By Mason Lyttle
MINNESOTA WILDERNESS at JANESVILLE JETS — Janesville Ice Arena
Fri 11/24 | 7:00pm | Janesville, WI
LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV | TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1
WEDNESDAY: The Janesville Jets picked up a big two points in La Crosse over one of the NAHL’s hottest teams in the Coulee Region Chill, 3-2 in the shootout. Goals from Sam Renlund and Jakov Novak tied the contest in the second and third periods (respectively), and each added a goal in the shootout to ice the Chill. Defenseman Reid Hill also picked up two assists. Both goaltenders were spectacular. Josh Graziano stopped 47 of 49 shots for Coulee Region, and Daniel Lebedeff made 38 of 40 saves for the win.
TONIGHT: The visiting Minnesota Wilderness did the Jets a favor Wednesday night when they downed the Minnesota Magicians, 4-1, at the Northwoods Credit Union Arena. Coach Tim Madsen’s squad starts a four-game road stretch with a pair of games in Janesville this weekend. In a crowded Central Division race, Minnesota is on the outside looking in and need points this weekend. Thanksgiving dinner probably wasn’t enough for the hungry team from Cloquet.
SEASON SERIES (Jets 0-0-0-0)
Nov. 24 | MN Wilderness | 7:00pm |
Nov. 25 | MN Wilderness | 7:00pm |
Feb. 9 | @ MN Wilderness | 7:05pm |
Feb. 10 | @ MN Wilderness | 7:05pm |
Midwest Division Standings:
Place | Team | Record | Pts |
1 | Janesville Jets | 14-6-1-0 | 29 |
2 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 11-5-2-2 | 26 |
3 | MN Magicians | 12-8-1-1 | 26 |
4 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 10-8-1-1 | 22 |
5 | Coulee Region Chill | 6-7-1-5 | 18 |
6 | Kenai River Brown Bears | 8-12-1-0 | 17 |
JETS BITS
- FINNTASTIC: Badger commit and NHL Central Scouting Player to Watch Daniel Lebedeff filled in for the injured Garrett Nieto last Saturday in Brookings, and played well despite the loss, stopping 17 of 18 shots. Wednesday was more of the same for the increasingly confident Lebedeff: 38/40 on the road and a big W to boot. His recent performance boosted his season save percentage to .919, giving Janesville two of the league’s top 16 in that column (Nieto sits 12th with a .923).
- NOT DISAP-POINTING: In his seven games now of NAHL play, Verona native Sam Renlund is a certified pointer. He got the Jets going Wednesday with a redirect goal in the second period, increasing his point streak to four games (2G-4A—6PTS).
- NOSE NEIGHBORS: This weekend, the Jets play their final games of November, meaning the end is nearing for the players’ mustache-growing efforts to raise money for men’s health initiatives. Click here for the players’ votes on best and worst ‘staches, as well as information on how to donate.
MILESTONE ALERT
- Kip Hoffmann is 8 points away from 100 in his NAHL career
- Carter Ekberg is 5 games away from 75 in his NAHL career
- Alec Semandel is 8 games away from 75 in his junior hockey career (USHL, NAHL)
- TJ Polglaze is 12 games away from 75 in his NAHL career
- Kip Hoffmann is 14 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 | 161 |
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 |
MINNESOTA WILDERNESS OVERVIEW:
Record: 8-10-1-0 (5th, Central)
Road Record: 4-3-1-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 54GF/59GA
Power Play: 22.4% (8th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 74.4% (19th in the NAHL)
Top Scorers: Kosta Likourezos (21GP—9G-10A—16PTS), Eric Gotz (21GP—3G-13A—16PTS); Luke Dow (21GP—5G-10A—15PTS)
JANESVILLE JETS
OVERVIEW:
Record: 14-6-1-0 (1st, Midwest)
Home Record: 5-3-0-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 60GF/53GA
Power Play: 22.4% (7th in the NAHL)
Penalty Kill: 76.7% (16th in the NAHL)
Top Scorers: Jakov Novak (19GP—10G-13A—22PTS); Kip Hoffmann (21GP—7G-16A—23PTS); TJ Polglaze (21GP—1G-13A—14PTS)
MINNESOTA WILDERNESS at JANESVILLE JETS — Janesville Ice Arena
Fri 11/24 | 7:00pm | Janesville, WI
LIVE STREAM: HockeyTV | TWITTER: @JanesvilleJets1