Yellowjackets 2, Stevens Point 2
STEVENS POINT, Wis.: Friday night the Yellowjacket women's hockey team was looking for a couple things. They entered the night's game at UW-Stevens Point looking to snap a six-game losing streak. In the process, they were hoping to get a win and leapfrog over the Pointers into third place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as their conference season came to a close.
And in the early going things looked good, but it didn't stay that way.
The Yellowjackets scored the first two goals of the game, but the Pointers countered by scoring the last two as the teams skated to a 2-2 tie in overtime at Icehawks Arena in Stevens Point.
The tie gives each team a point, meaning the Yellowjackets will finish the 2018-19 season in fourth place in the WIAC and will be on the road in the first round of the conference tournament next weekend. Their opponent is still to be determined.
The Yellowjackets jumped out to the lead early when freshman
Rachel Garland (Windsor, Colo./Colorado Connections Academy), on an assist from
Molly Shelton (Pine Island, Minn./Pine Island) scored her second goal of the year to put the Yellowjackets ahead 1-0. Garland's goal came at 6:34 of the first period.
Early in the second period the Yellowjackets extended the lead. Just 20 seconds into the frame
Megan Dulong (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) started the play and
Jenna Curtis (Webster, Wis./Webster) finished it, picking up her seventh goal of the year to make it a 2-0 game. The goal tied Curtis for second on the team in lamplighters this season.
It didn't stay that way for long, however, as the Pointers worked their way back into the game.
Cara Lemirande got the Pointers on the board with a power play goal at 8:56 of the middle frame to cut the Yellowjacket lead in half. The Pointers tied the game at 13:35 of the second when Alana Achterkirch scored to tie the game 2-2.
With the game tied through 40 minutes, the Yellowjackets entered the final period knowing they needed the victory to gain a better playoff position in the standings. They played one of their strongest periods of the season, and in the process outshot Stevens Point 11-8, but that wasn't enough as neither team was able to score in the final period and they went to overtime. The Yellowjackets outshot the Pointers 2-1 in the overtime session, but in the end they would be forced to settle for the tie and each team getting a point.
McKenzie Whalen (East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks) made her seventh appearance and fifth start of the season in the game and finished the night with 29 saves. The Yellowjackets outshot the Pointers 38-31.
The Yellowjackets and Stevens Point will have to wait to find out where they will open the 2019 WIAC playoffs, as the top seeds, UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire will play each other Saturday, February 16. Stay tuned to www.uwsyellowjackets.com for the latest updates on the Yellowjacket women's hockey playoffs.
