A penalty called against the Jets put them shorthanded, but that didn’t stop the home team. After another nice play from Begg to break up an offensive chance, Jonah Aegerter picked up a loose puck that rolled out to center ice and skated in all alone, made a few dekes, and flipped a backhander by Tommy Aitken for the score. The eighth goal of the year for the hometown kid from Janesville was also the fifth shorthanded goal scored by the Jets this season.
The lead stood for eight and a half minutes before Ryan Finch picked up a pass in the slot and found the back of the net to tie the game at two.
The game surprisingly stayed knotted at two for the entirety of the third period despite a total of 17 shots between the two teams. A scoreless final period of regulation sent the contest to overtime for the second time in the series. Thursday’s game made it to a shootout after neither team won in the extra frame, and ended with a win in the fourth round.
The Jets felt like taking care of business a bit quicker this time around, and only 16 seconds into the three-on-three period, brought the Hangar to their feet with a win. Following a zone exit, Cy LeClerc brought the puck in on a two-on-one advantage and sauced a pass over to his roommate, Zigi Lasak, who had nothing but open net to shoot at, and he did not miss. It was Zigi’s second time playing the hero after his goal in the shootout on Thursday gave the Jets the win.
“Three-game series are never easy, and it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. You gotta come out even with hurt bodies and fight through it,” said Jets captain Cal Mell. “The mood now is great; we came back from break knowing we had to get six of six, we got five of six, so we’re going to keep building off of that from here.” When asked about the mentality he and the rest of the guys had going into a game against the Chippewa Steel, followed by another Alaska road trip, the captain had just three words: “find a way.”
The Jets will make their way to Chippewa for the first time this season on Friday night that will kick off a five-week road trip spanning until the third week of February.
The successful two weeks in Janesville helped the Jets move up to sixth in the Midwest Division standings, four points behind the Steel, and five points behind the Minnesota Magicians in the fourth and final playoff spot, making the one game against Chippewa that much more important.
