9 Jordan Neduzak

F
5' 11"
Junior
Eric Shand

#5 Eric Shand

D
6' 1"
Junior
Anton Svensson

#11 Anton Svensson

F
5' 8"
Junior
Nik Kosman

#6 Nik Kosman

D
5' 11"
Freshman
Daniel Litchke

#10 Daniel Litchke

F
5' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Matt Audette

#3 Matt Audette

5' 10"
Junior
D
Ian Ecklund

#4 Ian Ecklund

6' 3"
Sophomore
F
Bryce Fink

#1 Bryce Fink

5' 8"
Sophomore
G
Jordan Neduzak

#9 Jordan Neduzak

5' 11"
Junior
F
Eric Shand

#5 Eric Shand

6' 1"
Junior
D
Anton Svensson

#11 Anton Svensson

5' 8"
Junior
F
Nik Kosman

#6 Nik Kosman

5' 11"
Freshman
D
Daniel Litchke

#10 Daniel Litchke

5' 9"
Freshman
F