SUPERIOR, Wis.: For the second time in three seasons, the Yellowjacket men's hockey squared off against Marian in the championship game of the Superior Showdown. In 2017, Marian ran roughshod over the Yellowjackets on the way to a 6-1 win and the inaugural title.

Things would be a little bit different this time around.
 
The Yellowjackets won the special teams battle and got a pair of timely goals from Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet), the second coming with just 37.1 seconds to play in regulation to salvage a 4-4 tie in a thriller at Wessman Arena Sunday night.
 
Marian would be crowned as the champion of the Third Annual Superior Showdown, winning the post-game shootout 1-0.
 
With the tie, the Yellowjackets (9-2-1, 4-2-0 WIAC) saw their winning streak snapped at three games as they prepare to re-enter conference play next weekend.
 
So far, in 2019-20 the Yellowjackets were 9-0-0 when scoring first, and 0-2-0 when giving up the first goal. The second statistic would be more important Sunday, as Marian opened the scoring in the first period. Brett Radford picked up a rebound right in the Yellowjacket goal crease and scored to make it 1-0 at 10:30 of the first. The hole got deeper for the Yellowjackets when Blake Kleiner's shot from the right circle beat goaltender Oscar Svensson (Södertälje, Sweden/Haga Gymnasium) at 16:58.
 
Just as the announcer made the call that the first period was in its final minute the Yellowjackets broke the ice. Johnson took a pass from Chad Lopez (Arlington, Texas/University of Texas) in the left circle and rifled a shot past Marian goaltender Hunter Vorva for his fourth of the season to give some momentum back to the home team.
 
The Yellowjackets came all the way back in the first minute of the second period. Conor MacLean (Wilcox, Saskatchewan /Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) took the initial shot from the right circle that was stopped by Vorva, but Troy York (Plano, Texas/West) was right there to lift the backhand past the sprawled out goaltender to tie the game. York's seventh of the year came just 36 seconds into the period.

But as quickly as the 'Jackets tied it, Marian took it back.
 
Yuri Chernichko put Marian back in front at 5:34, and Nolan Ross made it 4-2 just seven seconds later, spelling the end of the night for Svensson, who was relieved between the pipes by Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest).
 
The Yellowjackets would saw into the Marian lead again late in the second. Down a man, the Yellowjackets produced an odd-man rush, and Lopez carried into the Marian zone before dropping a perfect past to Artur Terchiyev (Kiev, Ukraine/Everst Academy). From the right circle Terchiyev's shot was perfectly placed, beating Vorva and pulling the Yellowjackets to with 4-3 after two.
 
In the third the Yellowjackets had a pair of unproductive power plays in quick succession before going shorthanded themselves with just over three minutes to play. Over the next 89 seconds both teams would be called for penalties giving fans a rare glimpse at 3-on-3 hockey.
 
The Yellowjackets would get a player back as the game entered its final minute, putting them on the power play for the fourth time, and this was an opportunity they wouldn't squander. With the goaltender out for an extra attacker, Lawson McDonald (Rosetown, Manitoba/Northlands Parkway Collegiate) took the shot from the right point and Johnson got a stick on, deflecting it past Vorva to tie the game at 4-4.
 
In the overtime there were tense moments, as the Yellowjackets went shorthanded, but the penalty was perfect once again and the tie was preserved. The Yellowjackets killed off all five power plays against them and went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
 
Hektor finished the game as the goalie of record, making 18 saves in relief. His record on the year now sits at 2-0-1.
 
The lone goal of the shootout came courtesy of Marian's second shooter, Gianni Vitali. He faked to his forehand before lifting a backhand over the shoulder of Hektor. York, Terchiyev and Johnson were all stopped by Vorva at the other end.