Jeffers defenseman Blake Heltunen pinches Hancock forward Lukas Axford against the boards during the first period of a game Tuesday at the HoCo Arena in Hancock. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — The Jeffers Jets hockey team needed a bit of a reset after a tough week last week that saw them go 0-2-1. They got that Tuesday night as they held off the Hancock Bulldogs to earn a 6-4 win at the HoCo Arena.

For the Jets, the timing could not have been better.

“(I’m) excited for the guys,” said Jets coach Aaron Helminen. “They played hard. (We’re) happy that we were able to come in and get a conference win and kind of bounce back, kind of stop some of the bleeding we’ve had over the last few games.”

The Jets, who improved to 8-3-1 on season, have already played a tougher schedule than they have in several years, with losses to Houghton, Calumet, and Dearborn Divine Child amongst their first 12 games.

Aaron Helminen feels his team learned a lot already from the experience.

“Our schedule is a little bit tougher this season,” he said. “So, excited to get through some of that meat and potatoes, the stretch of multiple games, a couple travel weekends, played two tough games this past weekend.

“I feel like we took some lessons from those games, and we are able to, I think, implement that today to close out a game in the third.”

Learning how to win is a process.

“(We) tended to kind of keep letting them hang around,” Aaron Helminen said. “We got up two, we let them back in. So, (we were) glad our guys were able to, even though they tied it in the third, we were glad to see our guys bounce back, still stick with it, and get a big goal.”

That big goal that the coach was talking about came off the stick of forward Tage Rajala in the third period. After Hancock alternate captain Kirby Storm tied the game at 4-4 7:42 into the period, Rajala found the net with 5:25 left to put the Jets back on top when his shot from the slot found a way through Bulldogs goaltender Adam Mikkola and in.

The Jets then got an insurance goal from co-captain Brogan Turner with just 35 seconds left to seal the win when he dumped the puck into an empty net while the Jets were also shorthanded. For Turner, the goal was his second of the night and 16th of the season. He also had three assists as well.

“‘Brog’ is a great player,” said Aaron Helminen. “He reminds us of a guy we had last year. That same thing, right? They can empty their tank every shift, and he just finds a way to get back out there and go do it again on the next shift.”

For Hancock, the fact that they were able to fight back from a 4-2 deficit to even things in the third period, was another big step for a Bulldogs squad that was playing its ninth game of the season.

“I thought it was a solid game,” said Bulldogs coach Joe Burcar. “I think there were some things that we did tonight that were really good. We talked about it as a team after the game, and, from the coaching standpoint, from us as coaches to the players, stuff we’ve been working on, we executed.

“We had a lot of good chances to score tonight. We had three scrambles that were quick whistles. We hit the post three or four times. We just executed very well. We got to clean up some areas, penalty kill and a couple things on defense, but other than that, sometimes you take a loss, but at the same time, we’re really happy with our guys. We did a lot of good things tonight. Even when we were down 4-2, we fought through it the entire game to stay in the game.”

Forward Ben Keranen got Hancock (4-4-1 overall) on the board first with a goal 8:58 in when he lifted a rebound over Jets goaltender Kasen Helminen’s shoulder.

However, the Jets stormed back with the first of two goals from alternate captain Blake Heltunen at 11:03 while on the power play, and a power play goal by Turner with 58 seconds left in the opening frame.

Heltunen then struck again 8:42 into the second when he got the puck at the left point off a feed from forward Noah Randell, and he buried his fourth goal of the season.

“(Blake is) just a solid rock back there for us,” said Aaron Helminen. “He plays a great defensive game, and then, of course, his ability to handle the puck, and, obviously, tonight (he) got rewarded with a couple goals.. As a sophomore, he’s wearing an ‘A’ for a reason. He’s a leader.”

Connor Helminen got one back for Hancock at the 9:00 mark, but Jets forward Cameron Anderson regained the two-goal lead at 12:56 when he got the puck down near the bottom of the left circle and he put a wrist shot just under the crossbar and in.

Hancock forward Luciano Paoli cut the lead to 4-3 with just 2:05 left in the period.

“We haven’t played in many games this year, but it’s happened a few times this year,” said Burcar. “Tonight, we pulled the goalie, we hit the post twice, and we had good looks. It’s always disappointing to lose. But, with the gains that we’re making, the silver lining, we did a lot of good things tonight.

“It’s early in the year. What we’re doing is we’re continuing to improve. So, we’re improving and we talked about it. We’re not quitting. It hurts a little bit to lose in our own barn tonight. But, you know what? The growth, we’ll take the growth right now, and the improvements, and stay hungry like we are.”

Kasen Helminen made 30 saves to earn the win for the Jets. Mikkola stopped 25 in the loss.

Up next

The Jets are back in action Thursday when they travel to face Manistique. Hancock is off until the MacInnes Holiday Hockey Classic.

Jeffers forward Brogan Turner fires a shot while being defended by Hancock forward Ben Keranen during a game Tuesday at the HoCo Arena in Hancock. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)