SUPERIOR, Wis. - Friday night the Yellowjacket men's hockey team was playing its second exhibition game in three days against Northland College - a final tune-up before the regular season starts for good. After winning 3-0 Wednesday in Ashland, the Yellowjackets were back on home ice for the first time since February 22, 2020, looking to build momentum in advance of the February 3 opener against Northland in Ashland.

And build momentum they did.

Seven different players scored goal and 15 skaters earned at least one point as the Yellowjackets rode a big third period to a 9-3 at Wessman Arena.

With the Superior nursing a 4-3 lead early in the third and Northland dialing up the pressure, the 'Jackets scored four times in a span of 3:29 to put the game away. In total, the 'Jackets scored five times in the third.

The first period was as entertaining as you'll see as the teams came out and pushed the pace to the level of frantic. The Yellowjackets had an extended stretch in the offensive zone where they put numerous shots on goal, only to be denied time and again by Northland starter Viktor Wennberg. The 'Jackets took three straight penalties and the penalty kill came through in fine style, while also opening the scoring.

A fortunate bounce gave the Yellowjackets a two-on-zero break, and Ty Proffitt (Fairbanks, Alaska/Fairbanks BEST), who also scored the first goal on home ice last season, slid a backhand between Wennberg's pads to make it 1-0 at 13:28 of the period. Northland had a quick answer, however, as Brendan Charlton beat Yellowjacket goaltender Nick Althaus (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo) up high to tie the game just 21 seconds later. The Yellowjackets took the lead for good in the final minute of the first period when Charles Martin (Blainville, Quebec/École internationale Lucille-Teasdale) scored a brilliant power play goal, skating down the left wing and from a sharp angle beating Wennberg up high with 43.8 seconds to go in the frame.

The Yellowjackets got another power play early in the second, and once again they converted to open up a two-goal lead. Off a faceoff Martin moved the puck from the left point to the right and Pavel Mikhasenok (Yekaterinburg, Russia/Everest Academy) blasted a one-timer past Wennberg to make it 4-3 at 4:09. The eventual game-winning goal came just 1:21 later as Troy MacTavish (Kanata, Ontario/Earl of March) drove the net and picked up a rebound of a C.J. Walker (Boise, Idaho/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) shot to push the score to 4-1. But once again Northland answered, this time with Daniel Aspro rifling a shot from between the circles past Althaus to pull the Lumberjacks to within 4-2 at 6:25.

It stayed that way until the Lumberjacks closed the gap to one just 1:34 into the third. Brandon Holt took the shot from th left that got past Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) and suddenly it was 4-3.

But from there it was all Yellowjackets.

Chad Lopez (Arlington, Texas/University of Texas) made it 5-3, stickhandling in tight from the left circle and beating Taylor Unruh. Less than a minute later the 'Jackets held the offensive zone and David Kaplan (Vernon Hills, Ill./Bishop Eustace Prep) whistled a wrist shot from the left circle past Unruh, pushing the lead back up to three at 6-3.

Moments after the sixth goal the Yellowjackets were given a five-minute power play when a Northland player was assessed a major for elbowing, and they added two more with the man advantage. Lopez picked up his second of the game at 8:03 to make it 7-3. Connor Hamonic (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) followed with a blistering shot from the left circle at 8:58 push the lead to five. Then late in the period Hamonic closed out the scoring, netting his second of the game at 16:47 to make the final 9-3.

MacTavish had a three-point night, adding two assists in addition to his goal. Freshman Zach Bannister (Grande Prairie, Alberta/St. Joseph Catholic) had a three-assist game, and senior Troy York (Plano, Texas/West) chipped in a pair of assists.

Special teams played a significant role, with the Yellowjackets going 4-of-6 on the power play and killing off all five shorthanded chances.

Althaus got the start and made nine saves on 11 shots in 29:42 of play. Hektor went the rest of the way and made 11 saves on 12 shots.

The regular season will get underway Wednesday when the Yellowjackets take on Northland at the Bay Area Civic Center in Ashland. The opening faceoff is set for 7:00 p.m.