by Stephen Dafoe
The week saw the Jets win one and lose one. After a 7-3 upset against the West Division’s top-ranked Edmonton Mustangs on the road Wednesday, The Jets won 5-4 over the visiting Beverly Warriors at home Friday night.
Mustangs topple Jets
The Jets’ Nov. 11 road trip to face the Mustangs resulted in a game of catch up where the Jets never caught up. Trailing 3-0 halfway through the first period, the Jets finally added one to the board when Tyler Hagel scored at 8:18 off an assist from Brandon Dubuc and Craig Hills.
Trailing 3-1 to start the second, the Jets managed only two goals to the Mustangs four. Lee Gadoury and Brandon Dubuc added to the tally for the Jets in the middle frame.
The final period resulted in a single goal with six minutes left int he game. That goal came from Brandon Dubuc, assisted by Tyler Hagel and Jorden Rooke.
Jets take down Warriors
Friday night’s home game was a solid opportunity for the Jets. From a 3-2 first period lead in which the Jets got contributions from Craig Hills, Lee Gadoury and Brandon Dubuc, the club found themselves scoreless in the second period and trailing 4-3 by the end of the frame. Both the Warriors goals were power play goals.
But fortunes would reverse in the final period as the Jets picked up another two, the first from Brandon Dubuc and the last from Lee Gadoury with 6:26 left in the game.
Seventeen games into the Capital Junior Hockey League season, the Morinville Jets continue to look for points on the road to the mid-season mark.
With a 7-10-0 record, the club holds only 14 points and find themselves at the top of the bottom five of 14 teams. The Jets currently trail the Mustangs, Warriors, Red Wings and Merchants in the East Division, and lead only the Stony Plain Flyers and the basement-dwelling Spruce Grove Regals.
Part of the struggle this season seems to be penalty time and capitalizing on their power play chances. The Jets have wracked up 521 minutes in the box so far this season. During that time, the Jets gave up 24 goals but have only managed to pocket nine goals when they had the advantage.
In addition to Sunday night’s home game, the Jets have only one game this week, a rare Saturday night home-ice slot at 6 p.m. when they will take on the St. Albert Merchants.
