The Jets continued their winning ways thanks to victories of 4-0 and 6-2 against the Chippewa Steel that pushed their winning streak to seven games. In their last ten games from home ice, the Jets have won nine of them, with the high-point occurring two weeks ago after a sweep over the division-leading Springfield Jr. Blues. Six weeks of games are left in the regular season following this three-game series, including four games against the Minnesota Wilderness, who are currently in a three-way tie for fourth place in the division with Janesville and the Minnesota Magicians at 49 points.
Janesville has won all four of their games against the Steel this year, with two of them coming as shutouts, and have scored at least four goals in all of their wins. The Jets scored ten goals in their recent weekend matchup and allowed just two. For the Steel, the season certainly isn’t lost, as they are still within single-digit points of the three teams above them, but games against the playoff-position holders need to equate to wins for them at these late stages of the season.
The Jets’ winning streak of seven games is their longest of the season and is the second-longest active streak in the league. Their great success over the last month has come with additional individual triumphs from the team. Cal Mell made his commitment to Union College just before their February 18 game against Springfield, only two weeks after the NAHL Top Prospects tournament. Following Mell’s honors, Owen Millward won Midwest Division Star of the Week thanks to his strong pair of games against the Jr. Blues. It was his second weekly award this season and the fourth league award for the Jets.
Just this week, Cy LeClerc took home the Jets’ second consecutive Midwest Star of the Week award after scoring three goals and recording three assists in their sweep over the Steel. The rookie from New Hampshire leads the Jets in points (55), is third in the NAHL and second among rookies. LeClerc has a point in four straight games and ten in his last four outings.
To round out the league recognitions, Owen Millward won Goaltender of the Month following his incredible month of February. Milly had five wins in five games, including three shutouts, and made 132 saves on 135 shots. The 18-year-old netminder from Davis, California, has become a household name in the league and has been a brick wall (and then some) for the Jets this year.
Specific players have had standout honors and accomplishments this year, but it’s no question that the Jets have come together and created this opportunity because of the tightly-knit locker room, great chemistry, and outstanding teamwork they’ve cultivated. A 3-11-0-1 start to the season was the first blockade Janesville faced, but they’ve made an incredible turnaround and, en route to a current playoff-position hold, have lost just two games since January 1. It’s been a total team effort to get to this point, and it’ll be crucial for the group to keep their feet on the gas and continue to push forward in the final few weeks of the 2021-22 campaign.
Only one game will be from Janesville this weekend, on Friday, featuring Chilly’s Birthday and Free Kids Night. The Jets will have a birthday cake and mascots from around town to come and celebrate Chilly’s special day, and anyone age 14 and under receives free entry to the game.
Doors to the Janesville Ice Arena will open at 6 PM CT. If you don’t already have a ticket, you can always purchase one at a Lions Quick Mart around town or purchase a ticket at the door. Puck drop for Friday and Saturday’s games against the Steel will be at 7 PM CT, and Sunday’s match against St. Cloud will be at 3 PM CT. If you can’t make it to the arena, you can always follow us on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms for updates. Broadcaster Mike Hammett will have the play-by-play call for Friday’s game on HockeyTV.
#WheelsUp✈️
JANESVILLE JETS
Record: 24-19-0-1 (5th, Midwest)
Home Record: 15-6-0-1
Road Record: 9-13-0-0
Goals For/Game: 3.66 (5th)
Goals Against/Game: 3.30 (18th)
Shots For/Game: 29.91 (23rd)
Shots Against/Game: 29.61 (9th)
Power Play: 20% (13th)
Penalty Kill: 70.4% (28th)
Top Scorers: F Cy LeClerc (44GP—26G-29A—55PTS); F Jan Lasak (38GP—19G-20A—39PTS); F William Gustavsson (40GP—17G-20A—37PTS)
Goaltenders: Owen Millward (22-8-0-0; 2.57 GAA; .911 SV%); Michael D’Orazio (2-8-0-1; 4.02 GAA; .872 SV%); Ryan Whittaker (0-1-0-0; 6.00 GAA; .778 SV%)
Rostered Commitments: F Robby Newton (University of Wisconsin); F Grayden Daul (University of Wisconsin); F Jonah Aegerter (St. Cloud State); F Cy LeClerc (University of New Hampshire); F Jan Lasak (St. Lawrence University); F Ethan Begg (University of Vermont); F Jack Ford (Army-West Point); D AJ Casperson (Long Island University); F Jimmy Doyle (St. Lawrence University); F Jack Larrigan (University of Notre Dame); F Joseph Kramer (Providence College); F Cade Destefani (Western Michigan University); D Cal Mell (Union College)
CHIPPEWA STEEL
Record: 19-24-0-2 (7th, Midwest)
Road Record: 9-11-0-1
Home Record: 10-13-0-1
Goals For/Game: 2.73 (24th)
Goals Against/Game: 3.36 (20th)
Shots For/Game: 29.62 (27th)
Shots Against/Game: 29.58 (8th)
Power Play: 16.1% (19th)
Penalty Kill: 82.8% (12th)
Top Scorers: F Joseph Grainda (44GP—13G-16A—29PTS); F Nick Sajevic (45GP—12G-16A—28PTS); D Sam Frandina (28GP—4G-13A—17PTS)
Goaltenders: Croix Kochendorfer (12-12-0-1; 2.70 GAA; .909 SV%); Nick Haas (0-3-0-0; 4.99 GAA; .860 SV%)
Rostered Commitments: F Matthew Brille (Brown University); F Andrew Delladonna (Ohio State University); D Sam Frandina (St. Lawrence University)
ST. CLOUD NORSEMEN
Record: 28-14-0-1 (1st, Central)
Home Record: 17-5-0-1
Goals For/Game: 3.84 (3rd)
Goals Against/Game: 2.72 (4th)
Shots For/Game: 34.98 (3rd)
Shots Against/Game: 24.93 (2nd)
Power Play: 21.7% (10th)
Penalty Kill: 83.8% (6th)
Top Scorers: F Ryan O’Neill (40GP—24G-28A—52PTS); F Blake Mesenburg (43GP—16G-29A—45PTS); F Nik Hong (42GP—15G-26A—41PTS)
Goaltenders: Tomas Bolo (19-7-0-3; 2.52 GAA; .901 SV%); Ethan Dahlmeir (7-3-0-3; 2.52 GAA; .897 SV%)
Rostered Commitments: F Ryan O’Neill (University of St. Thomas); D John Opilka (St. Cloud State University); F Blake Perbix (Northern Michigan); F Nate Warner (University of Minnesota)
