DULUTH, Minn. – One of the longest standing rivalries for the Yellowjacket men's hockey team is the College of St. Scholastica. One-time conference foes, the Yellowjackets and the Saints regularly play each other at least once per season. And aside from a stretch for the bulk of the 1990s, the series has been as close as any in the annals of 'Jacket hockey history.
The latest chapter in the rivalry was written Friday, with the teams squaring off for the 145th time, and as has been the case many times over, Friday's game was a thriller.
The Yellowjackets started strong, dominating the first period, only to see St. Scholastica come back strong and carry the play in the second. It was back and forth in the third before the Yellowjackets scored late to upend the Saints 2-1 at MARS Lakeview Arena.
Justin Dauphinais (Val Caron, Ontario/École Secondaire Catholique Horizon), who moments before had a point-blank scoring opportunity, redirected a centering pass past St. Scholastica goaltender Eino Rissanen with just 1:04 to play, putting the Yellowjackets in front. The goal held up despite a furious St. Scholastica rally over the final minute, allowing the Yellowjackets (2-0-1) to remain unbeaten early in the campaign.
In the net,
Jack Boschert (Florissant, Mo./Duchesne) made his second start of the year Friday and improved to 2-0-0, turning aside 29 shots, including 26 over the final two periods.
Game Notes
- The Yellowjackets carried the play in the first, outshooting the Saints 17-3, but Rissanen was strong in goal, keeping in scoreless.
- St. Scholastica opened the scoring with a power play goal at 9:57 of the second period as Braden Panzer tipped a shot past Boschert to make it 1-0.
- The Yellowjackets have now given up the first goal in all three games.
- Late in the second period the Yellowjackets pulled even when Evan Axell (Plymouth, Minn./Armstrong) snapped a shot from the blue line through a screen and past Rissanen on the stick side to make it 1-1 with 2:27 left in the second.
- Axell started the play that led to the game winning goal, getting the puck on the right board and, from the corner, centered to Dauphinais, who got his stick free and at the top of the goal crease, redirected the puck past Rissanen on the short side for his first of the year.
- It was the second straight multi-point game for Axell, who currently leads the team in scoring with two goals and two assists.
- Ikki Kogawa (Chiba, Japan/Collingwood Collegiate Institute) assisted on both goals for the Yellowjackets.
- Friday's win was the 92nd all time for the Yellowjackets against St. Scholastica.
It's a quick turnaround for the Yellowjackets, who are back on the road Saturday they take on Bethel. The opening faceoff is set for 3 p.m. at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn.
