Jeffers forward Griffin Heinonen chases a puck behind the net with an Escanaba defender at his heels during a game Tuesday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Jeffers Jets hockey team tallied their fourth win of the year with a 5-2 victory over the Escanaba Eskymos Tuesday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

It was a game in which the Jets took an early 1-0 lead, only to lose it after the first 17 minutes, 2-1. However, the second and third periods belonged to the team in green as they shut out their opponent for the win.

Along the way, center Cam Anderson had a hat trick. He scored the first one at the 1:05 mark of the first. It came off an assist from the Jets’ Reese Laitila.

“That early goal was good to see,” said Jets coach Aaron Helminen. “However, it was as if we were flat on our feet after that.”

The Eskymos rallied with two to close out the first. The first one came at around the 11:30 mark off the stick of Carson Hughes. That tied it at one, and the Eskymos went ahead with their second goal, courtesy of Graham Johnson, with less than two minutes to go in the first.

“In between periods, I told the boys that we needed to find our legs and support the puck well,” said Helminen, ” and I think we did. It led to opportunities in the second.”

Less than a minute into the second, opportunity struck with Anderson finding net again after being fed a puck by Tage Rajala. Anderson then put the Jets in the lead at 3-2 with his third goal of the night. It was again assisted by Rajala.

Out came a sprinkling of hats for No. 19.

“Cam gets the game puck as he has a knack for scoring goals,” Helminen said. “He is a senior now and is stepping up into that role.”

At the 14-minute mark, the Jets Brogan Turner faked left and went high post with a breakaway shot past Escanaba’s goalie, Cully Hayes.

Turner was right back at it in the third period to cap off a power play with a goal with less than a minute to go in the game.

The Jets outshot the Eskymos 30-28.

“In the second and the third, we matched their (Escanaba’s) energy, and just kept pushing,” Helminen said. “Credit goes to our defensemen Blake Heltunen and Griffin Heinonen tonight. They had some big minutes shutting the other team down.”

Up next

The Jets will hit the road to Kingsford for a Tuesday game against the Flivvers.