Jeff Gagnon scores his first collegiate goal, pulling the Saints within one at UWS.
Box Score Box score
In their first 12 games of the 2007-08 season, St. Scholastica's penalty kill units have surrendered only nine goals in 67 opportunities for a successful rate of 86.6 percent.
On Friday night at Wessman Arena, the home ice of the Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets (7-4-4), those same units gave up three goals on six tries by UWS in a 4-2 defeat that dropped the Saints record to 4-7-2 overall and 2-4-1 in the NCHA.
UWS moved in front 2-0 with a power play goal in each of the opening periods, but Jeff Gagnon (Quesnel, British Columbia/Victoria (BCHL))'s first collegiate goal pulled the visiting Saints to within one midway through the second period.
In the fifth minute of the third period, Jordan Chong (North Vancouver, British Columbia/Dryden (SIJHL)) scored his sixth goal in five games, knotting the score at 2-2 and shifting the momentum in the direction of the Saints.
The Saints had their cracks at UWS goalie Chad Beiswanger in the next few minutes with at least two scoring opportunities foiled as the puck slid across the crease just wide of the backside post.
For the game, in fact, the Saints outshot the host 'Jackets 38 to 33.
But the upset bid all came crashing down when, with 3:45 to play, the Yellowjackets went on another power play.
Logan Isley's second power play goal of the night, this one coming from near the top of the right circle only 19 seconds into the man-advantage, broke the tie and moved UWS ahead 3-2 with less than 3:30 to play.
With time winding down, the Saints were forced to pull goalie Steve Bounds (Airdrie, Alberta/Powell River (BCHL)) -- who finished the night making 30 saves of the 33 shots he faced -- for an extra attacker.
The Saints had possession in the offensive zone with less than a minute to play, but a poke by a 'Jacket defender slipped the puck into the neutral zone up along the left boards where Kevin Huck raced ahead to gather the lose puck, then snapped off a wrister from outside the blue line along the wall that found the back of the empty goal to ice the win.
Picking up assists for the Saints in the loss were Matt Stengl (East Grand Forks, Minn./Selkirk (MJHL)) and Kelly Reynolds (Parksville, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley (BCHL)) on the Gagnon goal, and Rob Rodgers (Salmon Arm, British Columbia/Salmon Arm (BCHL)) and A.J. Tucker on the Chong score.
