FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Metro Jets opened the 2020-21 USPHL season with a 6-3 win Friday night over the Fort Wayne Spacemen at the SportONE Parkview Icehouse.
Jake Aslanian led the way with two goals and Caden Fisher made 21 saves in goal to pick up the victory between the pipes.
“The boys seemed to click right away,” said Aslanian. “We came out flying and all the boys were having fun and felt confident and never let up. We just had to keep it up and that’s exactly what the boys did. We wanted it.
“I just went out every shift and worked hard and got rewarded with the two goals. I couldn’t do it without all these guys.”
Garrick Smith and Hugo Fonovic each had a goal and an assist, while Seth Beagle tacked on three assists and Cole Phillips and Patrick Hays scored one each.
“I thought we played a pretty solid game for our first game,” said Jets assistant coach Dan Pszenyczny. “We came out strong, dictated the pace in the first half of the first period, and got on the board quick. But then we got comfortable, took a couple unnecessary penalties, had some communication breakdowns and let them back into the game.
“We rest during intermission and got back to our game. It was a great team win on the road for our first game.”
For the Spacemen, Jared Fisher posted a goal and an assist, Logan Robins and Dylan Marks scored one each, and goaltender Sasha Schelkanov made 26 saves in suffering the defeat.
“All these guys seem to be buying in to the system and are keeping it up by working hard,” noted Aslanian. “Yeah, it’s only one game, but it was a great start, everyone kept working hard and never let off the gas. I’m excited to see where it takes us.”
The Jets now get ready to host the USPHL Great Lakes Showcase next Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Fraser Hockeyland. More information forthcoming at www.metrojetshockey.com.
