EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – For the Yellowjacket men's hockey team, the job that had to be done Saturday was pretty simple.

Following Friday's loss to UW-Eau Claire to open their WIAC semifinal playoff series, the Yellowjackets had to follow the same script as last weekend. They needed to win. Twice.
 
A win in Saturday's regulation game meant the 2022-23 season would still be alive, and force a mini-game to determine who would win the series. A tie or a loss, and the campaign would come to a close.

Just like Friday, the Yellowjackets carried the play in the second and third periods, but in the end the Blugolds proved to be too much, winning the game 3-0 to complete the weekend sweep at the Hobbs Ice Center in Eau Claire.
 
With the loss, the Yellowjackets closed out the season with a record of 15-12-2.
 
The Blugolds carried the play in the first period, outshooting the Yellowjackets 14-3 and hemming them in their zone for stretches, but in the early going the Yellowjackets had their chances to move in front. On a power play, MacGregor Sinclair(Irma, Alberta/Irma School) rang a shot off the crossbar. The carom ended up in the right circle, and Colton Friesen (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Dakota Collegiate) rattled his shot off the post, and the game stayed scoreless.
 
In the second period the Yellowjackets were more assertive offensively, and midway through the frame, after a Charles Martin(Blainville, Quebec/École internationale Lucille-Teasdale) shot was stopped, Jordan Guiney (Victoria, British Columbia/Belmont Secondary School) was denied on a chance that would have broken the deadlock.
 
Late in the period, the Yellowjackets killed off a penalty, but before the penalized player could re-enter the play, Eau Claire capitalized, and it was the newest Yellowjacket nemesis that did the damage. Ty Readman got the puck on the right wing and centered to Leo Bacallao in the slot, who beat Yellowjacket goaltender Dylan Meilun (Morden, Manitoba/Morden Collegiate Institute) to score the eventual game winning goal at 16:39, making it 1-0.
 
It stayed that way until late in the third period. Sammy Martel forced a turnover in the neutral zone and sped away on a breakaway. At the hash marks he lifted a shot over Meilun's glove, making it 2-0 at 15:37. In the final minute, Martel drove the nail into the Yellowjackets' coffin, scoring a shorthanded goal into the empty net with 20 seconds to play, making the final score 3-0.
 
After being outshot in the first, the Yellowjackets held an edge in shots on goal of 17-13 in the final two periods. For the game, Eau Claire outshot the Yellowjackets 27-20.
 
Meilun, who was pulled Friday after allowing three goals on 14 shots, got the start Saturday and was sharp. He finished the game with 24 saves.
 
The game was the final game for a number of Yellowjacket seniors. The 2023 senior class includes:
 
Nick Althaus (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo)
Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest)
Conor MacLean (Wilcox, Saskatchewan/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame)
Charles Martin (Blainville, Quebec/École internationale Lucille-Teasdale)
Ty Proffitt (Fairbanks, Alaska/Fairbanks BEST)
MacGregor Sinclair (Irma, Alberta/Irma School)
John Stampohar (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids Senior)
Sam Sterne (Batavia, Ill./Batavia)
Bradley Stonnell (Surrey, British Columbia/Tamanawis Secondary School)