DECATUR, Ill. – The MJDP went on the road Saturday night and defeated the Decatur Blaze 5-3 in the first game of a two-game set at the Decatur Civic Center.
Seth Beagle scored twice, while newcomer Max Hartwell, Patrick Hays and Tim Washburn (pictured) added goals in the win.
“Not our best effort tonight, but we found a way to win,” Metro Jets associate coach Jamie Lovell said. “Our specials made a big difference tonight. We capitalized on the power play in the second, which gave us some momentum. And our penalty kill took away any momentum that they tried to gain, and ultimately frustrated them.
“We will take the win and refocus for tomorrow’s rematch.”
In goal, Daniel Miscavish stopped 27 shots for the win.
“The biggest keys to tonight’s win were getting pucks to the net and controlling the puck so well,” Beagle said. “Tomorrow, we need to finish more on our big chances, and we need to cut back on the defensive breakdowns in front of the net.”
Dominick Didzerekis, Artem Alekhin and Trevor Colberg scored for the Blaze and Tanner Rusnak made 38 saves in suffering the defeat in goal.
The two teams meet again Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
Streaming of the game will be available on HockeyTV.com.
