'Jackets Dominate Royals
 
There's a saying that says "what a difference a day makes."  In the case of the Yellowjackets, multiply that by 28.  When we last saw the old gold and black, they were getting swept by St. Scholastica, outscored 10-3 in two games.  Fast forward a month and the aforementioned difference was evident.  Friday night the Yellowjackets traveled to Bethel for their first game of 2010 and offered up arguably their most complete effort of the season, a 5-1 victory over the Royals in front of 472 at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn.

The victory snapped a three-game Yellowjacket losing streak and improved their record to 8-5-1 on the season.

Chris Wilson (Sr. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) scored a goal and had two assists and was a one-man show, displaying an array of moves that made one Bethel player after another look ridiculous.  At the other end, Mike Rosett (Sr. Anchorage, Alaska) picked up his first win of the season, having to make just 11 saves in the process.

The 'Jackets opened the scoring early when Kyle Clement (Fr. Flower Mound, Texas) scored his third goal of the season at 4:50 of the first period to make it 1-0.  Stepping off the goal line to the left of the net, Clement took a shot from a bad angle that snuck under Bethel goaltender Aaron Damjanovich.  Matt Wiest (Jr. Enchant, Alberta), who came close to scoring his first college goal on a number of occasions throughout the game, and Tom Budziakowski (So. Toronto, Ontario) had the assists.  It went to 2-0 minutes later when Wilson struck for his seventh goal of the season.  While killing a penalty, the puck found its way to the Bethel zone.  Wilson got past the defense and corralled the puck but was hauled down in the process.  A delayed penalty was being called, but Wilson nullified that when, while down, he slid the puck under Damjanovich for his second shorthanded goal of the season at 8:58.

In the second the 'Jackets added two more.  Wilson intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and fed a pass cross ice to Josh Kesler (Fr. Naperville, Illinois) at the Bethel line.  Kesler skated in and snapped a shot from the hash marks that beat Damjanovich on the stick side to make it 3-0 just 2:23 in.  It went to 4-0 when Talon Berlando (Jr. Drumheller, Alberta) converted a one-timer off of a give-and-go with Wilson at 13:12 for his fifth of the year.

Bethel got on the board when Kyle Dynan scored a power play goal from the right point at 5:01 of the third period.  But the 'Jackets answered almost immediately when Justin Faryna (Fr. Calgary, Alberta) scored on a rebound of a Tyler Fletcher (Sr. Calgary, Alberta) shot just 1:12 later.  Kyle Leahy (Fr. Fort St. John, British Columbia) also assisted on Faryna's seventh goal of the season, which closed out the scoring.

In all, nine different players picked up points in the game.

As mentioned, Rosett had to make just 11 saves in picking up his first win of the season.  He was largely untested through most of the game and the goal that did get past him was a deflection from near the point.  Damjanovich, under siege a majority of the night, finished with 35 saves.

One of the most penalized teams in the country, the 'Jackets took just four penalties for eight minutes.  Bethel took six penalties for 12 minutes.  The 'Jackets went 0-6 on the power play while Bethel was 1-3.

The 'Jackets will close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on Saturday when they travel to Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minn. to take on seventh-ranked Hamline.  The Pipers were shut out on Friday night, 4-0 by St. Scholastica.  Game time on Saturday is 7:00 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 on the Internet at www.ifan.tv.  Jon Garver will have the call.