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Jets drop game against Gaylord

MARQUETTE — A young Jeffers hockey team endured some growing pains here Saturday in a 4-1 loss to the Gaylord Blue Devils.

Jeffers appeared to carry the play early in the third period. Gaylord then scored twice within 35 seconds in this non-conference contest at Lakeview Arena.

“We had plenty of opportunities,” said Jeffers coach Darin Johnson. “We just couldn’t find the back of the net. I thought they played well and their goaltender really played well. They did a good job keeping us outside.”

Ty Picher snapped a scoreless deadlock with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle three minutes, 25 seconds into the third stanza and Colton Hurst added the second goal from the doorstep at 4:00.

“They were maybe a step faster, then the two goals changed everything,” said Gaylord coach Jamie Voss. “The story of the game is nobody could get quality opportunities in the first two periods. That was a good game. We like playing them. It’s a good battle.”

Hurst added his second goal from inside the right circle for a three-goal cushion 12:18 into the third.

Freshman Cody Turner got the Jets on the board with his first career goal 62 seconds later.

“That was a big moment for Cody,” said Johnson. “We have a lot of young players, but came away with a lot of positives. We got a lot of shots during a five-minute penalty. This was a learning experience for many of our guys. We were missing about four players. Hopefully, we’ll be healthy next week.”

Turner was denied on a breakaway late in the second period and one of Gaylord’s shots hit the pipe in the opening frame.

Gage Looker added an empty net goal from behind Gaylord’s blue line with 59 seconds remaining, helping the Blue Devils improve to 8-8-1

“We’ve struggled to get to .500,” said Voss. “This helps a lot. When you get a few goals, you start playing better than you were.”

The Jets (3-7-2) finished with a 40-36 shots on goal advantage, including several during a Blue Devils’ five-minute major penalty in the second period. Jeffers, however, had a minor penalty during that span.

“I thought maybe we’d get a goal there,” said Johnson. “We told the guys to keep trying. The goals will come.”

The Jets travel to Manistique Saturday. The Blue Devils host Petoskey Wednesday.

Scoring

Gaylord 0 0 4 — 4

Jeffers 0 0 0 — 1

Scoring plays:

First period

None.

Second period

None.

Third period

1, GHS, Picher (Mastenbrook, Busch), 3:25; 2, GHS, Hurst (Voss, Carr), 4:00; 3, GHS, Picher (Hopp, Hurst), 12:18; 4, JHS, Turner, 13:20; 5, GHS, Looker (empty net-unassisted), 16:01.

Shots on goal: Jeffers 40, Gaylord 36

Saves: Jeffers (S. Rajala 36), Gaylord (Corbin 39).

Power plays: Jeffers 0-4, Gaylord 0-1.

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