Saturday's match-up between the Yellowjackets and St. Scholastica received more billing and more hype than likely any Division III hockey game in Twin Ports history.  It was to be a clash of titans, a battle between 2008-09 Division III powerhouses.  Two teams at the top of the standings in the NCHA, both fighting to gain the top spot in the West Region.  It was a big game, one that down the line could carry big playoff implications.

And unfortunately for the Yellowjackets and their faithful, only one team showed up and played like it.  St. Scholastica dominated the game from the opening face-off to the final buzzer.  Start to finish, top to bottom, front to back, any way you sliced it, the Saints outdid the Yellowjackets and came away with an impressive 7-2 win before a capacity crowd at Mars-Lakeview Arena on Saturday night.

The loss halts the 'Jackets unbeaten streak at 15 games, while the win stretches St. Scholastica's winning streak to ten games, their longest such streak since the 1970's.  The convincing win should give St. Scholastica a big boost toward becoming the number one team in the nation in this week's USCHO Division III men's poll.

The Saints opened the scoring at 4:42 of the first period when Joey Martini scored his tenth of the year to make it 1-0.  Martini broke into the slot on the rush and let a shot go that beat Chad Beiswenger (Sr. Moorhead, Minnesota) low.  Then it was time for the A.J. Tucker show to begin.  Tucker scored his first goal of the game on the power play at 12:53 to make it 2-0.  The Saints took a shot from out high that was stopped.  They then crashed the net and converged on top of the crease, pounding away at the loose puck.  It squirted free to the left of the goal and Tucker poked it home for his eighth of the year.  Two minutes later they made it 3-0 as Jordan Chong was left alone in front and capitalized for his 11th of the year.

The dominant first period put enough distance between the Saints and the 'Jackets that the outcome wasn't in doubt the rest of the way.  They made it 4-0 early in the second period.  Again on the power play, Tucker deflected a point shot from Dustin DeGagne from the right of the net past Beiswenger at 1:02 of the period.  The 'Jackets were finally able to break through at 3:08.  Kevin Huck (Sr. Eden Prairie, Minnesota) skated in on the left side, forced the Saints defense to back off, looked off the goaltender and let a backhand go that beat Saints' goaltender Steve Bounds high on the glove side to make it 4-1.  Tyler Fletcher (Jr. Calgary, Alberta) and Josh Seifert (Jr. Superior, Wisconsin) assisted.  The joy was short-lived for the 'Jackets, however, as the Saints answered less than a minute later.  The Saints held the puck in the Superior zone on the left side.  A feed was made into the slot to Tucker, who while falling threw the puck toward the goal and it somehow eluded Beiswenger to make it 5-1.  Tucker's hat trick goal came at 4:02.  The 'Jackets would once again close the gap to three goals with a power play goal at 10:40.  They showed great patience in the offensive zone, during a four-on-three advantage.  Logan Isley (So. Bonnyville, Alberta) fed a pass from the right circle to the high slot, where Chris Wilson (Jr. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) let a shot go that beat Bounds low on the stick side to make it 5-2.  It was Wilson's 11th goal of the year.

In the third, the Saints extended their lead some more.  Tucker scored his fourth of the game, and 11th of the season at 10:22 to make it 6-2.  Later, at 17:19, Jeremy Dawes walked out of the left corner, untouched, and went around Beiswenger, beating him high on the glove side to make the final 7-2.

The game was relatively penalty free, with the exception of a stretch midway through the third period when tempers on both sides flared and nine penalties were called.  In the game, the 'Jackets took 11 penalties for 38 minutes, while the Saints took 12 penalties for 32 minutes.  The 'Jackets went 1-7 on the power play, while St. Scholastica was 2-5.

Saints goaltender Steve Bounds was fantastic in goal, making all the saves he had to make and some that he shouldn't have.  He finished with 36 saves.  Beiswenger, meanwhile, played arguably the worst game of his four-year career with the Yellowjackets, finishing with 25 saves.

The Yellowjackets (15-2-1, 6-1-0 NCHA) return home next weekend for a pair of games, something that hasn't happened since late November.  Their first opponent will be UW-River Falls.  The Falcons (8-9-1, 2-5-0 NCHA) dropped a pair of games this weekend, including a 3-2 decsion to UW-Stout on Friday.  Game time on Friday night is 7:05 p.m. and can be heard live locally on KUWS 91.3 FM, with the pre-game show beginning at 6:40 p.m.  If you are outside the local listening area, you can tune in via the Internet at www.kuws.fm.  Jon Garver will have the call.

Friday night is also "Black Out Friday" at Wessman Arena.  All fans in attendance are encouraged to wear black to the game.