By Stephen Dafoe
Morinville – The CJHL’s West Division pecking order widened a bit Sunday night after the Jets defeated the visiting Spruce Grove Regals 4-3. After rebounding from a 1-0 deficit to start the third period with a 3-1 lead, the Jets were given some strong competition as the Regals battled back to bring the game to within a point of driving the contest into overtime.
With a two-man advantage in the closing minute and a half of the final frame, the Regals brought the contest to 4-3, and kept the pressure on the Jets and the puck in their zone until the buzzer went.
Sunday night’s victory bring the Jets to an impressive 15-4-2 record this season, a long shot above where the club was around this time last year. At this point in the season last year, the Jets had back-to-back weekend victories putting them above .500 hockey, a place they’d been hovering all season. With a 10-9-3 record, the Jets were a different club than the one on the ice this year.
That difference has given the Jets 15 wins in 21 outings, a situation that has allowed them a firm control of their first place standing in the West Division and given them a respectable second place sitting in the league overall.
The Jets have clearly proven they can play and beat any team in the league, but as the season winds down over the coming weeks it will important for the club to maintain discipline in order to maintain dominance over some tough competition and some hungry clubs.
The Jets have one game this week – Sunday’s home game against the visiting (11-7-2) St. Albert Merchants. Game time is 6:45 p.m. at the Ray McDonald Sports Centre.
