By Mason Lyttle (@MasonLyttle)
BROOKINGS BLIZZARD at JANESVILLE JETS — Janesville Ice Arena
Fri 12/1 | 7:00pm | Janesville, WI
LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV | TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1
LAST WEEKEND: The Janesville Jets won a pre-Thanksgiving match in La Crosse over the Coulee Region Chill to hold control of the traveling prize, the Blain’s Dairyland Milk Can Trophy. Following the shootout win in western Wisconsin, the Jets hosted the Minnesota Wilderness and suffered their second sweep in as many weeks to another Central Division opponent. The Jets were far better in Saturday’s loss, but still surrendered a pair of two-goal leads in the overtime defeat.
TONIGHT: The Brookings Blizzard come to town after a split in Minot last weekend. Head coach Moe Mantha’s group swept the Jets two weeks ago in the Mt. Rushmore State and find themselves one point out of a three-way tie for first place in the Central Division. The Jets are trying to find some stability as injuries and inconsistencies have dented a fantastic start to the season. Two hungry teams play tonight, and Gary Shuchuk’s group have not forgotten the bitterness of the sweep at the Larson. Buckle up.
SEASON SERIES (Blizzard 2-0-0-0)
| Nov. 17 | @ Brookings | OTL, 4-3 |
| Nov. 18 | @ Brookings | L, 5-3 |
| Dec. 1 | Brookings | 7:00pm |
| Dec. 2 | Brookings | 7:00pm |
Midwest Division Standings:
| Place | Team | Record | Pts |
| 1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 14-5-2-2 | 32 |
| 2 | Janesville Jets | 14-7-2-0 | 30 |
| 3 | MN Magicians | 13-10-1-1 | 28 |
| 4 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 12-8-1-1 | 26 |
| 5 | Coulee Region Chill | 6-10-1-5 | 18 |
| 6 | Kenai River Brown Bears | 8-15-1-0 | 17 |
JETS BITS
- AGAINST THE GRAIN: Janesville’s Movember efforts raised nearly $2,500 for men’s health initiatives. Major credit deserved to Gary Shuchuk for organizing and to Justin Bofshever, the team’s top earner.
- SILVER LINING: The Jets’ November was one to learn from and move past. In nine games the club played a 3-4-2-0 record, earning eight of a possible 18 points. The silver lining: just five of the 13 points earned by the Jets’ opposition stayed in the division. After the slide, Janesville is still only two points out of first place in the Midwest. Plenty of divisional hockey to play.
- LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Despite the slide, veteran forwards Kip Hoffmann and Jakov Novak continue to produce offensively for the Jets. Hoffmann exploded for two goals against the Blizzard the last time these teams played, and Novak recorded a point in six of November’s nine games. The pair have found excellent chemistry on Janesville’s top line.
MILESTONE ALERT
- Kip Hoffmann is 1 point away from moving past Connor McBride for sole possession of 4th place in Jets’ all-time scoring
- Kip Hoffmann is 8 points away from 100 in his NAHL career
- Carter Ekberg is 4 games away from 75 in his NAHL career
- Alec Semandel is 6 games away from 75 in his junior hockey career (USHL, NAHL)
- TJ Polglaze is 10 games away from 75 in his NAHL career
- Kip Hoffmann is 12 games away from tying Cullen Munson’s Jets record of 175 regular season games
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 | 163 |
| 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 | Kip Hoffmann | F | 37 |
| 7 | Cole Paskus | 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 |
| T-4 | Connor McBride | F | 92 |
| T-4 | Kip Hoffmann | F | 92 |
| 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: 12-10-0-1 (4th, Central)
Road Record: 3-5-0-1
Goals For/Goals Against: 72GF/75GA
Power Play: 17.0% (20th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 70.2% (22nd in the NAHL)
Top Scorers: Doug Larson (21GP—10G-9A—19PTS), Josh Boyer (21GP—8G-11A—19PTS); Vince Marino (23GP—8G-10A—18PTS)
JANESVILLE JETS
OVERVIEW:
Record: 14-7-2-0 (2nd, Midwest)
Home Record: 5-4-1-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 63GF/60GA
Power Play: 20.0% (12th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 76.0% (19th in the NAHL)
Top Scorers: Jakov Novak (21GP—11G-13A—24PTS); Kip Hoffmann (23GP—7G-16A—23PTS); TJ Polglaze (23GP—2G-14A—14PTS)
BROOKINGS BLIZZARD at JANESVILLE JETS — Janesville Ice Arena
Fri 12/1 | 7:00pm | Janesville, WI
LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV | TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1