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Point blast: Jets down Bulldogs in overtime, 8-7

HOUGHTON — If one was to ask the individuals that make up the Jeffers’ Jets hockey team which game they circle on their calendar each season, there would only be one answer from every skater, the Hancock Bulldogs. The Jets co-op with the Bulldogs for high school football, and would love nothing more than to beat their football teammates when the little black disk is in season.

Tuesday night, the Jets had their chance to defeat the Bulldogs at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Bulldogs were without starting goaltender Phillip Rios and fellow seniors Bryce Randell and Trevor Tchida, which meant the Bulldogs iced an even younger squad than they had to this point all year.

The Jets needed overtime and a power play, but in the end, they found a win to win, 8-7, when captain Evan Larson knocked down a failed clearing attempt by Bulldogs forward Austin Salani, wound up and blasted a slap shot from the right point through traffic and past Bulldogs goaltender Isaak Pietila at 4:13.

The goal was Larson’s second of the night. His first tally came in the second period on the first shot Isaak Pietila saw after replacing Brandon Pietila.

“There is no better person than Evan Larson to score that goal,” said Jets coach Patrick Nettell of the game-winning tally. “He’s worked the hardest for three years and he gets the game-winner. That’s just perfect. He gives everything he has every game.”

Hancock and Jeffers played through a night in which there seven lead changes, the Anderson brothers scored three goals each for Hancock, and Kyler Hillstrom scored his first goal as a Jets skater in his first game.

“The kids had drive tonight and that is huge,” Patrick Nettell said. “It was a huge game for us. It’s a huge confidence builder. For a lot of these kids, it’s their first time beating Hancock.”

Both teams scored on their first shots of the game.

It took the Bulldogs all of 17 seconds to open the flood gates in what turned out to be a back and forth affair with seven lead changes. Petr Anderson buried a shot under Noah Nettell to get Hancock on the board.

Rouleau was extremely pleased to get solid efforts out of both Petr and Todd Anderson in the game.

“They are battlers,” Rouleau said. “From Day One, when those two kids tried out, you knew they were going to be good players. Their skill is starting to show through. Their work ethic is really good. They both work their butts off.”

The lead did not last, however, as the Jets bounced right back with a goal at 1:07 as Kellen Klein found the net with the Jets’ first shot of the night. The Jets then added a power play marker at 5:48 off a shot from the right circle by assistant captain Matthew Halonen.

Petr Anderson evening things just as a power play expired as he grabbed a pass on the back door from his brother Todd and buried it at 8:21.

The Jets stormed back less than a minute later as Johnathan Mantila scored off a feed on a faceoff to Brandon Pietila’s left and the Jets were back up 3-2.

Petr Anderson potted his hat trick tally at the 15:00 mark to even the game again. Taking a pass from Bradley Randell, Anderson spun and fired a shot along the ice that found the back of the net.

Austin Salani gave the Bulldogs their second lead of the night 1:06 into the middle frame. Taking a pass from Todd Anderson, Salani flew down the right side of the slot and beat Nettell over the glove with a wrist shot.

The Jet had just three shots in the second period and scored on two of them.

Halonen scored his second of the night on a wrist shot over Brandon Pietila’s shoulder, ending his night at 5:52.

“Give (the Jets) credit, they beat us in a high-scoring affair,” said Rouleau. “We had young goalies and it showed a little bit, but by no means am I hanging them out to dry. They are young kids. They will learn as they go along.”

Hancock’s Todd Anderson scored twice in 1:02 to open the third period and put the Bulldogs back ahead 6-5. The first was off a rebound as the Bulldogs bottled the Jets up in their own end for several chances before Anderson finally knocked it home. Anderson’s second goal came off a pass from Austin Salani on a 2-on-1 just 2:50 into the third.

Scoring

Hancock 3 1 3 0 – 7

Jeffers 3 2 2 1 – 8

First period

1, HCH, Petr Anderson (Colton Salani), :17

2, JHS, Kellen Klein, 1:07

3, JHS, Matthew Halonen (David Storm, Elias Rajala), PP, 5:48

4, HCH, Petr Anderson (Todd Anderson, Colton Salani), 8:21

5, JHS, Johnathan Mantila (Halonen, Storm), 9:08

6, HCH, Petr Anderson (Bradley Randell), 15:00

Second period

7, HCH, Austin Salani (Todd Anderson), 1:06

8, JHS, Halonen, 5:52

9, JHS, Evan Larson, 7:20

Third period

10, HCH, Todd Anderson (Leroy Bastian, Kyle Maki), 1:48

11, HCH, Todd Anderson (Austin Salani), 2:50

12, JHS, Kyler Hillstrom (Nolan Asiala), 3:42

13, JHS, Storm (Mantila, Rajala), 7:19

14, HCH, Todd Anderson (Paul Lorenzetti), 14:10

Overtime

15, JHS, Larson, PP, 4:13

Saves

HCH, B. Pietila 12 0 0 0 – 12

Pietila 0 1 8 3 – 12

JHS, Nettell 7 6 9 2 – 24

Power plays

HCH: 0/2; JHS: 2/4

Penalties

HCH: 4/8; JHS: 3/6

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