The Morinville Jets playoff series came to an end on Tuesday, Feb. 28, after losing three straight in a best-of-five second round to the North Edmonton Red Wings. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
by Stephen Dafoe and Morinville Online
It was a do-or-die outing for the Morinville Jets on Tuesday night. After dropping the first two games of a best-of-five playoff series with the North Edmonton Red Wings over the previous weekend, the Jets needed to win Tuesday’s game and two more as well.
Unfortunately, it was not to be for a club that had a solid regular season. The Jets fell 5-1 on home ice, bringing the series and their playoff run to an end.
Things looked promising on Tuesday night during the first period as the Jets put pressure on the Red Wings, outshooting them 6-1 seven minutes into the game.
When the Red Wings picked up a penalty at 12:50, it looked like the Jets might be able to capitalize on that opportunity. But just nine seconds later, the Red Wings caught a breakaway and pocketed their first goal of the game shorthanded. They would score another at 2:17 and a final first-period contribution with 8 seconds left on the clock to lead the game 3-0.
Midway through the second period, the Red Wings picked up another shorthanded goal to lead the contest 4-0.
The Jets would not respond to that goal until 6:04 in the third period, their first of the game. With the Jets serving a five-minute penalty, the Red Wings picked up their fifth and final goal on a powerplay with 3:04 on the clock.
Despite the loss, both sides were closely matched in chances at 38-35 in North Edmonton’s favour.
Jets’ President Brent Melville noted Tuesday night that several of the team’s top players were out with injuries, including defensemen Graeme Hampton and Dylan Cyr, both out with shoulder injuries; Isaac Kinsella, who was out with a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury, and Colby Maclean who broke his collarbone during Friday night’s series opener.
Though playoffs are over, the Jets scored significant achievements in the Capital Junior Hockey League Awards. Blake Sydlowski was named the League’s Most Valuable Player and League’s Top Scorer. Additionally, Sydlowski was named First Team Allstar for forward, and Graeme Hampton was First Team Allstars for defence. Kye Buchanan was named Second Team Allstar for forward.
Below are some photos from Tuesday night’s game:
