TOLEDO, Ohio – After losing their first game of the season to the then-undefeated Toledo Cherokee last Friday night in overtime at the Team Toledo IceHouse, the Metro Jets put that in the past and came away with a solid 5-4 win Friday night back in Toledo.
Matt Cole’s power-play goal at 4:13 of the third period proved to be the game-winner and Louis-Pierre Fortier finished with 25 saves in goal.
“The boys kept taking it to them we ended up on top,” Jets assistant coach Tina Ciraulo said. “We had a few breakdowns and they got a few, but we didn’t give up and we kept answering back. We got timely saves and timely goals.
“This game should never have been this close, but credit to their goalie (Joey Cormier) for standing on his head. In the end, we got big goals from big players. We will take the win and move on.”
Conner Graham picked up two goals, while Ryan Messing and Alec Lindecker also scored in the win.
Cormier stopped 37 shots, as well as a Stefan Frantti penalty shot early in the third period, in suffering the loss and four different players tallied goals for the Cherokee.
“It’s definitely a big win for us,” Graham said. “Last Friday was a rough loss, but I think it also energized us and fired us up to come back and get the win today.
“I believe the energy in their arena makes it really exciting to play in and the fact that these are division games and two teams that are bordering states of one another definitely makes it better games and a good rivalry.”
Earlier Friday, the MJDP finished off the two-game home sweep of the Pittsburgh Vengeance with a 6-2 victory at Fraser Hockeyland.
Garrick Smith, Hugo Fonovic and Joey Mocnik each posted a goal and an assist and Caden Fisher turned aside 32 shots between the pipes in the win.
“Proud of the guys and how they played both games,” said Jets coach-GM Justin Quenneville. “Everyone got involved and contributed. We played with composure when things got a little physical and our guys managed the puck really well throughout. Overall, these were big games for this group and ones that were circled on the schedule.
“If we commit to playing like we did these past two games, they are going to continue to be a pesty team and hard to beat all over the ice. They are buying in to playing the games the Jets way and it showed all over the ice again today.”
Alex Washburn, Tim Washburn and captain Brayden Tayles also scored in addition to Mitch Forton and Nick Twombley contributing two assists apiece.
“These two games were great for us,” said Tayles. “We have some history with Pittsburgh going back to my rookie year, and they are always known for being a pretty solid team. So being able to show up and outplay them for both games is a great feeling for everyone.
“I think a lot of things went right this weekend. We used our speed and made simple hockey plays and we were rewarded for it. Also, our goalies were great both games. It’s always nice to know that when we do have a breakdown that they will make the save. It allows us to fully commit to certain plays, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Tayles added that a series win like this one is “great for our confidence.”
“It shows that we are here to play high-level hockey and we can beat solid teams,” Tayles said. “It’s an added bonus we got to beat them twice with the exact same score 6-2. That shows that we can string performances together with some consistency. We are hitting our stride and now it’s just a matter of staying in that stride and not letting off the gas.”
Pittsburgh goalies Andrew Kelly and Noah Bonvissuto combined to make 25 saves. Kelly started and was replaced with Bonvissuto after Tim Washburn scored the MJDP’s fourth goal at 6:26 of the second period.
The rest of this weekend, the MHC hosts Toledo Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and then plays the Wooster Oilers on the road Sunday at 3:30 p.m. from the Alice Noble Ice Arena.
All games will be streamed on HockeyTV.com.
