MENOMONIE, Wis. – There were playoff implications aplenty across the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Friday. Five of the six teams in the conference were still unsure where they would slot into the playoff seeding, meaning all three games would affect who would get a bye in the first round and who would have the quick turnaround with games Monday.
 
For the Yellowjackets, the golden road to the post-season went through the Fanetti Community Center in Menomonie, traditionally a difficult building for opposing teams. With a win Friday, the 'Jackets would assure themselves at least one home game in the WIAC Men's Hockey Championship. Pending results from other games, the Yellowjackets could have been seeded as high as No. 2, but no lower than No. 4. A loss would have dropped them back down into the No. 5 slot. A tie would have put them third or fourth.
 
Fortunately, for the Yellowjackets and their faithful, they took care of business, earning a 4-1 victory and completing the regular season with a sweep of UW-Stout.

Coupled with other results Friday and a final determination by the WIAC, the Yellowjackets (5-3-0, 5-3-0 WIAC) will enter the post-season as the No. 4 seed.
 
After a solid start to the contest, the Yellowjackets opened the scoring at 11:51 of the first period when David Kaplan (Vernon Hills, Ill./Bishop Eustace Prep) scored his first of the year to make it 1-0. Kaplan broke into the Stout zone on the right wing, circled the net and his wraparound attempt was too hard to handle for goaltender Zach Cloutier.
 
Stout came out flying in the second, getting the first four shots on goal and then tying the game at on a Steven Mordini wrist shot from the slot at 3:02 of the period.
 
The Yellowjackets, however, had a quick answer. Help was on the way in the form of Coltyn Bates (Brandon, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate), who just 19 seconds later got a loose puck at the top of the goal crease and poked it home to give the Yellowjackets a 2-1 lead. C.J. Walker (Boise, Idaho/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) and Jordan Martin (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) assisted.

Stout came out hard in the third period, applying pressure from the opening face-off, but the Yellowjackets eased that pressure and got some breathing room at 5:18 of the period. Artur Terchiyev (Kiev, Ukraine/Everest Academy) took a shot off the faceoff that was stopped by Stout goaltender Brennan Kitchen, but Chad Lopez (Arlington, Texas/University of Texas) got the rebound and rippled the netting to make it a 3-1 game.
 
Later in the third coincidental minors were called, then 25 seconds later the Yellowjackets went down another skater, giving Stout a 4-on-3 power play and giving Yellowjacket head coach Rich McKenna a touch of grey in his hair. But the penalty kill shut the door and preserved the two-goal lead.
 
The Yellowjackets bid everyone a good night with 1:36 to play when Lopez worked his way into the Stout zone, took a pass from Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) and put a backhand into the empty net to make the final score 4-1. For Lopez, it was his team-leading fifth goal of the year. For Johnson, meanwhile, it was his second assist of the game and fourth point of the week.
 
Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) made his second straight start in goal for the Yellowjackets and was rock solid, making 31 saves to improve to 2-0-0 on the year.
 
The Yellowjackets will host a first round game in the WIAC playoffs Monday, March 8. The opening faceoff against UW-Stout is set for 7:30 p.m. at Wessman Arena.

UW-Superior and Yellowjacket Athletics will follow the COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols recommended by the Douglas County Health Department. To conduct our events in the safest manner possible, spectators will not be permitted at UW-Superior home athletic events. Fans can follow the Yellowjackets through our online content provider, the iFan Sports Network. Fans can also listen to contests live on the radio home of Yellowjacket sports, 91.3 KUWS.