SUPERIOR, Wis.: Friday night, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team finished off a busy week on home ice. Following Saturday and Sunday, which saw the Yellowjackets finish as the runner-up in the Third Annual Superior Showdown, they jumped back into conference play, hosting Northland College at Wessman Arena. It marked the third time in the last five games the Yellowjackets were playing the Lumberjacks, and they were hoping to sweep the regular season series from the newest members of the WIAC.

And like the first two meetings between the two, the Yellowjackets scored first and never looked back, cruising to a 5-2 win. With the victory, the Yellowjackets (10-2-1, 5-2-0 WIAC) increased their lead in the conference standings to three points over second-place UW-Eau Claire. The win also matched the total posted by the Yellowjackets a year ago.

Northland came out fast, getting the first three shots on goal, but the Yellowjackets weathered the storm and took the lead before the game reached the five-minute mark. Martan Yelle (Geneva, Ill./Geneva), playing just his third game of the year, sent a pass from the right corner to Troy York (Plano, Texas/West) in the right circle, and the junior sniper made no mistake, wiring a shot over Northland goaltender Will McEwen's glove to make it 1-0. It was York's eighth goal of the season.

Minutes later the Yellowjacket penalty kill took center stage. Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) got tangled up with a Northland player, resulting a five-minute major for kneeing and giving the Lumberjacks a golden opportunity to tie the game. The killers did the job, limiting Northland to just four shots, and getting through the time unscathed.

Just over a minute after the penalty was killed off, the Yellowjackets increased the lead. David Kaplan (Vernon Hills, Ill./Bishop Eustace Prep) got the puck in the right corner and slid a pass out front to Chad Lopez (Arlington, Texas/University of Texas), who put home his sixth of the year, and with 2:08 to play in the first period the 'Jackets led 2-0.

The Yellowjackets came out flying in the opening minute of the second, but just over a minute in it was Northland who put one on the board. Ty Kraus finished off a beautiful passing play to cut the Yellowjacket lead in half at 1:38.

It stayed that way until the closing minutes of the second when the Yellowjackets struck twice in quick succession.

Johnson scored his third goal in the last two games at 16:25, taking the puck at the right of the goal and roofing a backhand over the shoulder of McEwen to make it 3-1. Then 1:18 later Andrew Durham (Richardson, Texas/Plano East) made it 4-1, snapping a shot from the left circle that deflected off a Northland defender and past McEwen. Jordan Martin (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) and Troy MacTavish (Kanata, Ontario/Earl of March) assisted on Durham's team-leading ninth goal of the year.

Northland wouldn't go away, however, and used a quick transition game and some precise passing to cut into the Yellowjacket lead. Cameron Coutre finished off the play, scoring his third of the year at 6:25 to make it a 4-2 game.

The Yellowjackets would close out the scoring at 11:36 of the final period. Ty Proffitt (Fairbanks, Alaska/Fairbanks BEST) had his original shot stopped, but the rookie stayed with the play and poked home his own rebound to make the final 5-2. Pavel Mikhasenok (Yekaterinburg, Russia/Everest Academy) and Colton Nelson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Edmond North) assisted on the play.

Friday night marked the fifth time this season the Yellowjackets eclipsed 40 shots in a game, as they outshot the Lumberjacks 45-25. Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) made his third start of the season for the Yellowjackets and improved his record to 3-0-1, finishing the game with 23 saves.