Skip To Main Content

University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics

schedule

Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Bryce Fink
Jade Jensen

Men's Hockey

Yellowjackets Blanked by St. Norbert

Bryce Fink
Box Score

St. Norbert 4, Yellowjackets 0

It was a night of celebration at Wessman Arena Friday. Prior to the game's faceoff against longtime rival St. Norbert College, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team paid tribute to Steve Nelson, the former head coach of the men's hockey team and athletics director at UW-Superior who retired in September. It was an emotional opening to the evening, but unfortunately that was as good as the crowd would feel on this night.

St. Norbert College jumped on the Yellowjackets early and cruised, downing the home team 4-0.

It didn't take long for the Green Knights to rain on the Yellowjacket parade. Just 1:05 into the game a quick St. Norbert transition caught the Yellowjackets on a line change and Noah Nelson wound up and let a shot go from the right circle that beat Yellowjacket starter Bryce Fink (Tacoma, Wash./Keystone) low on the glove side to make it 1-0.

From there the Green Knights carried the play, hemming the Yellowjackets in their own zone for long stretches, forcing the Yellowjackets to spend the majority of the period on defense. St. Norbert outshot the Yellowjackets 17-3 in the first period.

The game stayed 1-0 until late in the first when a scramble in front of the net saw Ross Pavek bang a loose puck off a skate and past Fink to make it a 2-0 game with 1:23 to play in the period.

After a scoreless second period St. Norbert added two more goals in the third, both of them coming on the power play. At 11:11, with the Yellowajckets serving a bench minor for too many men, Tyler Zepeda streaked down the right wing and banked a pass off the side of the net that caromed up the slot to Erik Cooper, and he made no mistake, beating Fink low to make it 3-0.

St. Norbert closed out the scoring at 17:58 of the third when Roman Uchyn collected a loose puck to the left of the Yellowjacket goal and poked it past Fink to make the final score 4-0.

For most of the game the Yellowjackets struggled to establish a forecheck and generate offense. Their best chances of the game came early in the third period, but every time they had a chance St. Norbert goaltender Tony Kujava made the save, and his defense insured that there were no second chances, clearing rebounds away from harm. Kujava got the win and the shutout, making 22 saves.

At the other end, Fink was much busier, seeing a lot of action throughout the night. Despite yielding four goals Fink was solid and finished with 42 saves. His record falls to 1-2-1 on the year.

The Yellowjackets took six penalties for 12 minutes, while St. Norbert took three for six minutes. The Yellowjackets were 0-for-2 on the power play while St. Norbert was 2-for-5.

The Yellowjackets (3-3-1, 0-0-0 WIAC) will look to snap their three-game losing skid and four-game winless streak when they host Marian University Saturday night at Wessman Arena. The Sabres enter the game after a thriller Friday, where they tied No. 2-ranked Stevens Point on the road. Game time Saturday is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game can be heard live on 91.3 FM in Superior beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. If you are outside the local listening area you can tune in online through UW-Superior's online partner, the iFan Sports Network. Jon Garver will have the call.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Bryce Fink

#1 Bryce Fink

G
5' 8"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Bryce Fink

#1 Bryce Fink

5' 8"
Sophomore
G