SUPERIOR, Wis. – The 2024-25 version of the Yellowjacket men's hockey team has shown it has no problem going beyond 60 minutes to decide a game. Heading into Friday, the Yellowjackets had gone to overtime four times in 17 games, or 23.5 percent of their games. Three times the Yellowjackets were victorious, and once they settled for a tie before winning in a shootout.
 
UW-River Falls could say the same thing. Coming into Friday, the Falcons had a 2-3-0 record in overtime through 17 games, meaning they went to the extra session in 29.4 percent of their games this season.
 
Using this information, nobody in attendance at Friday's matchup of the two longtime rivals should have been surprised that nothing was decided in 60 minutes. Twice in the game the Yellowjackets had a lead, and twice River Falls had an answer, and in the end, nothing was decided as the team's skated to a 2-2 tie at Wessman Arena.
 
River Falls earned the additional point in the standings, winning the shootout 1-0.
 
The tie snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Yellowjackets (13-3-2, 6-1-1 WIAC), who after getting one point in the standings sits in a tie for first place in the conference with UW-Stevens Point.
 
UW-Superior's top line was on point Friday, scoring both goals for the Yellowjackets. Reed Stark (Suffern, N.Y./Douglas County West) opened the scoring just 28 seconds into the game, but River Falls answered just 1:19 later. Then in the third Justin Dauphinais (Val Caron, Ontario/École Secondaire Catholique Horizon) broke the tie, but again River Falls responded, scoring just 3:46 later.
 
Kobe Grant (Vernon, British Columbia/South Kamloops Secondary) made the start in goal for the Yellowjackets, making 23 saves. His record for the year stands at 5-1-2.
 
Game Notes

• Tyler Ryder (Byron Center, Mich./Northstar Christian Academy) took a pass at the left point from Daniel Rozsival (Chicago, Ill./North Shore Country Day), faked around a defender and slid a pass to the slot where Stark redirected it past River Falls goaltender Brennan Boynton 28 seconds into the game to make it 1-0 The goal was the team-leading 10th of the year for Stark.
• River Falls tied it when a multitude of players drove the net, crashing into Grant and pushing him, and the puck over the line at 2:47. Owen Belisle was credited with the goal.
• Early in the third period the Yellowjackets moved back in front when Dauphinais got a rebound off the left post and kept batting away at it until it flipped over Boynton's pad and into the net for his ninth goal of the year. Gavin Rasmussen (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) and Liam Whitehouse (Mount Kisco, N.Y./Horace Greeley) assisted.
• River Falls would again have an answer, this time at 9:58 when Jonny Meiers took a shot from the right circle that beat Grant low.
• The Yellowjackets drew a power play late in the game that carried over into the third period, but they were unable to capitalize.
• Arsenii Smekhnov scored in the opening round of the shootout, and the goal would stand up to give River Falls the extra point in the standings.
• Ikki Kogawa (Chiba, Japan/Collingwood Collegiate Institute), Gavin Watt (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia/Auburn) and Rasmussen were the shooters for the Yellowjackets.
• The tie marked the first time this season the Yellowjackets failed to win on a Friday. Their record for the day now stands at 7-0-1.
• Ryder led the Yellowjackets with six shots on goal, followed by Whitehouse who had five.
• The Yellowjackets have had a lead in the third period in 17 of their 18 games this season and have been tied in the third period in every game.
• The tie snaps the Yellowjackets' nine-game winning streak, which goes in the books tied for the third-longest winning streak in program history.
• The Yellowjackets are now unbeaten in their last 10 games (9-0-1), tying them for the seventh-longest unbeaten streak in program history.

The Yellowjackets and Falcons will play the second game of their weekend series Saturday night at Wessman Arena. The opening faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
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