Pointers Sneak Past Yellowjackets, Win Game One

Mikayla Goodin scored a goal early in the third period Friday for the Yellowjackets.

Box Score

Stevens Point 2, Yellowjackets 1

Two weekends ago the Yellowjacket women's hockey team was in Stevens Point, closing out the WIAC portion of its regular season schedule with a two-game set against the Pointers. The teams split the weekend series, and if the Yellowjackets want their season to continue they will again need a split, and then some.

Stevens Point scored twice in the first period Friday night then held on for a 2-1 win over the Yellowjackets at Ice Hawks Arena in Stevens Point. As a result, the Yellowjackets find themselves in a must-win situation Saturday night. They will need a victory in Saturday's game, as well as a 20-minute mini-game to advance to the WIAC Championship. The Pointers, on the other hand, need nothing more than a tie to advance.

The Pointers wasted little time getting the party started Friday. Just 17 seconds into the contest Emily Lester grabbed a rebound and beat Yellowjacket goaltender Megan Leikkari (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I) to give Stevens Point a 1-0 lead. Then at 15:45 of the first Lester struck again, this time converting a set up from Megan Menotti to push the Pointer lead to 2-0.

After the teams went scoreless in the second the Yellowjackets broke through early in the third period. With just 3:34 gone in the period Mikayla Goodin (Andover, Minn./Andover) notched her seventh goal of the season, putting a shot past Pointer goaltender Janna Beilke-Skoug, cutting the Stevens Point lead in half, 2-1. Haley Olmstead (Fargo, N.D./Fargo North) and Hailey Adair (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) had the assists on the Goodin goal.

The Yellowjackets continued putting shots on the Stevens Point net, and had a modest shot advantage in the final period, but they were unable to get the equalizer past Beilke-Skoug, who got the win with a 21 save performance. At the other end Leikkari took the loss for the Yellowjackets, finishing the game with 21 saves. Her record for the year now stands at 7-6-0 for the year.

In the game the Yellowjackets took six penalties for 12 minutes, while the Pointers took five penalties for 10 minutes. Each team was scoreless on the power play, the Yellowjackets in three chances and the Pointers in four opportunities.

The Yellowjackets (15-11-0) now find themselves in a do-or-die situation as they head into the second game of the WIAC semifinal series. Game two is set for 7:00 p.m. Saturday, February 28 at the Ice Hawks Arena in Stevens Point.

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Players Mentioned

#21 Hailey Adair: F; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#30 Megan Leikkari: G; 5' 7"; Junior

#9 Haley Olmstead: F; 5' 9"; Senior

#27 Mikayla Goodin: F; 5' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#21 Hailey Adair
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#30 Megan Leikkari
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G

#9 Haley Olmstead
: 5' 9"; Senior
: F

#27 Mikayla Goodin
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: F