MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – Ethan Smith’s end-to-end goal with less than four seconds remaining in overtime lifted the MJDP to a thrilling 4-3 win over the Fort Wayne Spacemen Friday night at Mount Clemens Ice Arena.
On a power play late in the extra session, Smith took the puck from goaltender Freddy Soderberg behind his own net and skated down the ice, wristing the winner past Antoine Robidoux.
“They iced it down and I saw we had like 12 seconds left on the clock, so I just skated in, got a quick shot, and I got lucky, and it went in,” Smith said. “This is a big win. We knew they would be a tough team coming into our home rink and knew we had to bring it to them.”
#USPHLPremier: Ethan Smith with his first goal of the season sends the @MetroJetsHockey #MJDP into victory lane, as he scores the #OTGWG in the 4-3 victory over the @FWSpacemen. pic.twitter.com/ogalAux13z — USPHL (@USPHL) November 13, 2021
Steven Miller had a goal and an assist in the win, while Aidan Shannon and Stone Bishop scored in regulation and Soderberg finished with 35 saves.
“It wasn’t a pretty hockey game, that’s for sure,” Metro Jets associate coach Jamie Lovell said. “I guess sometimes, good teams find ways to win. That’s what we did tonight. The message here at the end of the game was that it certainly wasn’t our best effort, and just imagine now if we could put three periods together.”
Fabien Pilon, Logan Robins and Matteo Daita scored for the Spacemen, and Robidoux finished with 28 saves in suffering the loss in goal. Kyle Remo chipped in two assists.
The two teams meet again Saturday night at the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse in Fort Wayne, Ind. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m.
All USPHL games are available on HockeyTV.com.
