ASHLAND, Wis. – One of the great traditions in hockey is having a player keep the puck when they score their first goal at a particular level. In two of the first three games of the 2021-22 season, the Yellowjackets had two players notch their first collegiate goals and leave the building with a souvenir.
 
Tuesday night, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team opened the conference portion of the 2021-22 season on the road, taking on Northland College. Once again, a pair of Yellowjackets collected souvenir pucks for their first collegiate goals, but in the end, it was a sharp-shooting veteran who has scored many times during his first two-plus seasons leading the way offensively.
 
For the second game in a row Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior) scored a pair of goals, and on this night added an assist as the Yellowjackets defeated Northland 5-2 for their second win in a row.
 
Johnson's junior season is off to a great start, as the Yellowjackets' leading scorer has four goals and six assists for ten points through the first four games. In his career, Johnson is averaging more than a point per game, scoring 21 goals and 23 assists for 44 points in 41 contests.
 
The Yellowjackets (3-1-0, 1-0-0 WIAC), who have made a habit of scoring early and often this season, opened the scoring just 2:39 into the game Tuesday when Matt Francois (Denver, Colo./Grandview) got a loose puck in the slot and lifted it over the shoulder of Northland goaltender Viktor Wennberg to make it 1-0.
 
The lead didn't last long, however, as Northland tied the game just 36 seconds later.
 
At 16:20 of the first the Yellowjackets moved in front for good. Johnson scored his first of the night, ripping a shot from the right point over Wennberg's glove for a power play goal, making it 2-1. Artur Terchiyev (Kiev, Ukraine/Everest Academy) assisted.
 
Then in the final minute of the period the Yellowjackets increased the lead. Coltyn Bates (Brandon, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) found a puck in the goal mouth and scored his second of the year to make the score 3-1. Bates finished off the play started by Johnson and Chad Lopez (Arlington, Texas/University of Texas).
 
Northland carried the play in the second and scored the only goal of the frame, taking advantage of a bad Yellowjacket line change and scoring on a 2-on-1 at 8:10 of the period, pulling to within 3-2.
 
The score remained 3-2 until the later stages of the third period. Johnson scored his second of the night at 13:17, wiring a shot from the left circle past goaltender Chris Curr, who came on in relief of Wennberg after the first period, increasing the lead to 4-2.
 
Then, with 4:03 to play the Yellowjackets closed out the scoring when Zach Bannister (Grande Prairie, Alberta/St. Joseph Catholic) finished off a pretty passing play, sliding the puck into a wide open net to make the final score 5-2. For Bannister, the power play marker was his first collegiate goal.
 
The Yellowjackets went 2-for-4 on the power play and were a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Shots on goal also favored the Yellowjackets, 37-31.
 
Nick Althaus (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo) made his first start of the season in goal for the Yellowjackets and made 29 saves. His record on the year is now 1-0-0.
 
Next up for the Yellowjackets is a trip to the Hobbs Ice Center in Eau Claire, where they will take on the Blugolds in WIAC play. The opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19.