By Rob Brent | February 2, 2019 | 9:15am
JANESVILLE, WI – The Jets started out on a promising path going into first intermission with a 1-0 lead. Jack Vincent tallied for the Jets as Nicholas Nardella and Jordan Halverson both registered an assist on the Vincent goal. From that point on, Janesville could not find the back of the net as the Jets fell to the Springfield Jr. Blues by a score of 6-1 in the first game of this weekend series . Read more about how it all went down in our three keys to the game.
PENALTY KILLING WOES CONTINUE
The Jets penalty killing unit continued to struggle, allowing two goals on three opportunities. This has become a central theme to many of Janesville’s recent struggles. In the Jets’ last four losses, the opposing teams have potted 10 goals on 18 attempts. The Jets PK unit now ranks 19th out of 24 teams in the NAHL, killing penalties at a rate of 77%.
NAHL PENALTY KILLING RANKINGS
| RANK | TEAM | GP | TSH | PPGA | PCT |
| 19 | JNE | 39 | 148 | 34 | 77.0 |
| 20 | KNR | 38 | 113 | 27 | 76.1 |
| 21 | MYD | 41 | 190 | 47 | 75.3 |
| 22 | ODA | 39 | 173 | 45 | 74.0 |
| 23 | BRK | 40 | 140 | 38 | 72.9 |
| 24 | NTE | 41 | 143 | 40 | 72.0 |
THE PUCK STOPS HERE
Springfield Jr. Blues goaltender Jack Williams showed why he is a vaunted prospect, stopping 29 of the Jets’ 30 shots. Williams is committed to play college hockey at Michigan State University and was recently rated as the #9 North American goalie prospect in the NHL Central Scouting mid-season report. When Williams wasn’t stopping pucks, the posts were. The Jets struck iron a few times in what ended up being a frustrating night for the offense. The Jets will have to find a way to solve Williams and get some puck luck if they hope to win tonight.
THIRD PERIOD BLUES
The Jets skated into second intermission facing a one goal deficit of 2-1. However, the Jr. Blues would take the game over, scoring four times in quick succession. Defensive breakdowns proved to be the culprit as the Jr. Blues found the back of the net on a breakaway, an odd man rush, and a couple of pucks left near the crease. On top of that, all the bounces seemed to go against Janesville. The Jets outshot the Jr. Blues 13-7 in the final frame but could not find a way to score. The Jets will have to finish strong, and play solid team defense in tonight’s contest to prevent the same result.
MOVING FORWARD
When all was said and done, the Jr. Blues closed the gap in the standings from 3 points to 1. The series finale now becomes a must win for both teams as the Jets look to hold off their rivals, while the Jr. Blues look to overtake Janesville for third place in the Midwest Division. The Jets will look to replicate the results from last weekend when they took game two for a split in Springfield after dropping game one.
MIDWEST DIVISION STANDINGS
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS |
| MNM | 39 | 27 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 55 |
| FAI | 40 | 21 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 47 |
| JNE | 40 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 44 |
| SPR | 39 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 43 |
| KNR | 39 | 13 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 30 |
| CHP | 41 | 13 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 28 |
Join the Jets tonight at 7 PM for one of the most important games of our season yet. In addition to the game, today marks the Jets’ Youth Hockey Night; A celebration of Janesville’s youth hockey community. The event will be capped off with the Skate with the Jets Event, where fans will have the opportunity to skate with their favorite Jets’ players after the game. Tickets are still available online and at any Lions Quick Mart location.
