UW-Superior 4, Concordia 2

SUPERIOR, Wis. (December 29, 2017) – The Yellowjackets got a semifinal win in the first round of the Superior Showdown Friday night, besting the Concordia Cobbers by two goals.

The first seven minutes were rough and rowdy as both teams traded checks and shots. Superior would allow a Cobber power-play opportunity at 7:14 for holding, and then again at 8:33 for hooking, going down two men. The 'Jackets were able to fend off both power play attempts from the Cobbers, holding a 0-0 tie midway through the first period.

The 'Jackets would change that at 13:31 as Evgeny Yakovlev (Belgorod, Russia) scoring his second of the season on an assist from Colton Nelson (Hershey, Pa./Edmond North) and Ian Ecklund (Twig, Minn./Proctor) to take a 1-0 lead on the Cobbers.

The Yellowjackets soon found their own power-play opportunity at 14:03 for Concordia interference with the goalie. Ecklund took advantage of short-handed Concordia, scoring from Alec MacKenzie (Ottawa, Ont./École Secondaire Garneau) and Andrew Durham (Plano, Texas/Plano East) at 15:59, going up 2-0 after one.

Concordia came out firing in the second, as Mark Huneke scored at 3:14 to cut the 'Jacket lead to just one. Brandon Barillaro (Alexandria, Ont./Holy Trinity Catholic) wanted that two-goal lead back, scoring his first goal in a Yellowjacket uniform at 5:10, on a rebounded puck in the killzone. Pavel Mikhasenok (Yekaterinburg, Russia/Everest Academy) and Nicholas Klishko (San Diego, Calif./Capistrano Connections Academy) were credited with assists on the play.

The second period finished with shots on both sides, as the teams were nearly identical in shots-on-goal: Superior 22, Concordia 19. The period ended again with a two-goal Yellowjacket lead.  

The third period's action wasn't until the final two minutes. The Cobbers pulled their goalie at the 2:28 after a Yellowjacket penalty, forcing a 3-6 advantage, and getting a goal. The 'Jackets again wanted that two-goal win, as Daniel Litchke (Superior, Wis./Superior) fired a puck from the middle of the blue line to hit the empty-netter, assisted by MacKenzie and Jake Hamilton (Decatur, Ill./Nequa Valley), to secure the semifinal victory.

The shots were almost identical at the final horn, as the Yellowjackets produced 28 to the Cobbers 27. Cole Skinner (Lunenberg, N.S./Parkview Education Centre) provided another solid 60 minutes between the pipes, making 25 saves.

With the win, the 'Jackets advance to the Superior Showdown Championship tomorrow night, facing the Marian Sabres at 7:05 p.m.