SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket men's hockey team entered play Saturday with a chance to move above the .500 mark. Just a few weeks ago, such a statement would have been inconceivable.
 
UW-Superior lost the first four games of the 2023-24 season, and after getting off the schneid with a win, they lost another to sit at 1-5-0. Since then, the Yellowjackets reeled off a four-game winning streak and looked to make it six wins in their last seven, hosting Northland at Wessman Arena.
 
The Yellowjackets swept a weekend series at Northland a couple weeks ago, but finishing off the regular season sweep of the LumberJacks was anything but easy.
 
After a scoreless first period the Yellowjackets scored twice in the second period and held on for a 3-1 win at Wessman Arena Saturday.

With the win, the Yellowjackets (7-6-0, 5-2-0 WIAC) have won two straight, six of their last seven, and head into the break in second place in the conference, trailing first-place UW-Stevens Point by two points while sitting three points clear of third-place UW-Eau Claire.
 
The Yellowjackets came out flat Saturday, playing a first period reminiscent of the opening frame when they played at Northland Nov. 25. The 'Jackets struggled to complete passes, establish a forecheck, and put together much in the way of scoring chance. Northland also found the going tough, but did string together several good chances in the first period and early part of the second period while on the power play. Only the stellar play of Yellowjacket goaltender Kobe Grant (Vernon, British Columbia/South Kamloops Secondary) kept the game scoreless.

That changed at 7:01 of the second period when Jordan Guiney (Victoria, British Columbia/Belmont Secondary School) got a loose puck at the right of the Northland goal and poked it past goaltender Viktor Wennberg to put the Yellowjackets in front. C.J. Walker (Boise, Idaho/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) and Troy Quinn (Nepean, Ontario/St. Paul's Catholic) assisted on the goal.
 
Minutes later the Ryder brothers teamed up to help the Yellowjackets increase the lead. Terry Ryder (Byron Center, Mich./Byron Center) started the play in his own zone, giving a pass to Tyler Ryder (Byron Center, Mich./Northstar Christian Academy) on the left wing boards, who skated into Northland territory and, from a sharp angle, put a shot past Wennberg on the short side to make it a 2-0 game. It was the first goal of the season for Tyler Ryder (Byron Center, Mich./Northstar Christian Academy), and it marked the first time the Ryder brothers have teamed up on a goal.
 
It stayed that way until the 7:24 mark of the third period when Kenny Styles took a centering pass from being the Yellowjacket net and beat Grant for his first goal of the year, butting the Yellowjacket lead in half, 2-1.
 
In thew waning minutes, Northland pulled Wennberg and the Yellowjackets iced the win. Walker got a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated in uncontested and put his second of the year into the empty net. The unassisted goal came with 19.9 seconds left and gave the Yellowjackets the winning margin of 3-1.
 
Grant, who has been the Yellowjackets' hard luck story of the first half, finished the game with 20 saves to earn his first collegiate win. His record for the year now stands at 1-5-0.
 
The Yellowjackets are back in action Friday, Dec. 29 when they will take on the University of Dubuque in their first game of the 2023 Superior Showdown, sponsored by Subway. The opening faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. at Wessman Arena.