Jeffers defenseman Blake Heltunen and Hancock defenseman Jax Pierner battle as Heltunen attempts to drive to the net during a game Tuesday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — For over 47 minutes Tuesday, the Hancock Bulldogs hockey team held the Jeffers Jets’ leading scorer in check as they found themselves in a 2-2 deadlock. They were even on a power play at that point in the game as well.

However, Jets co-captain Brogan Turner needed just one look, and he took it at 13:18 of the third period, intercepting a pass, and exploding down the rink. Turner drove hard to the net, made a quick move to his backhand and beat Bulldogs goaltender Brian Ponnikas.

The goal, Turner’s 26th of the season, was the first time all night that the Jets had the lead, and all that they needed to close the game out.

“He’s our guy,” said Jets coach Aaron Helminen. “He’s our big time player, and big time players find a way to rise to the occasion. With their team on their shoulders, they find a way to get it done.”

The Jets, who improved to 12-3-1 for the season with the win, continue to find different ways to win hockey games.

“Hats off to our kids,” Aaron Helminen said. “They found a way to just keep sticking with it and battle back. Some nights, when things aren’t going your way, you have to just grind it out, and it was what we did, I guess.”

The Jets threw 11 pucks at Ponnikas in the opening frame and could not solve the senior in his second career varsity start, and second start in three games.

Hancock (4-5-1 overall) finally broke through in the late stages of the second period when junior forward Ben Keranen jumped on the rebound of a shot from alternate captain Kirby Storm and buried it at 14:11 for his third goal of the season.

The lead was short-lived.

Senior forward Cameron Anderson evened things at 1-1 just 62 seconds later when Turner drove hard to the net and was stopped by Ponnikas. However, the Bulldogs’ netminder could not corral the rebound before Anderson pounced on it and knocked it home.

Jets junior defenseman Olan Kangas took a minor penalty for interference 2:20 into the third period, and Hancock needed just 24 seconds to knock a second puck through Jets co-captain Kasen Helminen.

Storm pounced on a loose puck in the slot and knocked it through the Jets’ senior netminder for his fifth goal of the season on the play.

Getting to play a tightly-contested game against the Bulldogs was just what Aaron Helminen was hoping for for his team.

“That’s the whole idea behind being able to get this game in on the schedule here on late notice,” he said. “We knew we’d have a tight game where you’re going to learn a lot of lessons. You’re going to gut check your guys and see then see if they overcome a few obstacles, a lot of adversity, throughout the game.

“We got everything that we wanted to out of that game, as far as the way that went. Granted, we can play a lot better than that. I know we can, and we have. But to just, in the moment, find a way to earn some wins on some little battles, and stay on the right side of the puck. Eventually, if you stick with it, good things happen.”

Jeffers’ second goal came from the unlikeliest of players in a big moment when junior forward Hudsen Heinonen, who hopped onto the ice for a shift where he had a specific role to play. At 5:25, he knocked a puck past Ponnikas to tie things at 2-2. Therrian and alternate captain Blake Heltunen both assisted on the goal.

“He’s been out with an injury since early December,” said Aaron Helminen. “(We were) spotting him in a few shifts to get his legs back in game shape, and a guy needed a little break, or a blow there to catch his breath. So, we snuck him on the line, and he went to the net with a stick on the ice, and that’s all you need sometimes.”

The Jets coach felt that it was important for his team to find yet another way to win a hockey game in December.

“When you’re trying to grow as a group, you have to play these types of games, I believe,” Aaron Helminen said. “A couple of our games … you look back to the D3 challenge that we had a couple of games where we had leads in the third. We gave away one right down in the last minute. They had their goalie pulled. Those little lessons you learn, and I think you store them in the memory bank, and when time comes again, you find a way to grit and make the right plays and decisions.

“Now, obviously, down that stretch (Tuesday), that last minute, there’s a few things that we have to clean up still. But still, in the end, the guys found a way to grind it out and get another ‘W.'”

Ponnikas stopped 29 in the loss for the Bulldogs. Kasen Helminen made 16 saves to earn the win.

Up next

The Jets host Sault Ste. Marie Friday in a rematch of last year’s state quarterfinal game in Marquette. When the two teams meet this time, it will be at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

Hancock is off until Tuesday when they host Kingsford.

Jeffers forward Brogan Turner attempts a shot during a game against Hancock Tuesday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)