PREVIEW: Jets @ Bruins (Game #9)

Oct 7, 2017

By Mason Lyttle

JANESVILLE JETS at AUSTIN BRUINS — Riverside Arena
Sat 10/7  |  7:05pm  |  Austin, MN

LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV  |  TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1


LAST NIGHT: The Austin Bruins got the jump, scoring less than two minutes into the contest, but allowed the Jets to punch back twice, with a game-tying goal coming from Jets newcomer Regan Cavanagh at 16:37 of the 3rd. In overtime, captain Kip Hoffmann broke Erik Palmqvist free on a partial breakaway for the game-winner, Palmqvist’s second straight GWG.

TONIGHT: Comeback wins are energizing. They’re incredibly fun to watch and carry tons of emotion.

Jets assistant coach Corey Leivermann doesn’t want to have to come back anymore.

“It was great last night to see the guys refuse to quit, especially on the road,” said Leivermann. “We were a resilient group. They battled back from 2-1 with four minutes left and found a way to tie it up, then obviously won in overtime. That said, we need a better start. We maybe had a little case of “bus legs” last night and need to do a better job of winning those fifty-fifty battles to loose pucks on the wall, at the blue line, and take care of the things that matter in a game.”

SEASON SERIES (Jets 1-0-0-0)

Oct. 6 at Austin W, 3-2 (OT)
Oct. 7 at Austin 7:05pm
Mar. 30 Austin 7:00pm
Mar. 31 Austin 7:00pm

 

3 JETS BITS

  • START ON TIME: In two of their last three games, the Jets orchestrated comebacks that resulted in a shootout and an overtime win. In those two games, the Jets were trailing or tied in all 127:16 of play. The good news? Sandwiched between those comebacks was a 4-2 win where Janesville led for 49+ minutes. Time to get back to that.
  • BIG ERIK, BIG IMPACT: “Big Erik” Palmqvist is off and running, and has early attention in the Rookie of the Year discussions. Palmqvist extended his goal-scoring streak to three games last night, the game-winner becoming his fifth point across that stretch.
  • CUT THE RUT: Like coming from behind, penalty killing is a must for good teams, but limiting its frequency is a habit of great teams. Five of Friday’s last six power plays went to Austin, and Janesville had to kill nearly 25% of the game’s last 32:20 in clock time.

MILESTONE ALERT

  • Kip Hoffmann is 1 assist away from 50 in his NAHL career
  • Kip Hoffmann is 2 games away from 150 in his NAHL career
  • TJ Polglaze is 6 games away from 50 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 148
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
6 Cole Paskus F 35
7 Drew Callin F 34
T-8 Jordan Bancroft F 32
T-8 Kip Hoffmann 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 81
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

AUSTIN BRUINS

OVERVIEW:

Record: 0-3-0-1 (6th, Central)
Home Record: 0-2-0-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 7GF/12GA
Power Play: 21.1% (12th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 85.7% (7th in the NAHL)
Top ScorersTravis Kothenbeutel (4GP—2G-2A—4PTS); Lane Krenzen (3GP—1G-2A—3PTS); Multiple Players (2PTS)

WHO’S UP FRONT:

Valdemar Ahlberg: The Bruins’ Danish rookie added an assist last night on Dante Zapata‘s third period power play goal. The point was Ahlberg’s second in as many games.

Evan Cholak: On Kothenbeutel’s line, the returning Cholak is another veteran, scoring presence for Austin, and set up Kothenbeutel’s opening goal last night with a sweet feed from behind the net.

 WHO’S ON D:

Lane Krenzen: The Bruins’ captain was held pointless last night and was on the ice for Cavanagh’s tying goal. Krenzen has rounded out the offensive side of his game and rarely puts together consecutive forgettable nights.

WHO’S IN GOAL:

Alex Schilling: With Mads Sogaard in net for last night’s loss, it appears likely the Bruins will tap their veteran netminder tonight.


JANESVILLE JETS

OVERVIEW:

Record: 7-1-0-0 (1st, Midwest)
Road Record: 2-0-0-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 24GF/15GA
Power Play: 30.0% (2nd in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 84.2% (8th in the NAHL)
Top ScorersKip Hoffmann (8GP—2G-10A—11PTS); Jakov Novak (7GP—4G-4A—8PTS); Multiple Players (6PTS)

WHO’S UP FRONT:

Erik Palmqvist: “Big Erik” is on a tear, and woe betide those in his way. His long reach and long, powerful stride makes him a breakaway threat every game. Add in his hands and strength and it becomes easier to understand how Palmqvist is the only NAHL rookie among Janesville’s top seven scorers.

Kip Hoffmann: Captain Kip has picked up right where he left off the 2016-17 postseason. After scoring nine goals in nine games on a run to Duluth, Hoffmann’s two-point Friday has him tied with Northeast’s Mike Egan for second place in NAHL scoring with 12 points.

WHO’S ON D:

Matthew Doyle: The rookie defenseman picked up his first NAHL point last night on the Cavanagh goal, and is starting to show signs of getting used to the speed and skill of junior hockey.

WHO’S IN GOAL:

Garrett Nieto: The Jets’ 1A/1B rotation, if continued, will see the ’98 Californian in net tonight. Nieto is unbeaten on the season and has allowed just three goals in his last 180+ minutes in wins over the Tomahawks, Minotauros, and Magicians. In that time, Nieto has made 79 saves on 82 shots for a .963 save percentage.

JANESVILLE JETS at AUSTIN BRUINS — Riverside Arena
Sat 10/7  |  7:05pm  |  Austin, MN

LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV  |  TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1