PREVIEW: Jets @ Blizzard (Game #19)

Nov 17, 2017

By Mason Lyttle

JANESVILLE JETS at BROOKINGS BLIZZARD — Larson Ice Center
Fri 11/17  |  7:05pm  |  Brookings, SD

LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV  |  TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1


LAST WEEKEND: The Jets lost their third in four games last Friday at home versus the Jr. Blues, but battled back Saturday with a strong special teams effort to earn the split.  Springfield goaltender Evan Fear stymied Janesville on Friday, stopping 29 of 30 shots as the Jr. Blues downed the Jets, 3-1. The rubber match was Janesville’s, though, as the Jets struck twice on the power play and added a shorthanded goal to knock off their rivals, 5-4.

TONIGHT: The Blizzard closed October with a three-game sweep of the Austin Bruins to earn top spot in the Central Division, but have since lost four straight. They dropped a pair in La Crosse versus the Chill before getting swept in a home-and-home series against their in-state rivals, the Aberdeen Wings, last weekend. Tonight, the injury-riddled Jets face off against an underachieving and hungry Brookings team.

SEASON SERIES (Jets 0-0-0-0)

Nov. 17 @ Brookings 7:05pm
Nov. 18 @ Brookings 7:05pm
Dec. 1 Brookings 7:00pm
Dec. 2 Brookings 7:00pm

Midwest Division Standings:

Place Team Record Pts
1 Janesville Jets                     13-5-0-0 26
2 Minnesota Magicians 11-6-1-1 24
3 Fairbanks Ice Dogs 10-5-1-2 23
4 Springfield Jr. Blues 9-7-1-1 20
5 Kenai River Brown Bears 8-10-1-0 17
6 Coulee Region Chill 5-7-1-3 14

JETS BITS

  • BANGED UP: Missing the trip were Regan Cavanagh, Brenden MacLaren, Erik Palmqvist, and Carter Ekberg. Over the last few seasons, the Jets have assembled rosters deep at every position, preparing for situations just like this. Role players will need to step up and answer the bell this weekend.
  • ‘SHEVERS UP HIS SPINE: Two major surgeries after his last game (9/24/16 as an Odessa Jackalope), Justin Bofshever can hardly wait to hit the ice. “It’s gonna be pretty special,” said the Floridian forward. “It’s been a long road here. Lots of emotion, lots of thoughts about what I’ve had to do over the last year to prepare for this moment. I’m really looking forward to it.”
  • ROAD WARRIORS: The Jets’ last road game, a Sunday afternoon loss to Coulee Region, was the first road loss of the season (counting the Showcase Tournament’s 2-1 final versus Odessa as neutral site). At 5-1, the Jets hold an impressive road record, and tonight play the first of three straight away games before eight straight at home through Thanksgiving and Christmas.

MILESTONE ALERT

  • Jakov Novak is 3 points away from 50 in his NAHL career
  • Kip Hoffmann is 12 points away from 100 in his NAHL career
  • John Pesek is 3 games away from 75 in his junior hockey career (USHL, NAHL)
  • Carter Ekberg is 5 games away from 75 in his NAHL career

CLIMBING THE LADDER

Current Jets, ranking among the franchise all-time leaders:

GAMES PLAYED (regular season)

RANK Player Pos GP
1 Cullen Munson F 175
2 Adam Winborg F 170
3 Kip Hoffmann F 158
4 Adam Roeder D 147
5 Bryan Kronberger D 137
6 Jeff Alderfer D 120
7 Jordan Himley F 120
8 Alex Smith D 118
9 Lordanthony Grissom D 115
T-10 Ross Mauermann F 113
T-10 Connor McBride F 113

 GOALS (regular season)

 RANK Player Pos G
1 Adam Winborg F 62
2 Connor McBride F 48
3 Cullen Munson F 43
4 Jordan Himley F 40
5 Ross Mauermann F 39
T-6 Cole Paskus F 35
T-6 Kip Hoffmann F 35
8 Drew Callin F 34
9 Jordan Bancroft F 32
T-10 Brandon Schultz F 30
T-10 Pijus Rulevicius F 30

 POINTS (regular season)

RANK Player Pos Pts
1 Adam Winborg F 145
2 Cullen Munson F 113
3 Ross Mauermann F 99
4 Connor McBride F 92
5 Kip Hoffmann F 88
6 Jordan Himley F 77
7 Cole Paskus F 74
8 Evan Feno F 73
T-9 Jordan Bancroft F 72
T-9 Alex Smith D 72

BROOKINGS BLIZZARD

OVERVIEW:

Record: 9-9-0-1 (3rd, Central)
Home Record: 5-3-0-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 59GF/60GA
Power Play: 19.7% (15th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 69.4% (22nd in the NAHL)
Top ScorersDoug Larson (17GP—8G-8A—16PTS), Vince Marino (19GP—7G-8A—15PTS); Andriy Denyskin (17GP—10G-4A—14PTS)

WHO’S UP FRONT:

Vince Marino: The NAHL veteran played for Wilkes-Barre last season, and has found a groove here in South Dakota. Marino carries a six-game point streak into this evening’s contest.

Doug Larson: The Blizzard’s top scorer is also their go-to guy on the power play. Larson’s three power play goals and five points are both team-highs. Brookings has scored first in eight games this year. Four of those are Larson.

WHO’S ON D:

Brendan Aird: The former Jet has scored six points in his last eight games and is tied with Cameron Teamor at nine points as the Blizzard’s top-scoring defensemen.

WHO’S IN GOAL:

Ben Beck: Acquired in early October from the Lone Star Brahmas, the German goaltender is committed to Maine and holds title as the tallest player in the NAHL at 6’9″ — same height as Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara.


JANESVILLE JETS

OVERVIEW:

Record: 13-5-0-0 (1st, Midwest)
Road Record: 5-1-0-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 51GF/42GA
Power Play: 23.8% (6th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 76.7% (16th in the NAHL)
Top ScorersJakov Novak (16GP—8G-11A—19PTS); Kip Hoffmann (18GP—5G-14A—19PTS);  Erik Palmqvist (17GP—5G-6A—11PTS)

WHO’S UP FRONT:

Sam Renlund: The young winger earned his first NAHL assist in just his second game, and followed that up with a three-point night last Saturday. Four points across four games has made for an impressive start to the Verona native’s NAHL career.

Jakov Novak: The future Bentley Falcon had a four-point weekend versus Springfield, capped off with a two-goal night on Saturday. Novak is getting more comfortable at center. Only in one game since the move did he fail to register a point.

WHO’S ON D:

John Pesek: An assist Saturday followed a goal from Friday, giving the Chicago defenseman points in four of his last five games.

WHO’S IN GOAL:

Daniel Lebedeff: The Finnish goaltender signed his national letter of intent (NLI) to Wisconsin last week during the NCAA early signing period. Lebedeff beat the Magicians in the Jets’ last win on a 28-save effort. Garrett Nieto inches closer to a healthy return, and could see action tomorrow.


JANESVILLE JETS at BROOKINGS BLIZZARD — Larson Ice Center
Fri 11/17  |  7:05pm  |  Brookings, SD

LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV  |  TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1