HOUGHTON - Jeffers came into its Lake Superior Hockey Conference contest with Houghton on a major roll.
The Jets had won six straight games and were playing their best hockey of the season.
But no team is perfect. And every once in a while a hiccup will occur.
That's exactly what happened to the Jets on Tuesday night.
The Gremlins broke open a scoreless tie after one with four goals in the second period and added one in the third to defeat Jeffers 5-1.
"The second period for about eight minutes was our hiccup," Jeffers coach David Bekkala said. "I don't know if we lost focus or we just stopped playing the team game that got us through the first period so well.
"There's an eight-minute stretch in the second where we decided to give up three goals as a team and that put us back."
Drake Anderson opened the scoring outburst for Houghton with an even-strength tally just 1:19 into the second. The Gremlins then scored two more goals just over a minute apart to up their lead to 3-0.
Aaron Kolehmainen and Connor Hannon had the goals that put Houghton in front by three. A goal by Trevor Mattson with just 20 seconds left in the frame made it 4-0 after two.
"I didn't think we played with a lot of energy in the first period," Houghton coach Corey Markham said. "I thought for the most part we were getting outworked and we talked about that between periods and turned the attitude around.
"We came out (in the second) and we were on our toes and got to all the loose pucks. We were just peppering them and we got a three-goal lead. We had a little lull for about three or four minutes where the ice tilted back our way a little bit, but then we reversed it again and finished off strong."
Jeffers tried to mount a comeback in the third. A goal by Kirk Hillstrom at the 4:35 mark cut the lead to 4-1.
"I thought Kirk Hillstrom had a solid game," Bekkala said. "He finally scored.
"He's been playing like that all year and he hasn't been able to get it in, but his hustle finally paid off."
But Hillstrom's goal would be the only one Houghton netminder Tony Peltier would allow. Peltier, who finished with 17 saves, made several big stops throughout the game to keep the Jets at bay.
"In the first period they had a couple of good chances that he made saves on and then in the third, when we had the three-goal lead, he made an outstanding stick save," Markham said of Peltier. "That was huge in keeping the three-goal lead and not giving them any momentum."
Anderson closed out the scoring with his second goal of the game at the 13:36 mark of the third. He finished with four points on the night for the Gremlins.
