MENOMONIE, Wis. – Wednesday night, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team avenged a loss earlier in the 2022-23 season to UW-Stout, and in the process, shut down the top goal-scoring team in the WIAC. After a day off, the Yellowjackets and Blue Devils would meet again in the second game of their split weekend series, and once again, the points were crucial.
 
For UW-Stout, they needed the three points to keep pace with the top teams in the conference. For the Yellowjackets, a win in regulation Friday would guarantee them a spot in the WIAC's top three and keep them firmly in the hunt for the conference championship.
 
And as is usually the case, everything will come down to the final weekend of the regular season, and for the first time in years, the Yellowjackets will control their own destiny.
 
The Yellowjackets scored twice in the third period to defeat UW-Stout 3-1 Friday night at the Fanetti Community Center, completing the weekend sweep of the Blue Devils.

With the win, coupled with other results around the WIAC, the Yellowjackets (14-7-2, 9-3-1 WIAC) now sit alone in first place in the conference, one point up on second place UW-Stevens Point and six points up on third place UW-Eau Claire. This means that entering the final weekend of the regular season, the worst the Yellowjackets could be is one point out of first place in the WIAC, setting the stage for the top two teams in the WIAC to meet in Superior next weekend.
 
It was apparent early that Friday's game was going to be another tight-checking, low-scoring affair. Then, the Yellowjackets were presented with a golden opportunity to break things open early.
 
Midway through the first period, UW-Stout was assessed a five-minute major for boarding, and although it took almost the full five minutes, the Yellowjackets capitalized on the power play.
 
Colton Friesen (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Dakota Collegiate), who hadn't scored since Dec. 29 against Gustavus, did the honors, taking a pass from MacGregor Sinclair (Irma, Alberta/Irma School) at the right post and putting a shot past Stout goaltender Brennan Kitchen to make it 1-0 at 15:24. The goal was the 10th of the year for Friesen, tying him with Sinclair for the team lead. Collin Pederson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna Senior) also assisted.
 
It stayed that way until early in the third period. Wednesday, Conor MacLean (Wilcox, Saskatchewan/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) set up the goal that gave the Yellowjackets a little bit of breathing room. On this night, the senior scored the goal that provided the breathing room.
 
Tyler Ryder (Byron Center, Mich./Northstar Christian Academy) created a turnover in the neutral zone, and in quick transition brought the Yellowjackets back into the Stout zone with numbers. Moments after being denied on a rebound at the top of the Stout goal crease, MacLean took a centering pass from Ryder and slipped a shot past Kitchen for his fourth of the year, making it 2-0 Yellowjackets with 15:04 to play.
 
Stout wasn't about to go away quietly, however, and cut the lead in half midway through the third period. The Yellowjackets lost track of Gunner Moore on a power play rush, and he redirected a shot from the slot past Yellowjacket goaltender Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest), making it 2-1 at 10:17 of the third.
 
After the goal, Stout continued to apply pressure, but the Yellowjacket defense didn't break.

Then, just like in Wednesday's game, the Yellowjackets sealed the deal with an empty net goal.
 
With 1:26 to play in the third, Gavin Rasmussen (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior) crossed the Stout blue line on the right wing and scored into the empty net, cementing the victory, and giving the Yellowjackets the series sweep.
 
Hektor, who has had some really hard luck in 2022-23, picked up the win, making 31 saves in the game, including 24 in the final two periods. His record on the year now stands at 3-5-0 on the year.
 
The Yellowjackets will close the regular season with a two-game series at home against UW-Stevens Point next weekend. The series will begin Friday, Feb. 10, with a 7:05 p.m. faceoff at Wessman Arena.