SUPERIOR, Wis. – The mini-game. One of the things that is exclusive to NCAA Division III hockey is the mini-game. In some leagues, in the event a playoff series is tied after two games, the teams are dispatched to their dressing rooms, and 15 minutes they reappear to play a 20-minute "game" that will decide the winner of the series.

They're great if you win them, awful if you lose them, and there's quite possible no worse way to decide a playoff series.

After a disappointing loss to Northland College Friday night, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team found itself in the position where it had to win twice on Saturday to keep their season alive and advance to the semifinals of the WIAC tournament.
 
Definitely not the easiest way to do things, but to those in attendance at Wessman Arena Saturday, it certainly ramped up the excitement.
 
Friday night the Yellowjackets were flat, but they were anything but on Saturday. The Yellowjackets came out with significantly more jump Saturday, and controlled the game from start to finish on the way to a 3-0 win over Northland, forcing a mini-game which the Yellowjackets won 1-0.
 
Despite a significant territorial advantage, it was anything but easy for the Yellowjackets (15-10-2). Northland goaltender Chris Curr was the best player on the ice Saturday, and he made the Yellowjackets work for both of their wins.
 
The only goals that got past Curr Saturday came on the power play, and both served as game winners.
 
The Yellowjackets opened the scoring Saturday night midway through the first period. C.J. Walker (Boise, Idaho/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) had the puck in the right circle and made a brilliant pass to a breaking MacGregor Sinclair (Irma, Alberta/Irma School), who redirected the puck past Curr, making it 1-0 at 10:29. The goal was Sinclair's team-leading 11th goal of the season.
 
In the second period the Yellowjackets had chances galore, outshooting Northland 20-7 in the frame, but Curr was outstanding, thwarting one chance after another to keep the LumberJacks in the game. Colton Friesen (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Dakota Collegiate) hit a post, while Gavin Rasmussen (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior), Chris Ishmael (Oakville, Ontario/Abbey Park Secondary School) and Antonio Di Paolo (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Humboldt Collegiate Institute) all had point-blank opportunities that Curr handled.
 
The onslaught continued in the third period, as the Yellowjackets outshot Northland 13-2, but Curr continued to keep it close. Curr was pulled for an extra attacker late and the Yellowjackets finally got the breathing room they needed. With just 1:05 to play a Northland defender misplayed the puck near his goal and Matt Francois (Denver, Colo./Grandview) poked it home for his third of the year, making it 2-0.
 
Then, at 19:34, Walker scored his 10th of the year, also into the empty net, to make the final score 3-0.
 
The Yellowjackets outshot Northland 49-12 in the game, with Dylan Meilun (Morden, Manitoba/Morden Collegiate Institute) making all 12 saves to improve to 12-2-2 on the year and secure his sixth shutout of the campaign.
 
Following the win, the teams went to the locker room while the mini-game was prepped. Yellowjacket head coach Rich McKenna decided to make a pair of lineup changes, inserting Austin Paul (Saint-Lazare, Quebec/École Secondaire du Sommet) and Reed Stark (Suffern, N.Y./Douglas County West), while Northland rolled with the same lineup as they did in the regulation game.

Friday night, the Yellowjackets lacked discipline at times, but that wasn't the case Saturday. In the mini-game, they stayed out of the box, while Northland took a pair of penalties, and the Yellowjackets capitalized on the power play.
 
Di Paolo, who was back in the lineup after not playing Friday, passed to Zach Bannister (Grande Prairie, Alberta/St. Joseph Catholic) on the right side, and as he moved to the slot Bradley Stonnell (Surrey, British Columbia/Tamanawis Secondary School) slid down to the left circle. Bannister put it right in the wheelhouse, and Stonnell one-timed a rocket past Curr to put the Yellowjackets in front, 1-0.
 
It was the only goal the Yellowjackets would need, as they clamped down again on defense, limiting Northland to just six shots, and taking the mini-game 1-0.
 
Individual statistics from the mini-game do not count, and the victory doesn't count in the team record. The mini-game is only used for the purpose of breaking a playoff tie.

With the wins, the Yellowjackets now advance to the WIAC semifinals where they will take on UW-Eau Claire in a two-game series. The opener will be Friday, Feb. 24 at the Hobbs Ice Center in Eau Claire. The opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.