To the naked eye, Saturday's win at Lake Forest would appear to not mean very much.  After all, the 'Jackets sat atop the NCHA and the Foresters dwelled in the basement.  They were expected to win, so it shouldn't seem like a big deal.  But it was.  Before a sparse crowd at the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, the 'Jackets closed out the road portion of their 2008-09 schedule with a 5-2 over Lake Forest. 

With the win, the 'Jackets improved to 17-2-3 on the year, 8-1-2 in the NCHA and kept their slim one-point lead in the conference over St. Scholastica, who blanked St. Norbert 3-0 on Saturday.  The win also clinched home-ice in the first round of the playoffs for the 'Jackets, who will try to take a few more steps in locking up home ice beyond round one in the final three games.

But none of it came easy, as the 'Jackets needed a little luck along the way to get the victory.

For most of the first, the 'Jackets came out strong but couldn't get anything past Lake Forest goaltender Brandon Kohuch, who was strong throughout.  Then with three seconds left in the period, there was a face-off to Kohuch's left.  Seth Reda (Sr. Palmer, Alaska), a right-handed shot, went into the circle with the mission of putting a shot on net directly from the face-off.  It worked.  Reda drove the puck high and it beat Kohuch on the glove side to make it 1-0 with .3 seconds to go on the period.

The Foresters tied the game during a five-on-three power play.  Just 53 seconds into the second, Justin Taylor took a centering feed between the circles and let a wrist shot go that beat Chad Beiswenger (Sr. Moorhead, Minnesota) on the stick side to make it 1-1.  The score stayed that way for most of the period before the 'Jackets scored three times in the final six minutes.  Tyler Fletcher (Jr. Calgary, Alberta) gave the 'Jackets a 2-1 lead at 14:36.  After winning a battle on the right wing boards, Matt Wiest (So. Enchant, Alberta) raced up the wing and let a shot go from the right circle.  Kohuch made the save and kicked the rebound to the left of the goal.  Fletcher got a stick on it and poked it between Kohuch's pads for his fourth goal of the year.  Talon Berlando (So. Drumheller, Alberta) also assisted.  Moments later the 'Jackets got the eventual game-winning goal.  The play started when Ryan Kuntz (Sr. Regina, Saskatchewan) held the zone at the blue line and played the puck to Berlando down low.  Berlando's shot was stopped, but again Kohuch kicked out a rebound to the left.  Chris Wilson (Jr. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) streaked out of the left wing corner and lifted the rebound over a sprawled Kohuch to make it 3-1.  It was Wilson's 12th goal of the year, which ties him for the team lead.  The 'Jackets would add one more before the end of the period, and it would again come in the final second.  Heading on the power play, there was again a face-off to Kohuch's left with three seconds left in the period.  Berlando won the draw to Wilson at the right point.  Wilson spotted Logan Isley (So. Bonnyville, Alberta) to the left of the goal and he let a shot go over Kohuch to make it 4-1 at 19:59.  The goal actually came with .5 seconds left.

In the third, the Foresters got back to within 4-2 when Adam Love scored on a rebound to Beiswenger's left.  The power play goal came at 10:29.  But minutes later, Isley added his second of the game and eighth of the season to make it 5-2.  Berlando and Wilson assisted on the goal at 12:36.

Berlando ended up with four assists in the game, while Wilson had a goal and two assists. 

The 'Jackets only got credit for 27 shots in the game.  The Foresters played a strict trapping system, basically having four players in the neutral zone at all times and not allowing the 'Jackets to create anything offensively for the most part.  Still, the people tracking shots were generous to the home team by only crediting the 'Jackets with 27, when they likely had nearly twice that number.  Kohuch finished with 22 saves.  Chad Beiswenger, who suffered through a couple of tough weeks coming out of the break seems to have found his game again.  He was strong, finishing 18 saves.

The 'Jackets went 1-5 on the power play, while the Foresters, who had scored just five power play goals on the year coming into the game, finished 2-4.  The 'Jackets took five penalties for ten minutes while Lake Forest took six penalties for 12 minutes.

The 'Jackets will now return home for the final three games of the regular season, and try to sew up titles in both the NCHA and WIAC.  They host UW-Eau Claire on Friday night, with the puck dropping at 7:05 p.m. The game 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.

Friday night is also Parents Night at Wessman Arena, as the 'Jackets will honor the mothers and fathers of all Yellowjacket players.