Most often, when a team gets three out of four points on a weekend, they are pretty happy.  That's not the case in Superior.  The 'Jackets came oh, so close to another weekend sweep, but a late UW-Stout goal forced them to settle for a 2-2 tie and three of four points on the weekend.

The 'Jackets (16-2-2, 7-2-1 NCHA) finished the weekend the same place they started it, in first place in the NCHA, holding a two-point lead over second place.  Coming into weekend play, three teams - St. Norbert, St. Scholastica and Stout - were tied for second place.  The Saints were the only team to stay on pace, and are now in sole possession of second, one point up on both St. Norbert and Stout.

The Blue Devils came into the game with a power play that was firing at nearly 25%.  They got three chances in the first period and capitalized on the third one, as former Yellowjacket Joel Gaulrapp scored his 12th of the year at 16:50 to make it 1-0.  Gaulrapp was camped off the right post and had a rebound come to him, and he poked it into the empty net with ease.

The 'Jackets got a power play early in the second period and drew some life off of it.  Their second man-advantage opportunity allowed them to tie the score.  Kevin Huck (Sr. Eden Prairie, Minnesota), who rang one off the pipe when firing at an open net on the earlier power play, got a rebound in the right circle and buried it in the open net this time to make it 1-1.  Off the face-off, Seth Reda (Sr. Palmer, Alaska) poked the puck out of a crowd into the right corner, got the loose puck, and fed Brian Bina (Jr. Grand Forks, North Dakota) coming down from the left point.  Bina's shot was stopped, providing Huck with the rebound to tie it at 14:47 of the second.

The home team took their first lead of the game in the third.  Eric Bausano (Sr. Laurium, Michigan) poked the puck out of the zone on the right wing to the neutral zone, where Braden Desmet (Jr. Strathmore, Alberta) picked it up and led the rush.  It was a 2-on-1 that developed into a 3-on-2 and Desmet pulled up inside the line and fed it to Bausano who took a shot from the right circle that beat Stout goaltender Matt Koenig to make it 2-1.  Rob Turville (Sr. Olds, Alberta) also assisted on Bausano's third of the year.  It looked like the 'Jackets were going to indeed get the win, but in the waning seconds and after several icing calls, they failed to clear the zone.  With an extra attacker on because of a pulled goaltender, Derek Hanson fed Scott Motz in front, who put a wrist shot home with 27.5 seconds to play in regulation that tied the game at 2-2.

Chad Beiswenger (Sr. Moorhead, Minnesota) was solid in the Yellowjacket net, making 38 saves, including two in the overtime.  Koenig made 40 saves for the Blue Devils.

The Yellowjackets took six penalties for 12 minutes and went 1-4 on the power play.  The Blue Devils took five for 18 minutes and were 1-6 with the man advantage.

The 'Jackets will now hit the road for their final regular season games away from Wessman Arena for 2008-09.  On Friday night, they will be at the Cornerstone Community Center to take on St. Norbert.  The two teams met back in November at Wessman, with the 'Jackets coming away with a thrilling 4-3 victory.  The CCC has not been the most hospitable place for opposing teams over the years, but the 'Jackets have had some success, just not of late for the most part.  The last time they won at the CCC was in the 2006 Peters Cup Finals, when they won 3-2 in overtime.  The last time they won there during the regular season was January 12, 2002.  The puck will drop on Friday, January 30 at 7:05 p.m. and can be heard live locally on KUWS 91.3 FM, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 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.