| 'Jackets Snap Winless Skid |
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PHEW!
Over the last few weeks, the tension surrounding the Yellowjackets
has been palpable. Going winless for the better part of a
month, seven games to be exact, has a way of doing that. In
the final minute on Friday, as the puck was finding its way into the
empty net, all of that tension evaporated as the Yellowjackets
finally got one in the win column with a 5-2 victory over Stevens
Point at Wessman Arena.
PHEW!
The win not only snapped the Yellowjackets' winless streak, but it
also gave them two very important points in the NCHA standings,
helping them to keep pace with the rest of the league with three
games to play. The win also came on the night when the
'Jackets honored the seven members of the senior class.
After a scoreless first period, the Pointers got on the board first
with a power play goal at 6:42 of the second. Former
Yellowjacket Kent Detlefsen got a rebound in the left circle and
scored his first goal of the year to make it 1-0. Later in the
period, Luke Nesper ran Josh Seifert (Sr. Superior,
Wisconsin) into the end boards and was given a five-minute
major penalty for cross checking. On the ensuing power play,
the Yellowjackets tied it up. Off of a faceoff, Derek
Stauber (Fr. Duluth, Minnesota) fed a pass from the left
point to the right and Chris Wilson (Sr. Prince Albert,
Saskatchewan) let a one-timer go that was tipped out front
by Kyle Clement (Fr. Flower Mound, Texas) to make
it
1-1. Clement's fourth goal of the season came at 14:04.
In the third, the 'Jackets blew it open, scoring four times to seal
the win. After a Stevens Point miscue in the neutral zone,
Braden Desmet (Sr. Strathmore, Alberta) took the
loose puck into the Pointers' zone and slid a wrist shot home for
his fourth goal of the season, unassisted at 1:18. It was
Desmet's first goal in 11 games. It went to 3-1 at 14:18 of
the third when Jesse Junkermeier (Jr. Minnetonka, Minnesota)
scored the eventual game-winning goal on a rebound, his fourth of
the season. Stauber and Wilson assisted on the power play
goal. The Pointers answered just 1:08 later when Detlefsen
scored his second power play goal of the game with a shot from the
right point at 15:26. The lead was again stretched to two 1:08
later when Junkermeier scored his second of the game at 16:34 to
make it 4-2. Desmet started the play in the defensive zone,
sending a pass rink-wide to Clement on the right wing. Clement
entered the Stevens Point zone and let a shot go from the right
circle that that was stopped, but Junkermeier scored off the
rebound, giving him the first multi-goal game of his collegiate
career. The 'Jackets closed out the scoring at 19:13 when
Talon Berlando (Jr. Drumheller, Alberta) scored the
empty net goal, his 12th of the year, to make it 5-2. Desmet
and Tyler Fletcher (Sr. Calgary, Alberta) picked up
the assists.
Desmet finished the game with three points, and now has 99 points
for his career. Junkermeier, Wilson, Stauber and Clement all
had two points in the game.
Bryan Dalbec (So. Superior, Wisconsin) finally
earned his first win as a Yellowjacket, making 24 saves to push his
record to 1-5-2 for the year. Nick Graves made 29 saves for
Stevens Point.
The Yellowjackets took 12 penalties for 24 minutes in the game,
while the Pointers took eight penalties for 19 minutes.
Stevens Point went 2-8 on the power play and the Yellowjackets went
2-6.
The Yellowjackets (9-10-3, 3-10-2 NCHA) will host first-place St.
Norbert on Saturday afternoon at Wessman Arena, with the opening
faceoff taking place at 4:05 p.m. The Green Knights skated to
a 1-1 tie at St. Scholastica on Friday night. Saturday's game
will also be the second annual Pink the Rink event, sponsored by the
Superior Jaycees. The game 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 listen on the web at
www.ifan.tv. Jon Garver will
have the call. |
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