The University of Wisconsin Superior jumped out to an early lead and held through a rough-and-tumble third period, defeating Bethel University 4-1 at Wessman Arena on Saturday night.

UW-Superior (6-11-1) scored twice in each of the first two periods, taking a 4-0 lead before the Royals scored in the closing moments of the second period on the powerplay. Bethel would get no closer as the two goaltenders shut the door in the third period. The Yellowjackets picked up their second consecutive victory in Superior, surviving a third period that saw the teams combine for 45 minutes of penalties including a pair of 10-minute misconduct penalties and a game misconduct penalty assessed to Bethel (1-12-2).

Senior Anton Svensson (Sodertalje, Sweden/Igelstavikens Gymnasium) scored the team's second and third goals of the day, good for his eighth of the season. He got an assist on each goal from sophomore Jared Dedenbach (Warren, Mich./Fargo South H.S.) while sophomore Viktor Sallhag (Vasteras, Sweden/Wenströmska Gymnasium) added a helper on the first of Svensson's two scores. Freshman Tanner Skaja (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech H.S.) also added a two-point day, scoring the first goal of his Yellowjacket career at 5:29 of the opening period, assisted by senior Eric Shand (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas H.S.). After Svensson's scores at 8:10 of the first and 11:33 of the second, Skaja added a helper on freshman Jake Hamilton (Decatur, Ill./Nequa Valley H.S.)'s first of the season at 11:58 of the second. Freshman Liam Blais (Uxbridge, Ont./Uxbridge Secondary) also added an assist on UW-Superior's final score.

Bethel got on the board at 18:30 of the second period, when Jeff Flicker re-directed a pass out front on the powerplay with assists from Tyler Mros and Dallas Marvin. The Royals finished 1-for-3 with the man advantage. The Yellowjackets were 0-for-7 on the powerplay. Junior Kyle Miller (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake H.S.) made 22 stops for UWS, while Joe Sheppard made 38 saves for the Bethel.

UP NEXT
The Yellowjackets will be off for ten days before UW-Superior welcomes conference rival the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to Wessman Arena for a non-conference match-up on Tuesday, January 24. The puck will drop between the Pointers and Yellowjackets at 7:05 p.m.