By Mason Lyttle
LAST WEEK…
Friday, November 11: Janesville Jets 6, Kenai River Brown Bears 2
Shots: Jets 34, Brown Bears 30
PP: Jets 2-5, Brown Bears 2-4
The Janesville Jets (13-4-0-1) took just 38 seconds to find the back of the net in the first game of their Alaska road trip, and rode their high-octane offense to a 6-2 victory over the Kenai River Brown Bears (1-13-2-0).
Janesville got the early jump they’ve sometimes lacked this season when Cole Paskus (0:38 1st) scored his fifth of the season from veterans LordAnthony Grissom and Jack Gates. With Peter Bates already in the box for roughing, Grissom was assessed a minor for checking from behind. Kenai’s Tyler Rock (10:33 1st) capitalized on the two-man advantage to tie the game. 28 seconds later, Cullen Munson (11:01 1st) regained the lead for Janesville.
Jets veteran forward Michael Maloney (7:24 2nd) scored his ninth power play goal of the season in the middle of the period, extending his league lead in that category to three goals. Maloney’s second of the night came later (10:13 2nd), his 12th goal of the season, putting him in a four-way tie for second in the league. Maloney’s second chased Kenai goaltender Bailey Seagraves, and Robbie Goor came in to close the game. Cole Paskus (16:54 2nd) buried a pass from Maloney six minutes later, putting the Jets up 5-1. Kenai added another 5-on-3 goal with eight seconds left in the period.
The Jets’ power play clicked again in the third on a goal from Joey Abate (5:50 3rd), landing the Jets their extra insurance marker for a 6-2 lead, which they held.
Jake Barczewski (6-1-0-1) continued his hot streak with a 28-save performance, which rose his save percentage to .918 on the season, a top 10 metric in the league. Robbie Goor (1-1-0-1) stopped nine of 11 shots for Kenai in relief of Bailey Seagraves (1-8-0-0), whose four goals against registered him with the loss.
Saturday, November 12: Janesville Jets 6, Kenai River Brown Bears 2
Shots: Jets 34, Brown Bears 29
PP: Jets 4-13, Brown Bears 1-11
The Janesville Jets (14-4-0-1) scored four power play goals en route to their third straight 6-2 victory, the second and sweeping win over the Kenai River Brown Bears (1-14-2-0), with two goals from each Adrian Holesinsky, Chris Dodero, and Kip Hoffmann.
After four unsuccessful employments, the Jets’ special teams finally broke through with a late-period power play goal from Adrian Holesinsky (19:55 1st), who fired a one-timer feed from Michael Maloney.
Janesville’s Chris Dodero (5:43 2nd) finished a tic-tac-toe play from Cole Paskus and Michael Maloney to give the Jets a 2-0 lead. Ten minutes later, Kip Hoffmann (15:20 2nd) backhanded a loose puck in front for the eventual game-winner. The Jets closed the period with another power play goal from Chris Dodero (18:03 2nd), who scored on a spinaround wrist shot in close.
The Jets’ fourth and final power play goal of the evening was a near carbon copy of their first, as Adrian Holesinsky (4:07 3rd) buried another one-timer from Maloney and Paskus. Goaltender Derek Schaedig was finally beaten shortly after his team took a 5-0 lead, as Skokie native Anthony Tzveyn (5:47 3rd) marked the perfect sheet. Minutes later, Kip Hoffmann (7:44 3rd) tipped home a Frank Sullivan blast from the right point for the sixth goal of the contest. Kenai’s Jonathan Marzec (19:51 3rd) would add a late power play goal, their first conversion on 11 chances.
Despite a Barczewski win the previous night, Janesville turned to Derek Schaedig (8-3-0-0) to finish off the sweep, which he did in a 27-save performance. Bailey Seagraves (1-9-0-0) was again chased, this time after the sixth goal, and registered the loss, with backup Robbie Goor (1-1-0-1) playing 12:15 of perfect yet no-decision goaltending.
Midwest Division Recap
The Springfield Jr. Blues swept the free-falling Fairbanks Ice Dogs at the Big Dipper, 4-2 and 4-1, to move into a tie with the defending champions for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division. The Minnesota Magicians also had a four-point week, picking up an interdivisional win over the Minnesota Wilderness on Wednesday, before beating the Coulee Region Chill on Friday, 7-3. The Chill won an interdivisional contest on Saturday, defeating the Austin Bruins 6-5 in overtime.
Midwest Division Standings:
| Place | Team | Record | Pts |
| 1 | Janesville Jets | 14-4-0-1 | 29 |
| 2 | MN Magicians | 12-6-2-0 | 26 |
| 3 | Coulee Region Chill | 11-5-1-0 | 23 |
| 4 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 7-9-2-1 | 17 |
| 5 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 8-11-0-1 | 17 |
| 6 | Kenai River Brown Bears | 1-14-2-0 | 4 |
THIS WEEK…
Friday, November 18, 2016 @ Fairbanks Ice Dogs – 10:30 p.m. CST
Saturday, November 19, 2016 @ Fairbanks Ice Dogs – 10:30 p.m. CST
The Jets take their five-game win streak north to Fairbanks to finish their Alaska trip, their final regular season games against head coach Trevor Stewart’s Ice Dogs. The Jets swept Fairbanks in Janesville on Salute to Service weekend before leaving for the Last Frontier. First place Janesville will hardly be a welcome opponent for the Ice Dogs, who have lost six straight games, all divisional, and haven’t scored three goals against a team (other than Kenai River) since October 1st versus Johnstown. Per usual, both games will be broadcast live on HockeyTV.com, and covered by the Jets’ Twitter account (@JanesvilleJets1).