JANESVILLE, WI — The Jets and the Chippewa Steel’s home-and-home series ended with an even split. Friday’s game was played in Chippewa Falls, and Saturday’s at the Janesville Ice Arena.
FRIDAY — W, 5-3
As the Jets were on the road, they came out on top to defeat the Steel with high intensity and great teamwork.
Grant Riley ended the game with 35 saves, and Chippewa goalie Trent Burnham ended with 29.
The Jets were led by Nick Michel who ended the night with two goals.
The other goal contributors of the Jets came from Nick Nardella, Parker Lindauer, and Brandon McNamara.
Chippewa was led by Kylar Fenton, Jackson Decker, and Luke Farthing.
Assistant coach Lennie Childs talked about how much effort goes into the game at this point of the season.
“Every day is a grind,” said Childs. “These are the dog days of hockey. If you don’t show up every day to put your work in, you’re not going to show up on gameday. We’re trying to solidify a spot in the playoffs.”
SATURDAY — L, 3-1
The Jets lost their momentum from the first game against the Steel the night before.
The Steel came out fighting hard.
The first goal of the game came from Banks Burkhart (4:05 2nd) off of a turnover in front of Grant Riley.
Jackson Sabo’s goal was waived off for high-sticking, keeping the score 1-0 in favor of the Steel.
The other two goals for the Steel came from Spencer Oyler (19:31 2nd) with a quick shot in front of Riley off of a pass from down ice, and Luke Farthing (18:50 3rd) on an empty net.
The lone goal for the Jets came from Parker Lindauer (10:40 3rd) on the right side of the net with a wrist shot, and was assisted by Jordon Halverson. It was Lindauer’s eighth goal of the season.
Grant Riley ended the night with 23 saves, and Chippewa’s Grant Boldt ended with 21.
Head coach Corey Leivermann expects more from his team in upcoming games.
“That loss was a learning curve,” he said. “It was another playoff game atmosphere. We need to learn how to control our emotions and win a tight, defensive battle type game. Soft skill won’t get you into the playoffs.”
Around the Division
FRIDAY SCORES
Fairbanks Ice Dogs 1 @ Springfield Jr. Blues 3
Kenai River Brown Bears 5 @ Minnesota Magicians 6
SATURDAY SCORES
Fairbanks Ice Dogs 7 @ Springfield Jr. Blues 0
Kenai River Brown Bears 2 @ Minnesota Magicians 5
SUNDAY SCORE
Fairbanks Ice Dogs 4 @ Springfield Jr. Blues 1
STANDINGS
| Place | Team | GP | Record | Pts |
| 1 | x – Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 47 | 35-9-1-2 | 73 |
| 2 | Chippewa Steel | 45 | 28-16-0-1 | 57 |
| 3 | Kenai River Brown Bears | 50 | 25-19-3-3 | 56 |
| 4 | Janesville Jets | 47 | 21-25-1-0 | 43 |
| 5 | Minnesota Magicians | 48 | 17-22-6-3 | 43 |
| 6 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 50 | 15-31-2-2 | 34 |
Coming Up
The Jets will host the Springfield Jr. Blues this weekend.
Jr. Blues @ Jets | Fri Feb 28 | 7:05pm CST
Jr. Blues @ Jets | Sat Feb 29 | 7:05pm CST
100+ NCAA commitments since 2009.