MENOMONIE, Wis. – Friday night, the hockey gods smiled on the Yellowjacket men's hockey team. After a disappointing first 40 minutes, the Yellowjackets turned things on in the third period, tying the game late before earning a win over UW-Stout in overtime.
Saturday, with the teams squaring off in the second game of their weekend series, the Yellowjackets had zero intention of waiting that long to step on the gas.
The Yellowjackets were wide awake from the opening faceoff Saturday, turning in another stellar defensive effort and scoring timely goals on the way to a 4-1 win over UW-Stout Saturday at the Fanetti Community Center.
With the victory, the Yellowjackets stayed atop the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) standings, owning a three-point advantage over UW-Stevens Point. And it just so happens the Yellowjackets (18-3-2, 11-1-1 WIAC) and Pointers will meet in the final series of the regular season of the year next weekend at Wessman Arena.
The win also means the Yellowjackets can finish no lower than second place in the conference, earning them a bye in the first round of the WIAC Tournament.
Reed Stark (Suffern, N.Y./Douglas County West), who assisted on both Yellowjacket goals Friday, scored a pair of third period goals Saturday, helping the Yellowjackets seal the win and extend the team's unbeaten streak to 15 games.
In goal,
Kobe Grant (Vernon, British Columbia/South Kamloops Secondary) got the start and earned the win, turning aside 23 shots to improve to 6-1-2 on the season.
Game Notes
- After a scoreless first period the Yellowjackets opened the scoring at 4:27 of the second when Chris Ishmael (Oakville, Ontario/Abbey Park Secondary School) picked the top corner from the left circle to make it 1-0. The power play goal was Ishmael's fifth of the year.
- Less than two minutes later the Yellowjackets extended the lead. Logan Nickerson (East Haddam, Conn./West Haven) broke into the Stout zone and from the right circle beat goaltender Tyler Masternak between the pads for his fourth of the season at 6:10.
- Stout got on the board early in the third when Maksis Brimanis scored at 3:40.
- The Yellowjackets answered 59 seconds later when Stark scored his first of the game, beating Masternak from point-blank range to make it 3-1.
- Stout took a penalty late in the third and pulled the goaltender for an extra attacker, but the Yellowjackets broke the press and Stark scored his second, hitting the empty net at 19:49 to ice the game.
- With his goals Stark tied Justin Dauphinais (Val Caron, Ontario/École Secondaire Catholique Horizon) for the team lead with 12 goals.
- Carson Riddle (Ortonville, Mich./Brandon) had two assists Saturday and has multi-point games in two of the last three outings.
- UWS outshot Stout 30-24.
- The Yellowjackets converted on 2-of-4 power play chances.
- The 15-game unbeaten streak the Yellowjackets are on is the third-longest in program history.
The Yellowjackets will host UW-Stevens Point Friday, Feb. 14 at Wessman Arena for the first game of a two-game weekend series. The games will determine who will be the WIAC regular season champion and the top seed in the WIAC Tournament. The opening faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
