Finlandia 2, Yellowjackets 1

HANCOCK, Mich. (January 16, 2018) - After a strange contest with Hamline Saturday night, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team had a quick turnaround, as they returned to action Tuesday night against Finlandia. The Yellowjackets had already defeated Finlandia twice on the season, but this time was different. For the first time in the three meetings, the Yellowjackets were playing the Lions on their home ice, the Houghton County Arena, which is traditionally a difficult building for them to play in.

And on this night, the tradition continued.

The Yellowjackets (7-10-2, 0-1-1 WIAC) scored first in the contest, but the Lions countered with a pair of second-period goals and then held off the Yellowjackets to earn a 2-1 win.

Like Saturday, the Yellowjackets were given an early power play. They came up empty, but had three shots and multiple opportunities with the man advantage.

The score remained 0-0 through most of the period, a period that saw the Yellowjackets have a territorial advantage. That changed late, when the Yellowjackets opened the scoring at 18:53. Dylan Nelson (Clearwater, Minn./Annandale) got the puck at the blue line and took a wrist shot from the right point that escaped Finlandia goaltender Marcus Gloss, giving the Yellowjackets the 1-0 lead. Daniel Litchke (Superior, Wis./Superior) and Ian Ecklund (Twig, Minn./Proctor) had the assists on the play.

Finlandia got the equalizer at 3:47 of the second period when Blake Peavy scored on the power play, beating Yellowjacket goaltender Oscar Svensson (Södertälje, Sweeden/Åker) with a shot from between the circles. Then at 13:16 of the period the Lions took the lead for good. This time a Yellowjacket penalty had just expired but before the fifth skater could get back in the zone Avery Huibretgtse pounced on a rebound between the circle and beat Svensson to the stick side, making it 2-1.

That would be all of the scoring, but the Yellowjackets did have chances. Litchke had a shorthanded breakaway midway through the second period that was denied by Gloss. On the same shift Litchke had a partial break, but the tired wing couldn't pull away from the defense. In the third period Troy York (Plano, Texas/Plano West) had a chance at a breakaway, but he was unable to settle the rolling puck down in time to get a shot. York also hit two post in the game. As a team the Yellowjackets found the iron three times.

Svensson, making his first collegiate start, saw his record drop to 0-1-0. He finished the game with 21 saves, while Gloss made 30 stops at the other end.

Up Next: The Yellowjackets return home and return to conference play when they host UW-Stout at Wessman Arena Friday, January 26. Game time from Wessman Arena is set for 7:05 p.m.