Jets Drop Pair to Second Place Bruins

(Jamestown, NY)     The Jamestown Jets began the weekend with a chance to overtake the Troy Bruins for second place in the Northern Junior Hockey League. After a 7-3 loss on Friday night and a hard fought 5-4 loss on Saturday, the Jets feel like they let an opportunity slip away.

In the series opener the Jets came out flying but the Troy Bruins matched their intensity by playing a great road period. The Bruins used solid goaltending and good defense to hold off the Jamestown pressure. Later in the first period the Bruins would cash in on a slap shot from Bruins forward Gleb Luchnikov. Jets starting goalie Rick Hennard was injured on the play and was replaced by Lorne Shotwell the rest of the way.

The teams went to the locker room with score 1-0 but early in the second the wheels came off for the Jets. Defensive zone giveaways led to a pair of easy goals for the Bruins and they extended their lead to 3-0.

There was no quit in the Jets and they quickly responded with a rebound goal by Jon Andhor. Andhor parked himself in front a banged home a rebound left by Bruins goalie Alexander Kuzmencko.  With a little life the Jets responded by turning up the intensity. They added a power play goal from defenseman David Moore later in the period and trailed by only one after 40 minutes.

Much like the first period, the Bruins were the better team in the third period. Troy took advantage of more Jamestown miscues and scored four times in the final 20 minutes on their way to what proved to be an easy victory.

Saturday night it was the Jets that would strike first on a goal by Jets forward Daniel Denniton just 21 seconds after the opening faceoff. After the Bruins tied the game the Jets quickly regained the lead on a mildly controversial goal. Jon Andhor charged hard towards the net and batted home a juicy rebound by Kuzmencko. The referees had a lengthy discussion before they correctly ruled the goal should stand.

The Bruins bench was obviously upset with the call on the ice and used that momentum to score twice more before the end of the first period. The hard play in the first period was marred by an ugly incident in front of the Jets penalty box. Jets forward Jon Gratton and Bruins forward Egor Pogodin-Alekseev were racing for a loose puck when Pogodin-Alekseev hit Gratton from behind. Gratton slid hard into the boards and lay on the ice for several minutes before skating off on his own.

While Gratton was injured on the ice an altercation ensued between Nate Hughes and Gleb Luchnikov. The battle between Hughes and Luchnikov lasted several minutes with the linesman between the two.  When action continued Pogodin-Alekseev and Hughes were ejected.

It was the Bruins that would strike first in the second but rookie forward John Melcher fired a wrist shot by Kuzmencko to pull the Jets back within one after 40 minutes of play.

The third period featured two desperate teams pressing to earn two points in a hard fought game. Once again it was the Bruins that answered the bell. Corey Evelyn scored his second of the game to give Troy a comfortable two goal lead. The desperate Jets fired pucks from all over the ice and eventually Bruce Statton was rewarded with a blistering shot that beat Kuzmencko.

The Jets would get no closer and now find themselves six points behind the second place Bruins. The entire Northern Junior Hockey League will be in Jamestown this Friday through Sunday for the showcase and All-Star game. Stay tuned to www.jamestownjets.com and  http://thenjhl.goalline.ca/ for details.

Your Town  Your Arena  Your Team