SUPERIOR, Wis. – Throughout the 2021-22 season, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team has been masterful when it comes to preventing losing streaks. Four times this season the 'Jackets followed up a loss with a win.
Last Saturday, a loss to UW-Eau Claire snapped an unbeaten streak of eight games and a winning streak of five games, and also forced the Yellowjackets to once again perform in order to prevent back-to-back losses.
Wednesday night, in a game that was supposed to be played next week, the Yellowjackets played host to St. Scholastica, a team they had already beaten twice during the season. The 'Jackets won in a 7-0 rout Oct. 30, and later defeated the Saints 5-1 in the third-place game of the 2021 Superior Showdown.
Things weren't that easy this time around.
The Yellowjackets jumped out to an early lead and then fell behind before scoring a pair of goals early in the third on the way to a 4-3 win over St. Scholastica at Wessman Arena.
Things looked good early on for the Yellowjackets (12-5-2, 5-3-1 WIAC), as they scored twice when the game was barely half a period old to take the early lead.
Artur Terchiyev (Kiev, Ukraine/Everest Academy) opened the scoring, picking up his fifth goal of the season when he snapped a shot from the hash marks over the right shoulder of St. Scholastica goaltender Jack Bostedt to make it 1-0.
Reed Stark (Suffern, N.Y./Douglas County West) and
Coltyn Bates (Brandon, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) assisted.
A little good luck helped the Yellowjackets increase the lead at 11:19. The puck bounced off the end boards and came to the right of the goal, where
Zach Bannister (Grande Prairie, Alberta/St. Joseph Catholic) took a shot from a sharp angle, banking it off Bostedt to give the 'Jackets a two-goal lead.
The Yellowjacket penalty kill has been spectacular throughout the season and came into the game ranked fourth in NCAA Division III. That won't be the case after this one, as the Saints scored their first two goals on the man advantage.
Michael Talbot got the Saints on the board, taking a shot from the left circle that snuck under the pad of Yellowjacket goaltender
Nick Althaus (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo), cutting the Superior lead to 2-1 with 2:31 to go in the second period.
Early in the second the Saints pulled even. Tyler Hinterser got the puck to the right of the Yellowjacket goal and banked a shot in off Althaus to make it 2-2. The Saints then took the lead for the first time at 16:18 of the second when leading scorer Arkhip Ledenkov buried a one timer from the right circle, and it was 3-2 Saints after two.
The Yellowjackets started the third period on the power play, and even though they didn't convert, it gave them the fuel they needed to come from behind.
Just as a 4-on-3 power play concluded the Yellowjackets pulled even.
MacGregor Sinclair (Irma, Alberta/Irma School) moved the puck to the left circle and
Charles Martin (Blainville, Quebec/École internationale Lucille-Teasdale) ripped a one timer into the net before Bostedt could move from his left to his right. Martin's second goal of the year came at 1:07 of the third, tying the game 3-3.
Jordan Martin (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) also assisted.
Two minutes later the Yellowjackets moved ahead for good.
Stark moved into Saints territory and took a shot from the left wing that was stopped, but he stayed with the play and got his own rebound, netting his seventh of the year at 3:06 of the period to make it a 4-3 game. For Stark it was his third game-winning goal of the campaign. Bates and
Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior) assisted.
The Saints put on a furious rally in the closing minutes, but the Yellowjacket defense held to preserve the win.
Althaus, making his first appearance in goal since Nov. 23, finished the game with 21 saves to improve to 2-1-0 on the year. The Yellowjackets outshot the Saints 30-24 in the game.
The Yellowjackets are back in action Wednesday, Feb. 2 when they travel to K.B. Willett Arena to take on UW-Stevens Point. The opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.
