Box score

Twin Ports bragging rights were at stake on Friday night in Mars Lakeview Arena as the Saints and Yellowjackets battled in front of 1,426 fans. Each team most likely had mixed feeling about the results, though, a 6-6 tie.

St. Scholastica (9-12-4, 4-7-3 NCHA) opened the scoring with a goal from A.J. Tucker 7:30 into the game and hoped this would be their night.

Wis.-Superior answered, though, with a pair of goals from Braden Desmet -- both assisted by Chris Berry and Corey Stark -- to forge a 2-1 lead, the momentum, and thought's that it was going to be their night instead.

Matt Stengl (East Grand Forks, Minn./Selkirk (MJHL))'s score only 36 seconds after Desmet's second ended those thoughts and the two teams headed into the first intermission tied at 2-2.

After a UWS, then CSS scoring exchange  in the first four minutes of the second period made it 3-3, the 'Jackets scored two in a row, seemingly putting the first stamp of "this one's ours" on the contest.

That Saints haven't been their strongest nor most consistent when down by more than a goal this season, but this night wasn't the rest of the season -- it was UWS, and time to step up.

Tucker scored his second of the night to pull the Saints within one at 5-4 then defenseman Rob Rodgers (Salmon Arm, British Columbia/Salmon Arm (BCHL)) scored on a power play to knot things at 5-5, which is how the period ended, neither team being able to break away for good from the other.

It was senior night at Mars Lakeview so it was only fitting that St. Scholastica's next goal came from senior Shawn Bartlette (East Grand Forks, Minn./Bismark (NAHL)), playing in what will most likely be his final game on the ice sheet at Mars.

His goal with an assist from Stengl staked the Saints to their first lead since early in the game's initial period. All they'd need to do was hang on, a prospect difficult to imagine with the scoring-fest that had preceded Bartlette's score.

But the Saints worked their way through the next 14 minutes keeping UWS at bay as goalie Steve Bounds (Airdrie, Alberta/Powell River (BCHL)) tightened up the net and kept the 'Jackets off the score board.

Finally, and unfortunately for the Saints, Superior's Brian Bina broke in on Bounds and netted the game-tying score with only 3:39 to play.

Neither team could find the back of the net over the final minutes nor in the overtime period, forcing both to skate to their locker rooms perhaps content with a tie but certainly disappointed without the win.

What all this means in the league standings is that the Saints will finish the NCHA regular season in seventh place while Superior ends in fourth.

St. Scholastica will travel to second place and 10th-ranked UW-River Falls -- winners tonight over No. 11 UW-Stout -- for a quarterfinal match up in the NCHA Peters Cup next Friday and Saturday evenings.

Superior will host either Wis.-Stevens Point or Wis.-Eau Claire those same evenings, their opponent to be determined by Saturday night's Point at Eau Claire contest.