MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – The Metro Jets earned two hard-fought wins over the weekend at Mount Clemens Ice Arena, defeating the Battle Creek Kernels 3-1 Friday afternoon and then blanking the Toledo Cherokee 2-0 Saturday night to continue the two teams’ longstanding rivalry that spans more than 30 years.
After two scoreless periods Saturday night, Jack Noonan broke the deadlock at 16:35 of the third period.
Luka Pivec added an empty-net goal at 18:41 to seal the game for the Jets.
Miran Janezic assisted on both tallies.
In goal, Rostislav Efremov stopped all 31 shots fired his way.
For Toledo, Austin Nowak finished with 34 saves.
Friday, Isaiah Winter had a goal and two assists and Joseph Martin added a goal and an assist in the Jets’ win.
Gabe Outman also scored and Efremov made 19 saves.
Zach Wolf netted the lone Battle Creek goal and Trace Wiles turned aside 64 shots in goal.
On Thursday, the MJDP opened its season on home ice, losing 6-2 to the Fort Wayne Spacemen.
Matt Hopersberger and Brandon Consolo scored third-period goals and Ethan Carlone and Evan Peacock combined on a 34-save effort between the pipes.
Jackson Cothron scored twice for the Spacemen, Broderik Burge and Bogdan Vysotsky had a goal and an assist each, and Tucker Tone and Jack Backstrom added goals.
Herman Zippeldt made 29 saves in goal for Fort Wayne.
Earlier Thursday, Landyn Ringenburg’s second goal of the game at 1:29 of overtime lifted the Spacemen to a 4-3 win over the Jets Elite team.
Cory Anderson (8:59) and Tyler Dix (9:30) scored 31 seconds apart in the third period to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Ronnie Lubbers also scored for the Jets and added an assist, while Anderson also had a helper for a two-point game of his own.
Tabor Hatch finished with 31 saves in goal.
Nathan Wolf and Hayden Stratman added goals for Fort Wayne and Andrew Baumert took the win in the crease making 36 stops.
This weekend, the Jets host the Fresh Coast Freeze Friday at 1 p.m., while the Jets Elite heads to Decatur, Ill., for a showcase event to play Fort Wayne (Friday, 7:15 p.m.), the Chicago Crush (Saturday, 11:15 a.m.), Decatur Blaze (Saturday, 9 p.m.), and Chicago Cougars (Sunday, 2:30 p.m.).
All USPHL games are available at FloHockey.tv.
