MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – The Coney Cup is home at Mount Clemens Ice Arena.
By virtue of their home-and-home split last Friday and Saturday with the Toledo Cherokee and also winning their first meeting of the season last month, the Metro Jets are the 2024 Coney Cup champions.
The trophy was created two seasons back to further the years-long rivalry between the Jets and Cherokee.
“We weren’t the better team Friday night and we wanted to respond Saturday,” said Jets associate head coach Jamie Lovell. “We need to clean things up and we want to keep getting better every day.
“We’ve got a good group and we’ve got some mettle with these guys. Even Friday night being down the whole game, we kept pushing and we had a chance to win the hockey game at the end. We didn’t, but on Saturday, we responded and I think we’ll keep getting better and keep developing.”
Friday night at the Team Toledo Ice House, Toledo eked out a 4-3 win, the Jets’ first loss of the 2024-25 season.
Sutton Majeske recorded a goal and two assists, Brycen Smith had a goal and an assist and Tim Monaghan also scored.
Jets goaltender Austin Muirhead finished with 38 saves.
For Toledo, Aidan Gonzalez had two goals and an assist, Caden Glamkowski and Trevin Johnson added goals, and Caleb Kril made 33 saves in goal.
Then Saturday night back home, the Jets rebounded with a 2-1 win.
Smith and Pierce Ashcroft scored and Andrew Parmentier stopped 29 shots for the win in goal.
Gerdas Paulaskas broke Parmentier’s shutout bid at 14:58 of the third period and Toledo goalie Austin Nowak made 37 saves.
“The guys really wanted the win,” said Jets captain Jack Rivera. “We worked hard, kept pucks low, and our forwards and ‘D’ did their jobs. The result showed that. Playing in Toledo is a tough environment, but the guys showed some grit, showed character, and didn’t let that affect them. They put that in the past and Saturday was a new day. We put our hearts out there.”
Also this past weekend, the MJDP and Jets Elite teams played in the USPHL Fort Wayne Showcase at the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse in Fort Wayne, Ind.
MJDP RESULTS
Friday, Nov. 8 – MJDP 2, Chicago Cougars 1
Saturday, Nov. 9 – Chicago Crush 5, MJDP 1
Saturday, Nov. 9 – MJDP 4, Decatur Blaze 2
Sunday, Nov. 10 – Florida Eels 3, MJDP 2
“I think MJDP is getting better with every game we play,” Jets associate coach Jake Howie said. “Really happy with our penalty kill over the weekend, as it’s taken some major steps forward in the past few weeks. I thought our forecheck was good this weekend, and the ability to play below the other teams goaline, spin off of checks and take pucks to the net. I love the offensive chances we are generating, now it’s about capitalizing on the opportunities.”
JETS ELITE RESULTS
Friday, Nov. 8 – Chicago Crush 1, Jets Elite 0
Friday, Nov. 8 – Fort Wayne Spacemen 3, Jets Elite 1
Saturday, Nov. 9 – Jets Elite 3, Florida Eels 2 (OT)
Sunday, Nov. 10 – Chicago Cougars 7, Jets Elite 3
Sunday, Nov. 10 – Fort Wayne Spacemen 4, Jets Elite 1
“Positives from this weekend, I thought our power play looked really good; we were generating good scoring chances there,” Jets associate coach Danny Vanderwiel said. “I think there is a lot that we can learn from this weekend. For example, a quick start and not having to play from behind from the jump is important. Our game vs. the Cougars got away from us early. We made a good push in the third, but it was not enough. Another example being in a game leading for most of it and having it tied last minute of the game and knowing we can persevere and still find a way to come out on top.
“Obviously wish we were coming home with more of the 10 points that were up for grabs, but I think the experience gained will go a long way down the stretch.”
This weekend, the Jets host the Red River Spartans Saturday night at 4:45 p.m. and the MJDP is on the road to play the Battle Creek Kernels Saturday at 7 p.m. from The Rink Battle Creek.
The Jets Elite team is idle this weekend.
All three teams then gear up for the annual USPHL Detroit Showcase Nov. 21-25 at Mount Clemens Ice Arena.
All USPHL games are available at FloHockey.tv.
