| Yellowjackets Pick Up First Win Of
Season |
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Friday night at Wessman Arena can probably be
nicknamed "Milestone Night." Plenty of players, and the team
as a whole, reached milestones on Friday night, as the Yellowjackets
hit the win column for the first time this season, thanks to a 7-2
win over Concordia College in front of a crowd of 678.
Several players hit individual milestones, including five players
who scored their first collegiate goals. The team snapped a
four-game losing streak dating back to last season. That was
the longest losing streak the program has seen since they lost six
straight from January 22 through February 6 in the 1992-93 season.
That stretch was also the last time the team lost four straight
games on Wessman Arena ice. Both of those streaks are now by
the boards.
One player who got to keep the puck following his first goal was
Tom Erlacher (Fr. Brunico, Italy). Erlacher
took a centering pass from Josh Kesler (Fr. Naperville,
Illinois) and beat Concordia goaltender Ole Brondbo to make
it 1-0 just 1:32 into the game. Braden Desmet (Sr.
Strathmore, Alberta) also assisted. The 'Jackets made
it 2-0 just over a minute later when Justin Faryna (Fr.
Calgary, Alberta) scored his first college goal.
Faryna carried the puck into the zone and let a shot go from the
left circle that beat Brondbo over the glove at 2:33. It went
to 3-0 at 11:57 of the first when Erlacher, on assists from Desmet
and Kesler, scored his second of the game.
Desmet made it 4-0 just 43 seconds into the second period. His
second goal of the season came on the rush, as he took a feed on the
left wing, carried into the Concordia zone and let a wrist shot go
that beat Brondbo up high. Five minutes later it became a 5-0
game. Tom Budziakowski (So. Toronto, Ontario)
carried the puck into the zone on the left and fed a pass across the
slot to Matt Wiest (Jr. Enchant, Alberta).
Wiest's shot was stopped, but the rebound laid in the crease and
Budziakowski buried it in the empty net for his first college goal
at 5:43 of the period. At this point, the Cobbers elected to
make a goaltending change, and for the time being stole the
momentum. Moments later they broke the shutout on a power play
when Nick Thielen tipped a shot out front that beat Yellowjacket
goaltender Jim Patterson (Jr. Kamloops, British Columbia)
to make it 5-1, and that's the way the second period would end.
The Cobbers would add another goal early in the third period.
Mark Johnson took the puck from behind his own net and carried the
length of the ice. He drove the net hard from the right side
and his initial shot was stopped by Patterson. Patterson,
however, moved off the post and the puck remained and Johnson tapped
it home to make it 5-2 just 1:12 into the third period. The
Yellowjackets would regain the four-goal margin at 9:10 of the third
period. Kyle Clement (Fr. Flower Mound, Texas)
took a feed from Jesse Junkermeier (Jr. Minnetonka,
Minnesota) in the slot and let a shot go that beat relief
goaltender Jacob Vatnsdal on the glove side to make it 6-2. It
was Clement's first college goal. The Yellowjackets closed out
the scoring at 11:07 of the third, getting their first power play
goal of the season. On assists from Desmet and Erlacher,
Derek Stauber (Fr. Duluth, Minnesota) took a feed
in the high slot and let a one-timer go that glanced off Vatnsdal's
glove and into the net to make it 7-2. This, too, was
Stauber's first career goal.
In total, five players (Desmet, Erlacher, Kesler, Stauber and Faryna)
had multiple-point games. Desmet paced the offense with four
points, giving him 86 for his career.
Patterson was solid in his first Yellowjacket start. He did
fight the puck at times, but also came up with some big saves.
He turned aside 27 shots in the game. Brondbo made 14 saves in
the game before giving way to Vatnsdal, who finished with 24 saves.
The Yellowjackets got off the schnide on the power play, connecting
for the first time on the season. They finished 1-2 in the
game with the man advantage. Concordia went 1-5 on the power
play. The 'Jackets took six penalties for 12 minutes, while
Concordia took three penalties for six minutes.
It was the Yellowjackets' first win against Concordia since the
2004-05 season.
The 'Jackets (1-2-0) are at home again on Saturday afternoon, when
they will host St. John's. The Johnnies (2-0-1) knocked off
St. Scholastica on Friday night, 3-1 at Mars-Lakeview Arena.
Game time on Saturday is 4:05 p.m. and can be heard live locally on
KUWS 91.3 FM, beginning with the pre-game show at 3:45 p.m. If
you are outside the local listening area, you can tune in on the
Internet at www.kuws.fm. Jon
Garver will have the call. |
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