SUPERIOR, Wis. – The final weekend of the 2024-25 regular season has arrived for the Yellowjacket men's hockey team. With their performance throughout the year, the Yellowjackets have put themselves in a position where they will finish in the top two and earn a bye in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
 
Their opponent on the final weekend, UW-Stevens Point, found itself in a similar situation. The Pointers, through their performance across the schedule, will also finish in the top two and earn a bye in the WIAC tournament.

The question is, who between the Yellowjackets and the Pointers will win the WIAC regular season title and hold the top seed when the tournament begins. Entering play Friday, the Yellowjackets held a three-point lead on the Pointers and needed two points to win the title. The Pointers, on the other hand, need five of the six points to win the crown.
 
And after day one, it's safe to say that both teams control their own destiny.
 
UW-Stevens Point scored twice in the first period and built a 3-0 lead halfway through the game on the way to a 3-1 win over the Yellowjackets Friday at Wessman Arena.
 
The result sets the stage for Saturday, where the winner of the game will win the WIAC title.
 
It was a tough loss for the Yellowjackets (18-4-2, 11-2-1 WIAC), who were defeated for the first time since Nov. 30 and saw their 15-game unbeaten streak come to an end.
 
Fletcher Anderson did the bulk of the damage for Stevens Point, scoring both first-period goals and assisting on the goal in the second to lead the offense.

The Yellowjackets, meanwhile, had a hard time getting on track and got their only goal from Gavin Rasmussen (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) on a power play in the third period.
 
Kobe Grant (Vernon, British Columbia/South Kamloops Secondary) started in goal for the Yellowjackets and was lifted after one period, allowing two goals on 12 shots. He was relieved by Jack Boschert (Florissant, Mo./Duchesne), who stopped 13-of-14 shots in relief.
 
Game Notes

• Anderson's first goal came on an individual effort, where he worked his way through the Yellowjacket defense and beat Grant on the glove side.
• Anderson got his second with 1:13 to go in the first when he got position on the Yellowjacket defense and slapped a puck past Grant.
• Stevens Point extended the lead at 10:05 of the second when Andrew Poulias scored on a one-timer from the left circle, beating Boschert high while the Pointers were on a 4-on-3 power play.
• The Yellowjackets played a strong third period and broke through at 9:42 when Chris Ishmael (Oakville, Ontario/Abbey Park Secondary School) and Ikki Kogawa (Chiba, Japan/Collingwood Collegiate Institute) worked the puck from the right side to the left and Rasmussen banged a puck from the left of the goal home for his third of the year.
• Stevens Point outshot the Yellowjackets 26-22.
• The 15-game unbeaten streak was the third-longest in program history.
• Friday's loss was the first time the Yellowjackets lost on a Friday, falling to 9-1-1.
• Friday's game was also the first time this season that the Yellowjackets didn't play with a lead or tied at all in the third period.

The Yellowjackets and Pointers will play for the WIAC championship Saturday at Wessman Arena. The opening faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
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