MOORHEAD, Minn. – A win is a win. It's a sentence uttered anytime a team wins a game where they don't bring their best performance. Then there's the phrase "winning ugly," a reference to a victory that isn't exactly aesthetically pleasing.
 
There's winning ugly, and then there's what the Yellowjacket men's hockey team accomplished Saturday.
 
On the road at Concordia College, the Yellowjackets came out flat and fell behind early. Twice in the second period they took the lead, and twice they allowed the Cobbers to tie. In the end it was an ugly all-around performance, but in the end the 'Jackets did what they needed to do to win.
 
With 4.5 seconds to play in overtime, Charles Martin (Blainville, Quebec/École internationale Lucille-Teasdale) found Zach Bannister (Grande Prairie, Alberta/St. Joseph Catholic) with a perfect centering pass, and the sophomore buried a one-timer from the left circle to give the Yellowjackets a 4-3 win over Concordia at the Moorhead Sports Center.
 
The win was the second in a row for the Yellowjackets (8-4-2, 4-2-1 WIAC), marking just the second time this season they have won back-to-back games. The win also extended the Yellowjacket unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2).
 
It was also a rarity. Saturday's win was the first for the Yellowjackets in Moorhead since Nov. 23, 2011. But in the early going, it looked like it was going to be another tough outing at Concordia.

The Cobbers carried the play early in the game, getting the first seven shots on goal and opening the scoring at 7:04 of the first period. Tyler Bossert opened the scoring, putting a wrist shot between the pads of Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) to make it 1-0.
 
Near the midpoint of the period, the Yellowjackets finally got their first shot on goal and slowly started to find their legs. They tied the game with 1:40 to go in the first period when Troy Quinn (Nepean, Ontario/St. Paul's Catholic) scored his first collegiate goal, snapping a shot from the left circle into an open net on the power play. Artur Terchiyev (Kiev, Ukraine/Everest Academy) assisted.
 
Early in the second, the Yellowjackets took their first lead of the day. Sam Sterne (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) scored his second of the year, taking a shot from the left point that beat the Concordia goaltender up high at 5:36. Jordan Martin (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) and Ty Proffitt (Fairbanks, Alaska/Fairbanks BEST) assisted.
 
But the lead didn't last long. Just 22 seconds after Sterne's goal Concordia tied it, with Mason Plante scoring just off the left post to make it 2-2.
 
Later in the period, the Yellowjackets again pulled in front. Austin Friesen (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Glenlawn Collegiate School) took a one-timer from the left point that was tipped by a defender, and the puck dropped to the right of the goal where Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior) scored his team-leading 10^th of the year to give the Yellowjackets a 3-2 lead at 11:05 of the period.
 
Once again the Cobbers came back to tie. At 16:27 of the second Plante struck again, scoring his second of the game in nearly identical fashion to his first, making it a 3-3 game after two periods.
 
After a scoreless third period, the teams headed to overtime. Both teams had chances, with the Cobbers trapping one Yellowjacket trio on the ice for more than two minutes, but they were unable to take advantage of an exhausted group of players. Following a stoppage and a line change, the Yellowjackets rushed up ice and Bannister beat the clock, giving the 'Jackets their first overtime win of the season.
 
Hektor was solid again in goal while earning his fifth win of the year. He finished the game with 36 saves.
 
Special teams again came through for the Yellowjackets. The power play went 1-for-2, and the 'Jackets have now scored at least one power play goal in six straight. On the other side the Yellowjackets killed off all three Concordia chances. The 'Jackets have now killed off 33 of the last 34 shorthanded chances against.
 
The Yellowjackets will be back in action Friday, Jan. 14 when they host St. Scholastica for the third meeting of the season between the two teams. The opening faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. at Wessman Arena.