MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – The MJDP is moving on to the second round of the USPHL playoffs after defeating the Decatur Blaze in two straight this past weekend at Mount Clemens Ice Arena.
Friday night, the MJDP took a 12-0 win and then wrapped up the series with a 12-3 victory Saturday afternoon.
With the wins, the MJDP will now play the Motor City Gamblers in another best-of-three series with a berth to the USPHL National Tournament in Utica, N.Y., on the line.
“Not much to say about this series,” said Jets associate head coach Jamie Lovell. “We did our job and got the two wins. We tried to preach good habits, but it’s difficult when the games are so lopsided score-wise.”
In the opener, Austin Muirhead pitched a 17-save shutout and had an assist to go along with two goals and four assists from Jacob Lawrence and a goal and five assists from Jordan Rivera.
Ethan Smith added two goals and two assists, Robert Grasso chipped in two goals and an assist, and Lucas Millmine and Jacques Lavrack each went for a goal and an assist.
Ryan Elmblad, Jack Rivera, and Max Rastello tallied one goal each and Nolan Salayko (pictured front) and Nick Juzych had two assists apiece.
For Decatur, Daniel Kreiner and Noah Banes combined to make 57 saves in goal.
In the finale Saturday, Jack Rivera posted three goals and two assists, Josh Boze two goals and an assist, and Lawrence and Alek John a pair of goals each as Taylor White and Andrew Parmentier stopped 15 shots.
Smith and Nolan Bruxvoort each contributed a goal and an assist, Royal St-Cyr scored, Jake Taylor rang up four assists, and Jordan Rivera and Jackson Hinkle tacked on two helpers.
Decatur captain Walker Smith had a goal and an assist, Duke Kersting and Brendan Hirliman scored, and Banes and Kreiner turned aside 37 shots.
Next up, the MJDP will host Motor City Friday at 5 p.m., Saturday at 12:45 p.m., and, if needed, Monday at 12:30 p.m.
The Gamblers swept the Battle Creek Kernels in their first-round matchup.
“Moving forward, we know next weekend’s series with Motor City will be a much taller task,” Lovell said. “They’ve had our number in the regular season, so we need to quickly refocus and get back to work Monday and use this week to prepare for Game 1 on Friday.
“We are all looking forward to the challenge.”
In addition, the Jets will play the Columbus Mavericks with a nationals berth on the line. Games are Friday at Mount Clemens at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at the OhioHealth Chiller North at 7:30 p.m., and, if needed, Sunday at 2 p.m. back at Mount Clemens.
All USPHL games are available on HockeyTV.com.
