Jeffers forward Cody Turner battles Marquette’s Ian Sheltrow for a loose puck during a game Wednesday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Jeffers Jets hockey coach Aaron Helminen knew he had his work cut out on Wednesday as his team faced a seasoned and bigger Marquette team. As such, the script followed course with a 6-3 loss at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

“They have a lot of depth,” said Helminen. “They skate four lines. We have just three. As well, they have a lot of seniors and that leads to a stronger, and more mature, team. The better team won tonight.”

The Marquette squad came out strong and got on the scoreboard with less than two minutes into the game. Seth Sandstrom pushed one in from a traffic jam in front of the net and Marquette led 1-0.

They went up 2-0 less than five minutes later as Nash Riipi poked one past Jets goaltender Kasen Helminen.

The Jets (7-5-1) prevented a goose egg in the first period thanks to winger Cody Turner. With less than 1:30 to go, he converted a pass from Brogan Turner into a shot that was all net. Marquette led 2-1 at the first intermission.

As the second got under way, Marquette (12-2) continued to dominate with puck control. A slap shot off the stick of Marquette’s Tony DeMattia from the top of the point made it 4-1 at the 2:30 mark of the second.

They went on to score two more before the buzzer sounded to end the second. Teagan Nevenhoven scored at the 5:20 mark, and with just 33 seconds to go in the period a slap shot from Brody Sheldon found the back of the net. Marquette went into the third with a 5-1 lead.

“The third was our best period,” noted Helminen. “We stepped up our play and effort.”

That improved effort led to two Jets’ goals.

Griffin Heinonen scored with around 14 minutes on the clock, and, roughly 10 minutes later, Brit Heinonen and Cage Osterman combined for the Jets’ third goal of the night.

Marquette had the final say with one more goal at the 13:04 mark to put the game out of reach.

“We played well, not perfect,” said Marquette’s coach Doug Garrow. “They (Jets) had one too many odd-man rushes, but I liked how we handled the puck, and our goaltender (Parker Nevenhoven) did a great job. Goaltending has been a bright spot for us all year.”

UP NEXT

The Jets will be back on the ice on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. faceoff against the Calumet Copper Kings.