TOLEDO, Ohio – After winning Wednesday night’s game against the Toledo Cherokee, the Metro Jets wanted to finish off the week with a win in Toledo Friday night at the Team Toledo IceHouse.
Mission accomplished.
Four different players scored in the 4-2 win, and Will Augustine (pictured front) stopped 37 shots as Toledo outshot the Jets 39-29.
“Toledo is a tough opponent,” Jets assistant coach Tina Ciraulo said. “They came out hard, and we need to stay out of the box and play five on five. That’s when we’re our best. It was a hockey game. We scored hockey goals. We killed off penalties. Our goalie played big. We played hard until the end and ended up on top.
“Owen Limback was great tonight. Blocked and fronted about nine shots and broke up rushes like crazy.”
Jason Crossland had a goal and an assist for the Jets, while captain Matt Cruz (pictured below), Cody Mastay and Conner Graham also scored.
“This was a huge week for the boys, and we came out to play, picking up the four points in the division,” Limback said. “We were looking to create some separation in the division, and we capitalized when we needed to. We have big aspirations for this year and winning games like those are huge for the club. From top to bottom, if we stick to our game, we can really do special things.
“It wasn’t just one guy tonight – it was a collective effort. These are the games you look forward to on the schedule and we had all four lines banging tonight. Will came up big making key saves when we needed him and we all just fed off of that energy. When plays needed to be made in our own zone, we made them. Overall, just a great week for the boys and we’re looking forward to the showcase next weekend (in Chicago).”
For Toledo, Ondrej Dupal and Caleb Williams scored, Matt Snyder assisted on both, and Joey Cormier finished with 25 saves between the pipes.
“It feels great to get this win and add to our division lead,” Augustine said. “We’re proving game in and game out that we’re a dominant club when we stick to our game.
“They had fans in their rink, and it motivated us and raised the intensity. It makes for a good rivalry and fun atmosphere to play in.”
The Jets now have a nine-point lead on Toledo in the Great Lakes Division.
The rest of the pre-showcase schedule has the MJDP in Decatur this weekend for games Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. EST and Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. against the Blaze and then the MHC playing the Detroit Fighting Irish Tuesday at 2 p.m.
All USPHL games will be streamed on HockeyTV.com.
