JANESVILLE, WI – Aiming to snap a season-long four-game losing streak, the Jets packed the bus this morning headed for Springfield, Illinois.
Janesville was swept by the Magicians each of the last two weekends, dropping their home games last Friday and Saturday by a combined 12-4 score.
The team is getting used to a faster set of systems under the new coaching regime of Corey Leivermann and Lennie Childs, and are hungry to show that improvement. Their next shot is tonight at the Nelson Ice Center versus the Springfield Jr. Blues.
The Jr. Blues are hot, having won seven of their last 10 games, including the final four of their five-game Alaska road trip. Former Jets Brandon Puricelli and Ben Schmidling continue to enjoy career seasons under head coach Tyler Rennette, and Michigan State commit Jack Williams placed one spot ahead of Cole Brady among North American goaltenders in the recently-released NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings.
The Midwest Division’s longest-tenured rivalry plays games #92 and #93 in its history this weekend. The Jets hold the all-time advantage, 60-23-4-4, and have some even more successful streaks recently. Springfield hasn’t defeated Janesville in regulation in 15 games, dating back to a 4-1 win at the Janesville Ice Arena on December 9, 2017. The last time the Jets failed to take a point out of the Nelson Ice Center was before the 2016 presidential election: a 5-4 loss on October 28, 2016. That’s good for a 13-0-1-0 record over the Jets’ last 14 games in Springfield.
The history might suggest an easy weekend, but every game is hard-fought between these two rivals, and they’ll meet in three of the next four weekends. That’s half a dozen games between these two teams over the course of just 22 days.
Set the table for a six-course meal.
Jets fans can tune in tonight for a friendly call. Calvin Bush brings you the action from the Land of Lincoln on HockeyTV.com.
JANESVILLE JETS
Record: 19-14-2-2 (3rd, Midwest)
Road Record: 8-5-0-2
Last Ten Games: 4-5-0-1
Goals For/Game: 2.57 (18th)
Goals Against/Game: 3.05 (16th)
Shots For/Game: 27.62 (22nd)
Shots Against/Game: 32.03 (12th)
Power Play: 13.7% (23rd)
Penalty Kill: 77.5% (17th)
Top Scorers: F Jack Vincent (36GP—10G-14A—24TS); F Matt Hanewall (37GP—8G-10A—18PTS); Nicholas Nardella (25GP—6G-12A—18PTS)
Goaltenders: Cole Brady (15-9-1-2; 2.62 GAA; .917 SV%); Sam Metcalf (4-6-0-1; 3.52 GAA; .890 SV%); Garrett Nieto (3-3-0-0; 3.42 GAA; .899 SV%)*
Rostered Commitments: F Nicholas Nardella (Michigan Tech); F Justin Engelkes (Miami); F Erik Bargholtz (Michigan State); G Cole Brady (Arizona State); F Brenden MacLaren (Ferris State); G Garrett Nieto (Union)
* Injured Reserve
SPRINGFIELD JR. BLUES
Record: 18-5-15-2-1 (4th, Midwest)
Home Record: 6-7-2-0
Last Ten Games: 7-3-0-0
Goals For/Game: 2.69 (17th)
Goals Against/Game: 3.00 (15th)
Shots For/Game: 29.22 (20th)
Shots Against/Game: 29.17 (5th)
Power Play: 18.3% (16th)
Penalty Kill: 82.4% (10th)
Top Scorers: F Brandon Puricelli (35GP—20G-19A—39PTS); F Ben Schmidling (36GP—14G-18A—32PTS); F Max Brainin (36GP—11G-21A—32PTS)
Goaltenders: Jack Williams (11-10-0-1; 3.01 GAA; .893 SV%); Janis Voris (4-0-0-1; 2.57 GAA; .906 SV%)
Rostered Commitments: F Spencer DenBeste (Lake Superior State); G Jack Williams (Michigan State)
