DULUTH, Minn. – If Saturday's season opener for the Yellowjacket men's hockey team is any indication, buckle up folks. The 2023-24 season is going to be a dandy.

The opening act of the campaign featured a wild back and forth contest between the Yellowjackets and St. Scholastica at Mars-Lakeview Arena in Duluth. The Yellowjackets dug themselves a massive hole, only to climb out during a wild third period, only to fall back in at the end.
 
St. Scholastica scored a pair of shorthanded goals in the final four minutes on the way to a 6-4 win over the Yellowjackets Saturday night.
 
It was essentially a tale of three different games for the Yellowjackets (0-1-0, 0-0-0 WIAC), but as a whole the game was about as entertaining an opening act as one could ask for.
 
The game's pace was frantic in the opening minutes, with the Yellowjackets having the better opportunities early. Newcomer Frank Dovorany (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) rattled one of the post in the opening minutes, and Reed Stark (Suffern, N.Y./Douglas County West) was denied a goal on a partial breakaway.
 
St. Scholastica would get the break they needed to open the scoring at 10:19 of the first period. Filimon Ledenkov created an odd-man rush and sent a feed from the right circle across to the left and Carsen Richels put it into the wide-open net to make it 1-0.
 
In the final minute of the first the Saints extended the lead. Hunter Hanson received a perfect saucer pass in the slot and his shot beat Yellowjacket goaltender Jan Skorpik (Brandýs nad Labem, Czechia/OA Prague) with 42 seconds left in the period for a 2-0 CSS lead.
 
Things went from bad to worse for the Yellowjackets before the period was done. With just 21 seconds remaining, Jordan Guiney (Victoria, British Columbia/Belmont Secondary School) was assessed a five-minute major for checking from behind, a penalty that carried over into the second period.

That's when the Saints moved in front 3-0. Some pinpoint passing led to Tristan Shewchuk burying a shot from the right of the goal for his first of the year. Then at 11:08 of the period it went to 4-0, as Alec Severson's shot eluded the glove of Skorpik.

The fourth CSS goal spelled the end of the evening for Skorpik, who allowed four goals on 18 shots. Kobe Grant (Vernon, British Columbia/South Kamloops Secondary) came on in relief and went the rest of the way in goal.
 
The goaltending change allowed the Yellowjackets to hit the reset button, and they were able to break through before the frame ended.
 
St. Scholastica turned the puck over just inside the Yellowjacket blue line, and Tyler Ryder (Byron Center, Mich./Northstar Christian Academy) chipped it past a defender to spring Dominic Murano (Milwaukee, Wis./Whitefish Bay) on a breakaway. The sophomore made no mistake, wristing a shot past the Saints goaltender on the stick side, making it 4-1 at 16:21.
 
Then in the third, things got interesting.

Early in the period the Yellowjackets cut the deficit in half. Dusty Bergstrom (Pine City, Minn./Pine City) got the puck on the left win and centered for Daniel Rozsival (Chicago, Ill./North Shore Country Day), and his wrist shot beat Saints goaltender Jack Bostedt on the glove side to make it 4-2 just 2:41 in. Justin Dauphinais (Val Caron, Ontario/École Secondaire Catholique Horizon) also assisted.
 
Minutes later, a Saints player collided with Yellowjacket goaltender Grant, and the ensuing melee resulted in seven different players receiving penalties, and the Yellowjackets heading to the power play.
 
Newcomer Blake Holmes (Apple Valley, Minn./St. Thomas Academy) got the puck at the bottom of the left circle and tucked a shot past Bostedt at 7:56, bringing the Yellowjackets to within a goal at 4-3. C.J. Walker (Boise, Idaho/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) and Boone Mathison (Tomah, Wis./Tomah) assisted.

From there it was a steady stream of players heading to the penalty box. At one point, St. Scholastica had seven players in the box, while the Yellowjackets had four. With the benches shortened, the Yellowjackets took advantage and eventually tied the game.
 
Terry Ryder (Byron Center, Mich./Byron Center) got the puck in the high slot and touched a pass to Bergstrom, who skated into the left circle and wired a shot past Bostedt, tying the game 4-4 with 6:28 to go.
 
The 'Jackets had a golden opportunity to take the lead for the first time in the game when the Saints again went shorthanded late, but CSS was the team that capitalized. Brodie Girod got the puck on the right wing, chipped it past a Yellowjacket defender and went in on a breakaway. His shot beat Grant, and the Saints regained the lead, 5-4, with 3:26 to go.
 
CSS would then add an empty net goal that was also shorthanded in the final minute, making it a 6-4 contest.
 
The comeback took Skorpik off the hook, and Grant was the goaltender charged with the loss. His record is 0-1-0 after stopping 12-of-13 shots faced in 28:32 of game time. At the other end, Bostedt made 30 saves to get the win. The Yellowjackets outshot the Saints 34-32.
 
Next up for the Yellowjackets is a contest at Augsburg, Friday, Nov. 3. The opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m.