FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Metro Jets Elite team put up a phenomenal showing this weekend, winning all three of their games at the USPHL Midwest Elite Showcase at the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse.
The Jets defeated the Chicago Cougars 5-1 on Thursday, then followed that up with a 5-3 win over the Chicago Crush Friday before wrapping the event with a 5-4 shootout win over the host Fort Wayne Spacemen on Saturday.
“Couldn’t be happier leaving a showcase 3-0,” said Jets associate coach Jake Howie. “Thought the guys brought an amazing effort all weekend and it consisted of everyone pulling on the rope as a team to get the job done. Forwards all the way back to the goaltenders, everyone had a great trip. Played with a lot of pace and transitioned pucks really well, which led to really high-quality scoring chances. On top of that, I think we’ve made major strides in our ‘D’ zone limiting the grade ‘A’ chances we’re giving our opponents.
“Hopefully, we can keep this ball rolling as we move into our home showcase next week.”
Opening up Thursday John Spiridonakos posted two goals and two assists, Peter Spiridonakos added a goal and three assists, and Jackson Hinkle and Joey Goff scored one each in the victory over the Cougars.
Zach Robert made 21 saves in goal.
Then Friday, John Spiridonakos scored twice and Goff had a goal and an assist in the win against the Crush.
Hinkle and Avery Byron also scored and Eliot Duerr finished with 43 saves in goal.
Finishing up the trip Saturday, Blake Botterill scored a goal, including the shootout winner, and added two assists, and Peter Spiridonakos and John Spiridonakos each posted a goal and an assist with Sean O’Connor also scoring to back Ben Vanderdonck’s 25 saves in goal, plus all three in the shootout.
Meanwhile over the weekend, the Metro Jets beat the Nashville Spartans 3-1 Friday night at Gary Force Acura Ice Arena, but couldn’t finish the sweep Saturday night, getting shut out 3-0 for the team’s first shutout loss since Dec. 19, 2020, when the Pueblo Bulls blanked the Jets.
“Taking the positive that we got the split on a tough, long road trip,” said Jets associate coach Jamie Lovell. “The team just didn’t execute very well the entire weekend, especially on our power play, so that was frustrating because it’s been pretty good for us so far up to this point. Part of that has to be credited to their goalie (Daniel Duzek), who played very well today.
“We will try to address some of these things in the short time we have to prepare for our home showcase this coming week.”
In the win Friday, Ugo Lollier scored twice and Tyler Husted also scored as Taylor White stopped 22 shots for the win in goal.
Saturday night, Carson MacKenzie took the loss between the pipes.
Kicking off the week, the Motor City Gamblers knocked off the MJDP 4-2 last Tuesday afternoon at Mount Clemens Ice Arena.
Jacques Lavrack and River Lewis scored and Andrew Parmentier made 34 saves.
Coming up next weekend is the USPHL Detroit Showcase, hosted by the Jets, at Mount Clemens Ice Arena. Games start Thursday morning and run through Monday afternoon.
For the full showcase schedules, click HERE.
All USPHL games, including the USPHL Detroit Showcase, will be streamed on FloHockey.tv.
