Late-game magic: Third-period goal lifts Blue Jays
Jamestown senior forward Tanner Werkhoven scored the game-winner, while the Jays’ Tygh Yatskis picked up 40 saves between the pipes, as the Blue Jay boys’ hockey team notched a big 4-3 West Region victory over the visiting Mandan Braves on Tuesday night.
Werkhoven, playing in his final game as a Blue Jay at Wilson Arena, grabbed the rebound off a shot by teammate Brady Anderson and fired the puck past Mandan keeper Rider Cupido for his second goal of the season with 3:06 left to play, producing what would be the final score.
It was the second straight one-goal victory for the Blue Jays, who defeated Devils Lake at home last Saturday by the final of 3-2.
“That’s game No. 8 or 9 for us that’s been a one-goal game either way. And, we’ve come up short on more than our fair share of them,” JHS coach Matt Stockert said. “It’s really, truly nice to gut one out here and win another one.”
Jamestown trailed Mandan 3-2 entering the third period, but the Blue Jays turned it up a notch over the final 17 minutes, starting with the team’s second power-play goal of the night just 58 seconds into the frame to knot the score at 3-3.
Once again, it was Anderson rifling a shot on goal, this one coming from just outside the left faceoff circle, but Cupido didn’t have the opportunity to let a rebound shot get past him on this one. Anderson’s shot ricocheted off the skate of Jamestown senior forward Riley Schafer, giving Schafer his seventh goal of the season on Anderson’s third assist of the night.
The Blue Jays now have scored four power-play goals over their last two games.
“The kids are doing a real good job of creating the 2-on-1 and seeing when the best time to go to the net is,” Stockert said of his team’s recent power-play efforts. “We’ve been working on it in practice and it looks really nice right now.”
Once Werkhoven’s goal later gave the Jays the lead, the Jamestown defense — and Yatskis — went to work. Yatskis recorded 15 of his 40 saves in the third, and none came bigger than his point-blank save over Mandan junior forward Brady Skytland from just outside the crease with 2 minutes to play.
“Tygh is a goaltender that is straight up a fundamental goaltender, and right there on that save there’s no fundamentals involved at all,” Stockert said. “It’s just, ‘I’m going to get that puck and cover it up before he puts it in the net.’ Good thing he did, otherwise it’s a tie ballgame and we’re looking at overtime.”
Mandan pulled Cupido out of the net for the final pair of minutes to give Mandan an extra skater, but the Blue Jays hung tough. Jamestown also killed a pair of Mandan power plays during the third.
“You’ve got to give the kids credit,” Stockert said. “In between the second and the third period, they found another level.”
Goals No. 21 and No. 22 on the season by Jamestown junior forward Jake Stilwell handed the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead after one period. Stilwell’s first goal was a nice one, beating a Mandan defender with the puck past center ice and burning Cupido as he was one-one-one with the goalie.
Stilwell scored a power-play goal just over a minute later, set up by another shot on goal from Anderson. Sorenson was also credited with an assist.
But it was all Mandan in the second, as they rifled off three unanswered goals in the frame by Michael Helmers, Tre Kautzman and Brady Zittleman. The goals by Helmers and Kautzman came just 21 seconds apart, tying the score at 2-2 with 12:36 left before the third.
“They pop in three there, and we were like, ‘All right, here we go again. How are the kids going to react to this?” Stockert said. “Hopefully, if anything, this gives us the confidence that, hey, it doesn’t matter until that last second blows on that horn, we can win a hockey game.”
Jamestown (6-8-1 West Region) has now won five of their last eight games, and took a big step in sewing up the No. 5 seed for next week’s West Region tournament in Bismarck.
Jamestown has one last regular-season contest left this Thursday against the Demons (10-4 West Region) in Bismarck.
“I thought overall the effort tonight was again an ‘A,’” Stockert said. “These kids haven’t quit from Day 1, and we’re just going to keep pushing forward and take our shot on Thursday against a pretty good Bismarck High team.”
Jamestown 4, Mandan 3
Mandan 0 3 0 — 3
Jamestown 2 0 2 — 4
Scoring
First period
1, JHS, Jake Stilwell (Terry Bruns), 8:15; 2, JHS, Stilwell (Ben Sorenson, Brady Anderson), 9:31 PP.
Second period
3, MHS, Michael Helmers (Tre Kautzman, Brady Zittleman), 4:03; 4, MHS, Kautzman (Zittleman), 4:24; 5, MHS, Zittleman (David Payne), 14:36.
Third period
6, JHS, Riley Schafer (Anderson), 0:58 PP; 7, JHS, Tanner Werkhoven (Anderson), 13:54.
Penalties: Mandan, 4 for 8 minutes; Jamestown 3 for 6 minutes.
Goalie saves: MHS, Rider Cupido 12-14-8—34; JHS, Tygh Yatskis 18-7-15—40.
Records: Jamestown 6-8-1 West Region (7-12-1 overall); Mandan 5-10 West Region (7-13 overall).
Sun sports writer Michael Savaloja can be reached at (701) 952-8461 or by email at mikes@jamestownsun.com