By Jim den Hollander
Publisher/Editor
Saukhockey.info
Two of 16 teams that began play in the 2021 Chipotle USA Hockey Tier II 3A National Championship tournament in Green Bay were from the host state. On Monday morning, they were the only teams left standing.
A quick start for the Janesville Jets 18U squad was close to nullified in a frantic third period rally by the Green Bay Gamblers but in the end the Jets held on for a 3-2 edge to grab the gold plate and pennant that signifies the USA Hockey Champions.
Both teams headed into the contest with matching 5-0 records showing themselves as the class of the field talentwise and they matched it with class in the presentations, many of the players familiar with each other from varsity high school battles.
The Bobcats were clearly disappointed but smiles and hugs were common as players from both teams shook hands with the opposite team after accepting their respective medals. After the medals and plates – silver to the Bobcats and gold to the Jet – and medals were presented, the teams gathered at the presentation table for what seems a rare double-team photo.
Janesville Jets 3 Green Bay Bobcats 2
The clash of titans matched a Bobcats team that relied heavily on goaltender Lincoln Simons (’04 sophomore Ashwaubenon). Not that the team couldn’t come up with key goals when called on – Grady Coppo (’03 Neenah-Hortonville-Menasha) and Dayne Deanovich (’03 junior Fond du Lac Springs) both among the tournament’s top five points collectors heading into the championship game.
Meanwhile the Jets also had solid goaltending – Ian Hedican (’02 Senior Madison West) and John (Jack) Schroeder (’03 University School) sharing a shutout in the opening contest and splitting the work throughout the weekend. The best weapon for the Jets seemed to be that it could generate a goal whenever it needed one, as shown against the Minnesota Moose when it fought back from five single-goal deficits and in the quarterfinals when it battled back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period against Cheektowaga Warriors from New York. Heading into the final, Isaac Frenette (’02 senior Chippewa Falls) led all scorers with 11 points, one more than teammate Boone Mathison (’02 senior Tomah).
Both teams battled and left every ounce of what they had on the ice on Monday, the Jets grabbing early control when Mason Manglitz (’02 senior Onalaska) one timed a feed from Mathison
.
Jets carried the 1-0 cushion into the middle frame and widened the gap 39 seconds in as Frenette gathered in a clearing attempt, then skated in and buried a shot just under the bar on the far side over the shoulder of Simons who seemed to have the angle well covered.
Some solid forechecking by Danny Amberg (’03 Tomah) behind the Bobcat’s goal. He backhanded a pass in front to Jordan Degaetano (’03 senior Onalaska) who quickly flipped it into the top right corner just 2:42 later to put the Jets up 3-0.
That lead held up until the final period the Bobcats finally pushing one past Hedican out of a flurry on top of the blue paint with 11:16 to play in the contest. Kole Altergott (’03 Ashwaubenon) jammed it home for the goal with assists for Cooper Routheau (’03 Ashwaubenon) and Tanner Newton (’03 De Pere).
The second goal came with Simons on the bench in favor of an extra attacker as Alex Freund (’02 Senior Neenah-Hortonville-Menasha) banked a shot from beside the goal off the pad of Hedican to get the host squad within a shot.
Jets held off the last frantic attempts for the Bobcats and finally got a chance to celebrate when the buzzer sounded.
Slaght a National Champion
Included in that celebration was Trevor Slaght, an ’03 junior from Wisconsin Dells and a member of the RWD varsity hockey team. Slaght logged a regular shift in the previous five contests with the Jets and scored a goal in an earlier game, but suffered some kind of leg injury in the opening period. He was helped off the ice and tried to return later. He was on the ice for one of the second period goals but fell again right after and spent the rest of the game on the bench. He was clearly in some discomfort after the match.
The Green Bay Bobcats team pushed its record to 2-0 and punched its ticket to the playoff rounds with a 5-2 win against Cheektowaga (N.Y.) Rec Hockey while the Janesville Jets 18U squad rallied back from a one-goal deficit five times before settling the contest with a 6-5 win in shootout against the Minnesota Moose.
Two goals a little more than three minutes apart had the New Yorkers within a shot, but the Cats took over down the stretch with two insurance markers 38-seconds apart inside the final four minutes of the contest.
With the win, the Bobcats climb to 2-0 with one game left on its round robin schedule Saturday at 12:15 p.m. against the 0-2 Littleton Hawks from Colorado. The Cats have clinched a spot in Sunday morning’s quarterfinal matches but its opponent is still to be determined.
The Jets never led in the contest but rallied back from one-goal deficits five times to force the five-minute overtime session which settled nothing, and the five round shootout that saw Mason Manglitz (’02 senior, Onalaska) firing the lone goal. Meanwhile Ian Hedican (’02, Madison West) added five more stops to the 30 he collected during the 56-minutes played in the four earlier periods.
The Jets showed great resilience and intestinal fortitude, battling back and shrugging off a so-so first period that saw them trailing 2-1 and outshot 16-7. It was the Jets with a 12-6 and 12-8 margin through the final two frames, but the Moose grabbed control with a 5-1 advantage through the five-minute overtime frame.
Isaac Frenette (’02 senior Chippewa Falls) enjoyed another big game, scoring twice for a total of five points in the first two games of the tournament. Daniel Amberg (’03 Tomah) scored the goal that tied the game at 5-5 and sent it to overtime with other goals for Boone Mathison (’02 Tomah) and Jordan Degaetano (’03 Onalaska). Defenseman Connor Byrne (’03 Eau Claire Memorial) and forward Alexander Duchemin (’03 Madison West) both picked up two assists.
Both the Moose and Jets were winners in opening day play at the tournament, so the Jets take the overall points margin in the pool with 5 of a possible six so far. But they will face a desperate Igloo Jaguars team that kept its own hopes of a playoff spot alive with a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Predators Friday.
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.
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.
The Bobcats hope to carry the momentum from its comeback win into its second round-robin contest in the USA Division at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Hilliard/Weyers rink against the Cheektowaga Rec Hockey team from New York.
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.
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