A seven-goal third period changed the fate of a relatively defensive-minded Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener for the University of Wisconsin Superior as the Yellowjackets fell 5-3 to the University of Wisconsin-Stout on Friday night at Wessman Arena in Superior.

The two teams felt each other out in the opening period of WIAC play for UW-Superior (4-7-0, 0-1-0 WIAC), with the Blue Devils having started their conference campaign on Thursday night with a defeat at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The Yellowjackets successfully killed off the first powerplay chance of the game just past the midpoint of the first, but UW-Stout (5-5-0, 1-1-0 WIAC) broke through shortly thereafter when Dylan Zins scored at 15:48, getting an assist from Tom Schmidt to give the Blue Devils the lead headed to the locker room for the first intermission. The two teams would trade powerplay opportunities in the second period but get nothing on the scoreboard. Freshman forward Tanner Skaja (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech H.S.) had a pair of open looks for UW-Superior but was turned away both times by Stout goaltender Tommi Ahlgren.

Just three minutes into the third period, the Yellowjackets finally got on the board as sophomore forward Daniel Litchke (Superior, Wis./Superior H.S.) tapped home a rebound on a shot from senior forward Anton Svensson (Sodertalje, Sweden/Igelstavikens Gymnasium) for his eighth goal of the year, knotting the game at 1-1. The tie score held for just over three minutes when the Blue Devils got a 5-on-3 chance for two minutes as UWS had consecutive calls go against them. Stout scored just 19 seconds into the chance, going up 2-1. Another powerplay goal for the Devils extended the lead out to 3-1 at 11:47 of the third, but the Yellowjackets took the ensuing face-off down to the Stout end, where freshman Brandon Anderson (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech H.S.) made good on a one-time from senior Ian Ecklund (Twig, Minn./Proctor H.S.) to draw UW-Superior within one.

A powerplay chance for the Yellowjackets helped the home team draw even as Bruno Birzitis (Riga, Latvia/Riga Distance Education Secondary) scored with an assist from Eric Shand (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas H.S.) at 15:07 to force a timeout by Stout's bench. The crowd erupted with chants of "U-W-S" in support of the home team during the break, but the Blue Devils scored the go-ahead goal just under 90 seconds later when Adam Kresl scored off a Yellowjacket turnover down to the left of the UW-Superior net. UW-Stout's Joe Anderson tacked on an empty net score in the closing minutes.

The Yellowjackets finished 1-for-5 with the man advantage while the Blue Devils were 2-for-7. Litchke had a game-high six shots for UW-Superior. Junior Bryce Fink (Tacoma, Wash./Keystone H.S.) made 18 stops between the pipes for the Yellowjackets, while Ahlgren had 22 saves for UW-Stout.

UP NEXT
UW-Superior will remain at home Saturday as the team continues WIAC play against the No. 4-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.