ASHLAND, Wis. – With the semester break on the horizon, the Yellowjacket men's hockey team finds itself playing its best hockey of the season.
 
After a 6-0 win over Northland College at Wessman Arena Thursday, the Yellowjackets and LumberJacks met again Saturday, this time on Northland's home ice. The venue may have changed, but the result was much the same.
 
For the second game in a row the Yellowjackets scored multiple goals in every period and rolled to an 8-1 win over Northland Saturday night at the Bay Area Civic Center.
 
Coupled with other results from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Saturday, the Yellowjackets (8-3-1, 5-1-0 WIAC) have moved into sole possession of first place in the conference at the break, sitting one point ahead of second-place UW-Eau Claire.
 
Austin Paul (Saint-Lazare, Quebec/École Secondaire du Sommet) scored a pair of goals for the Yellowjackets, while Zach Lussier (Brossard, Quebec/College Charles-Lemoyne) had a goal and two assists to lead the way offensively.
 
Junior Jan Skorpik (Brandýs nad Labem, Czechia/OA Prague) got the start in goal for the Yellowjackets Saturday and finished with 25 saves. His record improved to 2-1-0 on the year.
 
Game Notes

• The eight-goal output was the most by a Yellowjacket team since Nov. 17, 2018, when they also scored eight times in an 8-1 win over Finlandia.
• Despite the big output, it was Northland that opened the scoring, getting a goal from Logan Gallagher just 4:54 into the game.
• The Yellowjackets answered when Paul scored his second goal in as many games, taking a feed in the slot and tying the game 1-1 at 7:26.
• Justin Dauphinais (Val Caron, Ontario/École Secondaire Catholique Horizon) found the back of the net at 10:48, taking a centering pass from Lussier and putting the second attempt home to make it 2-1.
• Dauphinais has now scored a goal in five straight games and equaled his goal output from his freshman season.
• Just 1:50 into the second period Reed Stark (Suffern, N.Y./Douglas County West) took a feed in the left circle and put a shot past Northland goaltender Dakota Meyer to make it 3-1.
• Stark has scored goals in four straight and now leads the Yellowjackets with eight on the season.
• At 3:14 of the second Ikki Kogawa (Chiba, Japan/Collingwood Collegiate Institute) made a perfect pass at the goalmouth to Collin Pederson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) who deposited it in the back of the net for his second of the year to increase the lead to 4-1.
• The much-maligned Yellowjacket power play finally broke through at 13:21 of the second when Chris Ishmael (Oakville, Ontario/Abbey Park Secondary School) go a rebound at the top of the goal crease to make it a 5-1 game.
• Paul scored his second of the game at 2:37 of the third, dangling his way out of the left corner and waiting out the goaltender before slipping it past Meyer.
• Lussier scored his first collegiate goal at 4:56 of the third, getting a centering pass from Stark and burying it from between the circles.
• The Yellowjackets closed out the scoring with a power play goal at 15:43 when Logan Nickerson (East Haddam, Conn./West Haven) banged a loose puck in from the left of the net to make the final score 8-1.
• Nickerson's goal was the first of his collegiate career.
• Kogawa finished the game with three assists and had a five-point weekend.
• The Yellowjackets had a strong game on special teams, going 2-for-8 on the power play and killing off all four shorthanded situations.
• For the second game in a row the Yellowjackets surpassed the 40-shot mark, outshooting Northland 43-26.
• The Yellowjackets had 14 players record at least one point on the night.

The Yellowjackets return to action Friday, Jan. 3 when they will take on Fitchburg State University in the opening game of the 59th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament, hosted by UMass-Boston. The opening faceoff is set for 3 p.m. CST at the Edward T. Berry Ice Rink.
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