Friday: W, 5-2
Janesville hopped into the lead with Grayden Daul’s 10th score while on the power play at 11:38 of the first. Janesville took their 2-1 lead into the second period but only stood for six minutes before Springfield brought the game to a 2-2 tie. A long stretch of scoreless action went into the second half of the period when Jan Lasak got on the board to put the Jets back on top, 3-2. Zigi’s 20th goal proved to be the game-winner by the end of the contest.
The third period went scoreless for 14 minutes until Zigi scored another goal, this one on the power play as well, to give the Jets a two-goal cushion.
Springfield pulled Aksel Reid to empty the net and get an extra attacker on, but Arsenii Smekhnov found an opening in the neutral zone and deposited his 7th score of the year into the yawning cage.
The Jets put forth 34 shots on goal in a strong offensive outing and were a solid two for three on the power play. The Jr. Blues were held in check in the shots department in the first two periods with a collective 17 shots but came out guns blazing in the third with an exhausting 18 shots. Thankfully, Owen Millward was up to the task and made 33 saves en route to his 25th win of the year. Janesville held Springfield scoreless on their two power play opportunities.
Saturday: L, 5-2
With a sound 5-2 win that extended their streak, the Jr. Blues turned the tables and got their long-awaited revenge on Saturday and stopped Janesville’s winning streak at 11.
The home team managed to start the scoring in the rubber match, as Arsenii Smekhnov found the back of the net for the ninth time at the halfway point of the first. Springfield took some time to reply but did so while on the man advantage at 17:47 of the opening period to tie the game at one.
Only a minute into the second, Jan Lasak got his 22nd goal on a man advantage that gave Janesville their lead back, 2-1. Springfield brought the game right back to a deadlock at 9:47. They took the lead for good, 3-2, just a minute later.
The visiting team would add two more goals, one on an empty net in the third, and skated away with a 5-2 win and the team to end Janesville’s long streak of wins.
The Jets managed to keep the shots to a minimum for Springfield, but they made the most of each opportunity in the attacking end in their five-goal output. On the flip side, the Jets heavily tested the opposition with 33 shots on goal, but Ethan Roberts stood his ground and allowed only two goals in a great effort.
Janesville played a great game with some heavy pressure in Springfield’s end, but just a few narrowly-missed passes around Roberts’ goal crease negated the potential for a comeback. Sometimes, you tip your cap to the netminder on the other side of you, which was certainly the case in Saturday’s loss.
Around the Division
THURSDAY SCORE
Minnesota Wilderness 3 @ Anchorage Wolverines 1
FRIDAY SCORES
Minnesota Magicians 4 @ Chippewa Steel 2
Minnesota Wilderness 1 @ Anchorage Wolverines 4
Fairbanks Ice Dogs 2 @ Kenai River Brown Bears 5
SATURDAY SCORES
Chippewa Steel 0 @ Minnesota Magicians 4
Minnesota Wilderness 3 @ Anchorage Wolverines 1
Fairbanks Ice Dogs 4 @ Kenai River Brown Bears 1
STANDINGS
| Place | Team | GP | Record | Pts |
| 1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 52 | 32-17-1-2 | 67 |
| 2 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 50 | 31-16-1-2 | 65 |
| 3 | Janesville Jets | 49 | 28-20-0-1 | 57 |
| 4 | Anchorage Wolverines | 48 | 25-17-4-2 | 56 |
| 5 | MN Wilderness | 49 | 27-21-1-0 | 55 |
| 6 | MN Magicians | 49 | 23-19-4-3 | 53 |
| 7 | Chippewa Steel | 49 | 19-27-1-2 | 41 |
| 8 | Kenai River Brown Bears | 51 | 13-33-3-2 | 31 |
Next Flight:
Another home-and-home series is on the horizon for the Jets, who will travel to Chippewa for the last time on Friday to play the Steel, and will then come back to Janesville to wrap up the season series against their in-state rivals. Both games are set for 7 PM CT.
