SUPERIOR, Wis. – Things haven't been easy for the Yellowjacket men's hockey team so far in 2022-23. The Yellowjackets opened with the No. 1 team in the nation, and the next night had to rally for a win after falling behind by a pair of goals in the second period.
 
Tuesday night the Yellowjackets faced another tall task, hosting Augsburg at Wessman Arena. The Auggies, despite entering play Tuesday with an 0-1-1 record, are the No. 5 team in the country. No doubt, Tuesday presented another difficult test for a young Yellowjacket squad.
 
The Yellowjackets, behind the goaltending of freshman Dylan Meilun (Morden, Manitoba/Morden Collegiate Institute) kept things close, but the early Augsburg onslaught was too much to overcome. Augsburg scored three times in the first 6:15 on the way to a 5-2 win over the Yellowjackets.
 
The Yellowjackets (1-2-0, 0-0-0 WIAC), after playing three at home to open the season, will now hit the road for the next three games.
 
Augsburg opened the scoring just a minute into the game, poking a loose puck in the goal crease home to make it 1-0. The Auggies scored on a rebound at 4:38 to make it 2-0, and extended the lead to 3-0 with an unassisted wraparound at 6:15.
 
That spelled the end of the night for starter Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest), who gave way to Meilun after allowing three goals on six shots.
 
Less than a minute after the change the Yellowjackets got on the board. John Stampohar (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids Senior) made a perfect pass up the seam to Reed Stark (Suffern, N.Y./Douglas County West), and Stark capitalized, ripping a shot from the left circle past Augsburg goaltender Sam Vyletelka to make it 3-1 at 7:03.
 
The Yellowjackets closed the gap even more at 10:16. Freshman Chris Ishmael (Oakville, Ontario/Abbey Park Secondary School) got the puck in the slot and wired a shot over the shoulder of Vyletelka to make it a one-goal game.
 
Despite significant offensive pressure, thanks to the goaltending of Meilun the score stayed 3-2 until the third. The Auggies moved ahead by two, 4-2, at 12:20 when the puck pinballed around the front of the Yellowjacket goal and eventually snuck between the pads of Meilun.
 
Augsburg closed out the scoring at 14:21 of the third, when a puck came from the left corner and banked off Meilun, making the final score 5-2.
 
Meilun finished the game with 28 saves on 30 shots in relief of Hektor, who took the loss and now sits at 0-2-0 for the year. The Yellowjackets were outshot 36-17 in the game.
 
The Yellowjackets are back in action Friday when they travel to Blaine, Minn. to take on Bethel. The opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Schwann's Super Rink.