STEVENS POINT, Wis.: You have to feel for the Yellowjacket men's hockey team. Saturday they went into one of the toughest environments in college hockey, UW-Stevens Point's K.B. Willett Arena. The Yellowjackets entered the game needing a victory to keep pace with both the Pointers and UW-Eau Claire, who occupied the top two places in the WIAC standings.
 
And as time ticked away in the third, it looked they would get that much-needed two points, that is until the Pointers scored twice in the final 1:11 of regulation to get the 3-2 victory.
 
With the loss, the Yellowjackets (12-6-3, 5-6-0 WIAC) are now winless in their last six games (0-4-2) and have fallen to third place in the conference standings. They are tied with UW-River Falls, but own the tiebreaker by way of a win over the Falcons December 6. The Yellowjackts and Falcons are set to play a pair of games next week.
 
The fortunes of the Yellowjackets turned with 4:33 to play in the third period when Jonny Pace (Hamilton, Ontario/Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School) was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind. The length of the penalty and the timing ensured the Pointers would finish regulation play and start overtime with the man advantage.

It wouldn't get that far.
 
Zach Zech scored the tying goal with 1:11 to play, lifting a writst shot from in tight over the glove of Yellowjacket goaltender Nick Althaus (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo) to make it 2-2. Then with just 15.8 to play in the game Carter Roo scored unassisted to give the Pointers the win.
 
Althaus, who was making his first collegiate start Saturday, was very good in goal, finishing the night with 38 saves. Unfortunately, he took his second straight loss and saw his record fall to 0-2-0.
 
The Yellowjackets opened the scoring at 13:10 of the first period when Artur Terchiyev (Kiev, Ukraine/Everst Academy) scored on the first of just two Yellowjacket power plays in the game. Terchiyev crept down from the right point and wristed a low shot past Pointer goaltender Eli Billing to make it 1-0. It was the sixth goal of the year for Terchiyev.
 
The joy didn't last long, however, as the Pointers came back to tie it just 26 seconds later when Ryan MacKellar scored on a wrist shot from the right circle.
 
It stayed 1-1 until the third period when the Yellowjackets took their second lead of the night. Austin Friesen (Winnipeg, Manitoba /Glenlawn Collegiate School) started the play, moving a pass up the left wing to Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet), and the speedy freshman broke past a defender and had his initial backhand stopped, but while prone on the ice he swept at the loose puck and poked it home for his 10^th of the year, giving the 'Jackets the 2-1 edge.
 
The Yellowjacket penalty kill had been perfect all night, killing off five Pointer power plays, but killing off a major was too much to withstand once the Pointers pressed for the equalizer late. They pulled Billing for a two-man advantage, tying the game and setting the stage for the late second heroics.
 
The crucial two-game series with River Falls starts Thursday at Wessman Arena and continues Saturday at Hunt Arena in River Falls.