| 'Jackets Nip Tommies |
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Saturday at the St. Thomas Ice Arena, 200-plus
people, many of them Yellowjacket fans, came to the rink
anticipating a hockey game. What they got was a track meet.
Two teams that pushed the pace throughout the game, playing to a
tempo that we have not seen out of the 'Jackets this season.
After a short adjustment period early, they found their groove and
did what they had to do to earn a 3-2 win on the road.
The Tommies grabbed the lead when Andy Singerhouse picked up a
rebound to the right of the net and banged it home to make it 1-0 at
8:17 of the first period. The goal came just one second after
the second penalty of the game on the Yellowjackets had expired.
Before the period ended, however, the 'Jackets tied it. The
line of Braden Desmet (Sr. Strathmore, Alberta),
Chris Wilson (Sr. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) and
Talon Berlando (Jr. Drumheller, Alberta) put on a
forechecking clinic and finally broke through, with Desmet getting a
rebound at the goalmouth and putting it home for his third of the
season at 15:20, with Wilson and Berlando assisting.
St. Thomas scored the only goal of the second period when Rob
Johnson let a shot go through a screen that beat Yellowjacket
goaltender Garrett Tinkham (Fr. Paradise, Texas) up
high to make it 2-1.
In the third, the 'Jackets were shorthanded for an extended period
thanks to a five-minute checking from behind major on Logan
Isley (Jr. Bonnyville, Alberta). In the closing
minutes of that power play, Casey Dion (Fr. Colorado
Springs, Colorado) played the puck to the neutral zone.
Wilson caught up to it and went in on the breakaway. He faked
to the forehand and went to the backhand, beating St. Thomas
goaltender Joe Schraeder to tie the game 2-2 just 3:06 into the
third period. The shorthanded goal, the first of the year for
the 'Jackets, was the fifth of the year for Wilson. Seconds
later, the 'Jackets almost took the lead with their second
shorthanded marker, as Tyler Fletcher (Sr. Calgary, Alberta)
had a partial breakaway, but his shot just missed wide to the right.
Moments later, though, the 'Jackets would get the go-ahead goal.
Kyle Clement (Fr. Flower Mound, Texas) picked up a
loose puck at the top of the right circle and let a shot go that
beat Schraeder between the pads to make it 3-2 at 5:21.
Clement's second goal of the year was assisted by Wilson.
From there, it was up to the defense and Tinkham to keep the Tommies
off the board. They did, but with a little help from Lady
Luck. In the final minute, coming off of a St. Thomas timeout,
the Tommies won a faceoff and let a shot go that was deflected and
actually beat Tinkham, but the shot hit the crossbar and caromed to
the right corner. That was the last best chance for the
Tommies, and the 'Jackets preserved the win, improving to 6-2-1 on
the year.
Tinkham, making his third straight start, improved to 3-1-0 on the
year after making 24 saves. Schraeder made 28 saves for the
Tommies. The 'Jackets took five penalties for 21 minutes,
while St. Thomas took six for 12 minutes. The 'Jackets were
0-5 on the power play and the Tommies were 0-4, including getting
shutout during the five-minute power play.
The 'Jackets will stay on the road, someplace they will be until
mid-January, when they return to conference play with a pair of
games at Stevens Point on December 4-5. Game time on Friday,
December 4 will be 7:35 p.m. and can be heard live locally on KUWS
91.3 FM, beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m. If you
are outside the local listening area, you can tune in on the
Internet at www.ifan.tv. Jon
Garver will have the call. |
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