SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Subway Superior Showdown is in its sixth year in 2023, and for the Yellowjacket men's hockey team, its own tournament has been anything but a walk in the park. Not once in the first five years have the Yellowjackets won their own event. Only twice have they managed to make it to the championship game – they dropped the inaugural final to Marian in 2017, and in 2019 they tied Marian in the final before losing in a shootout.

Speaking of Marian, the Sabres have essentially owned the tournament, winning the title four of the first five times. Coincidentally, Marian was the Yellowjacket opponent to open this year's event.
 
And after tonight's game, there will be a new Subway Superior Showdown champion.
 
The Yellowjackets scored twice in the first period and made the goals stand up, holding on for a 2-1 win over the Sabres Friday night at Wessman Arena.
 
With the win the Yellowjackets (8-6-0, 5-2-0 WIAC) have now won three straight games and have victories in seven of their last eight. The 'Jackets also improved to 5-2-0 for the year on home ice.
 
Marian came out strong to open the first period, and the momentum was aided when the Yellowjackets took a penalty just 1:13 into the game. The Sabres didn't score, but the power play fueled a strong start, as they outshot the Yellowjackets 6-1 early.
 
Following the media timeout the Yellowjackets came to life, and opened the scoring at 13:03. Frank Dovorany (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) got the puck at the blue line, and with a lot of traffic in front sent a wrist shot past Marian goaltender Aaron Brunn for his first collegiate goal. Collin Pederson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna Senior) got the assist.
 
Less than two minutes later the Yellowjackets increased the lead. C.J. Walker (Boise, Idaho/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) got the puck in the slot and Brunn denied his shot, but he left a rebound loose to the left of the net and Jordan Guiney (Victoria, British Columbia/Belmont Secondary School) pounced on it, burying his third of the year to give the 'Jackets a 2-0 lead. Matthew Danziger (Potomac, Md./University of Nebraska High) also assisted on the play.
 
In the second period the Yellowjackets got their first power play of the game and nearly extended the lead. Walker hit the post on a one-timer from the left circle, while Pederson and Justin Dauphinais (Val Caron, Ontario/École Secondaire Catholique Horizon) were stopped from point-blank range.
 
At the end of the period, a series of penalties resulted in Marian getting an extended power play early in the third, and that's where the shutout bid ended. Nick Cherkowski was on the receiving end of a tic-tac-toe passing play, and from the right post slipped a power play goal home, cutting the Yellowjacket lead in half.
 
From there each team had chances to put more goals on the board, but the scoring was done and the Yellowjackets held on for the win.
 
Jan Skorpik (Brandýs nad Labem, Czechia/OA Prague) got the start in goal and was tremendous Friday, finishing the game with 31 saves to improve to 3-0-0 on the year.

The Yellowjackets now advance to the Subway Superior Showdown title game, where they will meet Twin Ports rival St. Scholastica. The Saints, who are unbeaten and the No. 2 ranked team in the country, opened the tournament with a 5-2 win over the University of Dubuque. The Yellowjackets and Saints will tangle for the second time this season Saturday, with a 7:05 p.m. faceoff at Wessman Arena.