Jackets engage in a close clash before Stout’s goal.
Photo by Holden Law
It doesn’t take a lot to swing momentum from one team to another in a hockey game. It can be a goal, a big hit, maybe a penalty kill or a big save.
Saturday night, UW-Stout made a goaltending change with 6:26 to go in the first period, and that one move made all the difference.
The Yellowjackets started fast and jumped out to a pair of two goal leads, but replacement goaltender Tyler Masternak came in and had all the answers the rest of the way.
Masternak stopped all 31 shots that came his way and Stout scored three straight goals, coming from behind to beat the Yellowjackets 4-3 at the Fanetti Community Center Saturday night.
After building a 3-2 lead after the first period, the Yellowjackets had chances to blow the game open in the second, but Masternak stopped all 17 shots the Yellowjackets put on goal.
Alex Nagel tied the game for Stout 4:50 in the third period, converting a 2-on-1 rush to make it 3-3.
Then, 1:47 later Riley Enderle threw a puck at the net from the left circle and it snuck underneath Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest), giving Stout its first lead of the night.
Early on, however, it was all Yellowjackets.
In the opening minutes the ‘Jackets came out with jump and carried the play. With an extra attacker on due to a delayed penalty, Bradley Stonnell (Surrey, British Columbia/Tamanawis Secondary School) found Dylan Johnson (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior) in the left circle, and the Yellowjackets’ top scorer buried the one-time to put the Yellowjackets in front at 5:01.
Early in the second period the Yellowjackets peppered the Stout goal with shots, and had several near misses on their second power play, losing out on the chance to gain some separation and pick up an important conference win
Hektor got tagged with the loss, finishing the game with 25 saves. Up next for the Yellowjackets is a home-and-home series with Northland. The first contest is Friday, Dec. 10, with a 7:05 p.m. faceoff from Wessman Arena.
