MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn.: The great Yogi Berra is famous for his different quips and sayings, and one of, if not the most famous is, "it's like déjà vu all over again."
 
Saturday night the Yellowjacket men's hockey team held a 3-2 lead in the third period at Gustavus, only to surrender a late goal and settle for a 3-3 tie. Sunday afternoon, the script unfolded similarly, with the Yellowjackets getting the go-ahead goal early in the third period at St. Thomas. And just when it looked like the 'Jackets were going to get the win - déjà vu.
 
St. Thomas was the recipient of a heaping helping of puck luck, scoring a fluke goal in the final minute of the third period to force overtime. And despite some great chances in the extra session, the Yellowjackets couldn't net the winner and for the second day in a row settled for a 3-3 tie.
 
The Yellowjackets (12-2-3, 5-2-0 WIAC) outshot the Tommies 8-0 in the overtime, but St. Thomas goaltender Cam Burgrabbe came up big when his team needed him most to salvage the draw.
 
In the first period, however, the show was on the other foot. The Yellowjackets came out flat, getting outshot 15-4. Starting goaltender Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) was rock solid, keeping things close while the Yellowjackets found their footing.
 
St. Thomas broke through first when Spencer Zwiener scored, beating Hektor over the shoulder from the right circle to make it 1-0.

Late in the frame the Yellowjackets drew even. Conor MacLean (Wilcox, Saskatchewan/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) got the puck on the right board and centered to Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) and he buried his seventh of the year to tie the game at 1-1 with under a minute to play. With the assist MacLean reached 10 points for the year, making him the 11th Yellowjacket this season to reach double-digit points.
 
The Yellowjackets came out looking like a different team in the second period, peppering Burgrabbe with shots, but the St. Thomas goaltender was equal to the task. Then at 5:45 the Tommies regained the lead when Johnny Panvica scored from the right circle to make it 2-1.

But just as they did in the first, the Yellowjackets drew even late in the period. Pavel Mikhasenok (Yekaterinburg, Russia/Everest Academy) started the play, sending a perfect pass from the left wing to the right of the St. Thomas goal, and Bruno Birzitis (Riga, Latvia/Riga Distance Education Secondary) converted the feed, lifting his third of the year over Burgrabbe with 1:45 to play, tying it at 2-2.
 
Just 2:52 into the third the Yellowjackets took the lead for the first time. Troy York (Plano, Texas/West) tipped a pass to Liam Blais (Uxbridge, Ontario/Uxbridge Secondary), and the senior made no mistake, wiring his fifth of the year past Burgrabbe from the right circle, and just like that it was 3-2. With the assist York extended his point streak to nine games.
 
Right after the announcer made the call that the period was in its final minute, the Tommies, who had pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, tied the game. Panvica had the puck in the left corner and threw it toward the net. The puck deflected off a Yellowjacket defender and up over the shoulder of Hektor to send the game to overtime.
 
Both goaltenders were on top of their game Sunday. Hektor, whose record is now 4-0-3 on the year, finished the game with 32 saves. At the other end, Burgrabbe finished with 35 stops.
 
Sunday closed the non-conference portion of the schedule for the Yellowjackets. They will carry a nine-game unbeaten streak (6-0-3) into next weekend's WIAC series at UW-Eau Claire.