By Stephen Dafoe
Morinville – The Jets suffered another loss Tuesday night, the club’s third upset in as many outings. After starting 2013 with eight consecutive wins, the Jets have been winless in February. Tuesday night’s home game saw the Junior B club fall 11-8 to the Sherwood Park Knights, a club currently at the top of the CJHL’s East Division and ranked second in the league overall.
The Jets ended the first period with a 3-1 deficit to start the middle frame. That deficit grew to 7-4, leaving the Jets three goals behind at the start of the third period. Despite picking up another four goals in the final period, it was just not enough to cover the additional four the Knights got to the back of Morinville’s mesh.
Tuesday night’s loss puts the Jets in fifth place in the West Division, two points and one game behind the St. Albert Merchants.
While playing the first round of playoffs is a certainty for the club, all hope for a first round bye is now gone. What remains to be seen is whom the Jets will play in the first round. As things currently sit, they are poised to square off against the St. Albert Merchants. However, there are three games remaining in the regular season for the Jets to rise a little higher in the standings.
The Jets take to the road Friday night to play the basement-dwelling Stony Plain Flyers in what will be their final game of the season. The North Edmonton Red Wings will come calling Sunday night to take on the Jets at the Ray McDonald Sports Centre in Morinville. Game time is 6:45 p.m. The club’s final regular season game is a home game against the Beverly Warriors Feb. 12.
