The Jets have arrived in The Last Frontier and have an action-packed two weeks ahead with series against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs and Kenai River Brown Bears.
The six-game slate begins tonight, April 22 at Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks, for the first of three with the Ice Dogs. The two teams last met in late February in Fairbanks’ home-away-from-home in Minnesota, and the Jets came away with a sweep that featured 5-4 and 3-2 victories.
Earlier this month, Janesville was attempting to catch up to Fairbanks in the Midwest Division standings, but the team has made significant headway since. The Jets currently sit in first place with 52 points in 36 games, while the Ice Dogs have 42 in 39 games.
Janesville is on a six-game win streak and Fairbanks hasn’t seen action since April 3, which resulted in a win against the Minnesota Magicians. Both teams have been on tears in their last 10, though, with the Jets at 9-1-0-0 and Ice Dogs at 8-2-0-0.
Fans following back home should prepare for some late nights while the squad is in Alaska. Thursday’s game is slated for 7:00 p.m. AKDT, or 10:00 p.m. CDT, while Friday and Saturday’s outings are set for 7:30 p.m., or 10:30 p.m. in Janesville. The following week’s games in Kenai River on April 29-30 and May 1 will follow the same schedule.
The games will be broadcast live on HockeyTV, with stats available via the NAHL Game Center. Live updates will also be provided via the Jets Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Last Time Out
The Jets continued the Battle of Wisconsin with the Chippewa Steel in a trio of games last weekend and finished with a commanding sweep that officially brings the Blain’s Farm and Fleet Milk Can trophy back to Janesville with the series sitting at 7-1-0-0 in Janesville’s favor. The Jets won the weekend by a combined score of 14-3 with 7-0, 4-1 and 3-2 victories. Owen Millward posted his first junior hockey shutout on Thursday and also got the win on Saturday, while the middle game went to Riley Sims. Charlie Schoen had five goals over the three games and Robby Newton, Tommy Middleton, Carter Hottmann and Shane Ott all had four points each.
Taking Flight
For the second time this season, Charlie Schoen was named the Midwest Division Star of the Week for his performance. Charlie scored in each of the games against Chippewa over the weekend, with two goals in both Thursday and Saturday’s competition. He also tallied the game-winners on Thursday and Saturday, which puts him at seven on the season, third-best in the league. Schoen leads the Midwest Division in points with 36, and his 1.2 points per game is the second-best mark in the league.