JANESVILLE, WI — A total of 18 Division I committed players hit the ice in Richfield, Minnesota, this weekend when the Jets take on the Minnesota Magicians.
While neither team is where they’d like to be in the standings, both the quality and the quantity of high-end, mostly young skill on these two rosters have attracted scouts all season long, and will again this weekend. Eight of the Jets’ and Magicians’ 18 total D-I commits are 2002s, and seven more are 2001s. The average age? Just 18 years, six months.
That’s a lot of candidates for the NAHL Selects teams at next month’s Top Prospects Tournament.
Often heard around this league and others in junior hockey: “no rookies after Christmas,” the idea that young talent can very quickly catch on to the speed, physicality, and overall demands of the next step up. Both the Jets, who are coming off of a pair of losses to the Chippewa Steel, and the Magicians, who managed a split with the Springfield Jr. Blues, are counting on truth behind this expression as they jostle with one another for a playoff spot.
Janesville holds a 4-0 series lead this season, with games number five and six of the eight-game sheet coming right up.
Fri Jan 17 | 7:15pm CT
Sat Jan 18 | 7:05pm CT
JANESVILLE JETS
Record: 13-21-1-0 (4th, Midwest)
Road Record: 6-12-0-0
Last Ten Games: 2-8-0-0
Goals For/Game: 2.49 (20th)
Goals Against/Game: 3.66 (22nd)
Shots For/Game: 28.17 (21st)
Shots Against/Game: 33.00 (17th)
Power Play: 21.5% (9th)
Penalty Kill: 80.4% (13th)
Top Scorers: F Nick Nardella (35GP—12G-19A—31PTS); F Isaac Novak (29GP—13G-11A—24PTS); F Jake Dunlap (24GP—6G-8A—14PTS)
Goaltenders: Grant Riley (9-15-1-0, 3.29 GAA, .902 SV%); Riley Sims (1-2-0-0, 3.57 GAA, .887 SV%)
Rostered Commitments: F Jake Dunlap (UMass Amherst); D Grant Hindman (Lake Superior State); F Max Itagaki (RPI); F Parker Lindauer (Northern Michigan); F Nick Nardella (Michigan Tech); F Isaac Novak (Wisconsin); G Grant Riley (Boston College); D Casey Roepke (Wisconsin); F Charlie Schoen (Arizona State)
MINNESOTA MAGICIANS
Record: 10-20-5-2 (5th, Midwest)
Home Record: 3-9-1-1
Last Ten Games: 3-6-1-0
Goals For/Game: 2.27 (22nd)
Goals Against/Game: 3.43 (18th)
Shots For/Game: 31.14 (16th)
Shots Against/Game: 33.84 (20th)
Power Play: 14.6% (19th)
Penalty Kill: 79.2% (15th)
Top Scorers: F Marko Reifenberger (37GP—8G-16A—24PTS); F TJ Sagissor (33GP—7G-10A—17PTS); F Lucas Kanta (37GP—6G-11A—17PTS)
Goaltenders: Samuel Vyletelka (5-6-0-1, 2.64 GAA, .921 SV%); Dysen Skinner (2-5-1-0, 3.21 GAA, .906 SV%)
Rostered Commitments: F Josh Bohlin (Wisconsin); F Rob Christy (Colorado College); F Jimmy Doyle (St. Lawrence); F Jake Hale (Minnesota-Duluth); F Chris Konin (Army); F Trevor Kukkonen (Michigan Tech); D Brett Oberle (Minnesota-Duluth); D Cole Oravitz (UMass Amherst); F Marko Reifenberger (Mercyhurst)
