Saturday night at Wessman Arena, it was a battle of the top two teams in the conference, each vying for a chance to claim the NCHA playoff title, the Peters Cup, and an automatic trip to the NCAA tournament.  The 'Jackets entered the game as the number one seed, and played like it...in the third period.  In the early going, a third team, the three officials, became part of the action.  The result was a steady stream of Yellowjackets heading to the penalty box (some calls warranted, others more of the mystery variety) and UW-Stout able to showcase one of their strengths - their power play.

The 'Jackets, on the other hand, were forced out of rhythm by all the time spent on the penalty kill, and it ultimately came back to bite them.  Despite a furious third period rally, the 'Jackets fell short, 4-3 to the Blue Devils, before a standing-room-only crowd at Wessman Arena.

The Blue Devils advance to the NCAA tournament with the automatic qualifier, while the Yellowjackets, who will likely make the tournament field, will wait and see when and where they will be playing next.

The 'Jackets opened the scoring in the first period.  Logan Isley (So. Bonnyville, Alberta), who has feasted on Stout in his career, intercepted a pass in the offensive zone and let a wrist shot go through some traffic that beat Stout goaltender Matt Koenig up high to make it 1-0.  It was Isley's first goal since January 31.  The Blue Devils immediately came back and tied the game.  On the power play, Dave Larson spotted Matt Morin off the left post and sent a pass from the right circle.  Morin got just enough of it to poke it past the goaltender.  The goal was controversial, as the 'Jackets protested, saying that the puck never entered the goal.  The goal light and the signal from the referee came in late, but in the end it was ruled a goal.  The power play marker came at 12:19, 59 seconds after Isley's goal.  The Blue Devils got one more before the end of the period.  Larson took a shot from the point that was stopped.  Either Yellowjacket goaltender Chad Beiswenger (Sr. Moorhead, Minnesota) had it and it popped loose, or he never had it at all.  Regardless, the Blue Devils never gave up on the play and Bobby Kuehl poked it in from underneath Beiswenger as the first period clock ran out.  Beiswenger immediately protested that he had it covered, but again, the call went against the home club and it was 2-1 after one.

It was all Blue Devils in the second.  As the penalty parade continued, the 'Jackets still fought to get into any sort of rhythm.  Derek Hanson took a pass from Joel Gaulrapp in the right circle, walked in and let a shot go that beat Beiswenger to make it 3-1 5:35.  Then, with a delayed penalty on the 'Jackets forthcoming, Dave Larson skated the length of the ice and took a shot from the left circle that beat Beiswenger between the pads to make it 4-1 at 14:46.

Then in the third, the penalties stopped coming and the 'Jackets got it going.  Andrew MacKenzie (Sr. Terrace Bay, Ontario) was stopped in the opening minute on a point blank shot when he was in alone on the goaltender.  Moments later, Jeff Herman (Sr. Cranbrook, British Columbia) found himself in alone on Koenig, but he had trouble settling the puck down and he, too was unable to capitalize.  They finally broke through for the second time at 11:13.  Chris Wilson (Jr. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) broke around a Stout defender and was taken down.  No penalty was going to be called on the play.  Wilson, while sliding toward the goal, swept the puck past Koenig while lying on his stomach to make it 4-2.  It was Wilson's team-leading 16th goal of the season.  Minutes later, it went to 4-3.  As a Yellowjacket power play expired, Kevin Huck (Sr. Eden Prairie, Minnesota) let a shot go from the top of the right circle that Koenig stopped.  The rebound popped straight up in the air and Isley was there to poke it home for his second of the game at 15:26.

From there the full-court press was on for the Yellowjackets.  They had numerous scoring opportunities in the closing minutes, but were thwarted each time.  Brian Bina (Jr. Grand Forks, North Dakota) had a centering pass go just out of his reach, or he was looking at an empty net and a tie game.  Same could be said for Isley, who was fed a great pass out of the right wing corner, but Koenig got a stick on it and tipped it away otherwise Isley, too, would have been staring at an empty net.  Perhaps the best opportunity was coming off a rebound.  Braden Desmet (Jr. Strathmore, Alberta), who had two assists in the period, picked up a loose puck to the left of the goal and headed behind for a wraparound attempt when Koenig was out of position.  But, as was the case several times throughout the course of the evening, the goal was dislodged and play stopped before Desmet could put the puck in the empty net.  The final seconds ticked away with the 'Jackets attacking with six players, but the Blue Devils blocked shots and kept the home team from forcing overtime.

Beiswenger was not as sharp as in recent games, and made 18 saves.  Koenig was sharp for Stout, making 34 saves. 

The 'Jackets were whistled for 11 penalties in the game, totaling 22 minutes and went 0-4 on the power play.  The Blue Devils took seven penalties for 14 minutes and were 1-7 on the power play.

Now the waiting begins.  The NCAA selection committee will deliberate on Sunday, March 8 and announce the Division III tournament field.  As was said earlier, it is expected that the 'Jackets (23-3-3) will make the field as the number one or number two seed in the west region.  As soon as we are aware of when and where the 'Jackets will be playing, we will have that information posted on the web.