By Jim den Hollander
Editor/Publisher
Saukhockey.info
The Janesville Jets 18U squad, including Trevor Slaght, RWD junior could not have planned a better opening to the Chipotle USA Hockey Tier II U18 National Championship tournament in Green Bay Thursday afternoon.
Playing in the Cornerstone Ice Arena, Resch Olympic Pavilion, the Jets played a near flawless opener and grabbed a 4-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Predators in the opening contest in the four-team Olympic Pool, one of four groups in the 16-team 3A Division.
Isaac Frenette, an ‘02 senior at Chippewa Falls opened the scoring for the Jets and added a set ups on a pair of middle period markers scored by Mason Manglitz (’02 senior, Onalaska) and Calvin Grass (’03 senior Fond du Lac Springs (’03 senior, Fond du Lac Springs).
The final nail came from Cade Janecke an ’02 senior from Monroe who also played a couple games at the end of the season with the Oregon Tradesmen of the NA3HL.
Goaltenders John Schroeder (’03 University School) and Ian Hedican (’02 Madison West) split the work in goal, sharing a 21-save shutout as the Jets outshot the Preds by a 38-21 margin. The Jets keepers both made some impressive stops, in particular Hedican at the start of the third period as the Predators followed the game’s only intermission with some inspired play in the opening minutes looking for a goal that would vault them back into the contest.
Hedican made the early saves and an early goal, although disallowed shifted momentum back in the Jets’ favor as they went on to outshoot the Preds 17-10 through the final 17 minutes.
While he didn’t show up on the game sheet, Slaght turned in a steady game for the Jets, playing a regular shift, backchecking well and finishing several checks.
The Jets will be back in action at 12:15 p.m. Friday, the Moose coming off a 7-2 win in its opener against Igloo Jaguars from New Jersey.
This game, and all games from the National Championship tournament will be on HockeyTV.
Note to Self — Outdoor videos on a windy day are a BAD idea. Tomorrow’s will be better.
Jets hit the ice against the Pittsburgh Predators in their opening match at the 2021 Chipotle USA Hockey National Tier 2 U-18 National Championship tournament in Green Bay.
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