UW-Superior 4, UW-Stout 2
SUPERIOR, Wis. (January 26, 2018) – In their second meeting of the season, a heated battle ensued between the conference opponents as the 'Jackets got their first WIAC win of the season over the UW-Stout Blue Devils.
The 'Jackets jumped out to an early lead, Ian Ecklund (Twig, Minn./Proctor) scored his 13th on the season, getting assists from Bruno Birzitis (Riga, Latvia/Riga Distance Education Secondary) and Tanner Skaja (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech) at 1:18 of the first. Superior then found an early power-play opportunity at 3:34 of the period, but the Blue Devils were able to kill. The tables soon turned as Stout was on the power-play attack, but a key clearout from Connor Hamonic (Winnipeg, Man./Vincent Massey Collegiate) would kill the attack and return Superior to full strength.
As the period continued, the game got physical. The teams would trade hits almost as frequently as shots until the 18:08 mark of the first when Andrew Durham (Plano, Texas/Plano East) was able to get the 2-0 advantage on assists from Ryan Carlson (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown) and Troy York (Plano, Texas/Plano West). Superior would hold a two-goal advantage after one.
The second period saw an active Blue Devil offense, getting up four shots early, while finally finding the back of the net at 6:43 of the second. Durham wanted the two-goal lead back as he was able to net his second of the game at 9:21 of the period, getting another assist from Carlson.
The second would end in a Stout power play, but the Yellowjackets' special teams were in full force, killing the play to hold a 3-1 lead on the Blue Devils.
The checks and shots conintued early in the third period, which provided an opening for the Blue Devils at 5:56 when Austin Jackson scored, cutting the Superior lead to just one goal. Stout would continue firing at the net, but Superior found their chance when the Blue Devils had two players in the penalty box, Daniel Litchke (Superior, Wis./Superior) scored on assists from Birzitis and Ecklund at 15:14 to put the Yellowjackets up 4-2.
The Blue Devils would pull their goalie in the final 1:07 of the game, but to no avail as the Yellowjackets took their first WIAC victory of the season.
Superior fell behind in both shots (19-16) and faceoffs (35-22) but it was their special teams who proved their worth in the win, holding off the Blue Devil attack.
Cole Skinner (Lunenberg, N.S./Parkview Education Centre) found his seventh win of the season, saving 19 pucks on the night.
Superior will continue their WIAC way tomorrow night as they play host to the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds at 7:05 p.m. in Wessman Arena.
