Men's Ice Hockey

UW-Superior Claims Men’s Ice Hockey Championship

STEVENS POINT, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Superior claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Ice Hockey Championship/Commissioner’s Cup (presented by Culver’s) with a 3-2 triumph over UW-Stevens Point at K.B. Willett Arena on March 12.
 
The conference crown is the eighth regular-season championship in program archives (first since 2011) and first tournament title. UW-Superior finished the season with a 7-3 record and entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed, while UW-Stevens Point was the No. 3 seed and compiled a 7-4-1 mark.
 
The Yellowjackets got off to a strong start in the first period, owning a territorial advantage and holding the momentum for most of the period, but the teams went to the locker room scoreless.

Early in the second period the Yellowjackets went shorthanded and the Pointers made them pay, with Colin Raver scoring on the power play to put UW-Stevens Point ahead 1-0 at 2:43. The Pointers killed off a penalty of their own and right after extended their lead when Carter Roo put one between the pads of Yellowjacket goaltender Myles Hektor to make it 2-0.

A strong forechecking shift midway through the second helped the Yellowjackets cut the lead in half. The line of Jordan Martin, Coltyn Bates and C.J. Walker worked the puck around the UW-Stevens Point zone before Bates picked up a loose puck at the goalmouth and pushed it home for his fourth of the year, making it a 2-1 game at 11:41.
 
Down a goal, the Yellowjackets took the ice in the third and controlled the play the rest of the way. The 'Jackets didn't allow the Pointers to have a shot on goal until there were nearly five minutes left, and in the meantime put a couple on the board to take the lead.

Levi Cudmore got the puck into the slot and Chad Lopez took it from there, wiring a shot past Pointer goaltender Ryan Wagner, tying the game at 9:12.
 
Moments later the Yellowjackets went to the power play, and the man advantage game them everything they needed to pull in front.
 
Great puck movement at the blue line gave Artur Terchiyev an opening, and he found Lopez in the left circle. The junior fired a shot that was redirected home by Cudmore, and the 'Jackets led 3-2 with 6:36 to play in regulation.
 
As play wound down, the 'Jackets buttoned things down defensively, not giving the Pointers an opportunity to get the puck deep and begin forechecking in search of the equalizer. Time would expire with the puck in the UW-Stevens Point zone and the Yellowjackets winning the 2021 conference championship.
 
Myles Hektor made his fourth start in goal for the Yellowjackets and improved to 4-0 on the year, finishing the night with 22 saves. At the other end, Wagner was a little busier, as he finished the game with 29 stops. The Yellowjackets outshot the Pointers 32-24, including 11-4 in the third period.
 
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