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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Eric Shand
Jade Jensen

Men's Hockey

Bethel Starts Fast, Cruises Past Yellowjackets

Eric Shand scored his sixth goal of the season Saturday at Bethel.
Box Score

Bethel 6, Yellowjackets 2

The 2015-16 edition of the Yellowjackets has made a habit of starting slowly. From giving up the first goal of the game to coming out flat, slow starts have plagued the Yellowjackets all season.

Following a tremendous effort Friday by the Yellowjackets in their road win at Gustavus, the Yellowjackets fell back into their old habits Saturday, coming out flat and allowing Bethel to blow the game open early. The Royals scored three times in the first period on the way to a 6-2 win at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota.

And it was one Royal that did the lion's share of the damage.

Travis Payne scored all the goals in the first for Bethel, netting a natural hat trick and staking the Royals to an insurmountable lead.

Payne's first of the game came at 8:58 when tipped a shot from the right point past Yellowjacket starter Ethan Wood (Jasper, Alberta/Paul Kane) to make it 1-0.

That score held for most of the period, but the Royals continued to apply tremendous pressure. They increased the lead with a power play goal at 17:23 when Payne picked up a loose puck at the foot of the goal crease and poked it home. Just over two minutes later Payne and the Royals increased the lead and again it was on the power play. This time Payne took a pass from the left corner and flipped the puck over the glove of Wood to make it 3-0 after one.

Bethel added a fourth goal early in the second when Justin Bonanno found a rebound to the left of the goal and put it past Wood at 5:04.

The Yellowjackets finally answered, snapping a long power play drought with a goal at 7:17 of the second. Eric Shand (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas) took the puck up the left wing boards through the neutral zone, cut to the middle and from between the circles slid a shot between the pads of Bethel goaltender Jesse Garcia to get the Yellowjackets on the board. Matt Audette (Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln) assisted on Shand's sixth goal of the season.

The power play goal was just the second in the last 34 man advantage opportunities for the Yellowjackets over the course of the last 12 games.

But even when the Yellowjackets did things right the puck ended up in the back of their net. A shot from the left point was blocked by a Yellowjacket defender, but the carome landed right on the stick of George Splichal in the slot, and he scored at 11:52 of the second to push the lead back to four.

Before the second period was over the Yellowjackets added a second goal. Audette took a shot from the left that was stopped by Garcia, but Ian Ecklund (Twig, Minn./Proctor) was there to pick up the rebound and tuck it past a sprawled out Garcia to make it 5-2. For Ecklund, who now has points in six of his last seven games, it was his seventh goal of the season.

Bethel closed out the scoring at 10:15 of the third period when Payne, again lurking around the net, picked up a loose puck in the slot and scored his fourth of the game and 10th of the season to make the final 6-2.

Despite not registering many shots early the Yellowjackets ended up outshooting the Royals 35-30. Wood, making his seventh start in the last eight games finished with 24 saves. His record falls to 2-4-0 on the year. At the other end Garcia turned aside 33 Yellowjacket shots in earning his second win of the year.

There were only three penalties in the game. The Yellowjackets took two for four minutes while the Royals were whistled just once for two minutes. Both teams were perfect on the power play. The Royals in two chances and the Yellowjackets in one.

The Yellowjackets (5-11-2, 0-2-0 WIAC) return to the ice Thursday, January 21 when they travel to Menomonie to take on UW-Stout. The opening face-off of the non-conference game is set for 7:30 p.m. and all the action can be heard live on 91.3 FM beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 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
Eric Shand

#5 Eric Shand

D
6' 1"
Junior
Ethan Wood

#35 Ethan Wood

G
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Matt Audette

#3 Matt Audette

5' 10"
Junior
D
Ian Ecklund

#4 Ian Ecklund

6' 3"
Sophomore
F
Eric Shand

#5 Eric Shand

6' 1"
Junior
D
Ethan Wood

#35 Ethan Wood

6' 1"
Freshman
G