TOLEDO, Ohio — The Metro Jets Elite team dominated all three games this weekend, sweeping the Chicago Cougars Elite team at Mount Clemens Ice Arena in games playeds Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon.
The Metro Jets and MJDP teams were also in action, the MJDP taking one in a three-game home series against the Cougars at Mount Clemens Ice Arena and the Jets dropping their single game on the road against the Toledo Cherokee.
Thursday, the Jets Elite cruised to a 12-3 win as Braden Graham scored three goals and Jarrett LaGrow added two goals and two assists.
Aidan RaCosta and Tyler Dix each posted a goal and two assists, Cameron Maxwell scored twice, and Ronnie Lubbers had a goal and an assist to back Brendan Dreisbach’s 18 saves in goal.
Sam Hanson and Dimitry Aksenov scored one each, Grady Smith and Miller Clure each tallied three assists, and Conor Mulligan, Noah Chambers, Jayson Shores and Graysen LaPrise all chipped in with a pair of helpers.
For the Cougars, Jack Martino and Dylan Kennedy both recorded a goal and an assist, Niko Dougan had two assists and Daniel Boduch also scored.
Chicago goaltenders Roman Steffeck and Ayden Wagner combined to make 35 saves.
Friday, Dix went for three goals, LaPrise two goals, and Connor Wheeler added three assists in a 9-2 win.
Lubbers had a goal and an assist and RaCosta, Ethan Laurain and Hanson posted one each to go along with two assists from LaGrow and Aksenov and 16 saves from Dreisbach.
Dougan notched a goal and an assist for the Cougars, while Matthew Corvo also scored and Wagner and Itamar David made 53 saves in net.
In the finale Saturday, Smith and Elias Schwarzer scored and Jesse Lee made 12 saves for the win in a 2-0 shutout.
David made 62 saves for the Cougars.
“I thought we did a great job executing in Game 1 and Game 2, but I think we could have done a better job executing in Game 3,” Jets associate coach Danny Vanderwiel said. “Happy to get the points. Those are critical at this time. We have four games left — all important games to win. I think if we decide to play our brand and our style, we will be fine down the stretch. If we choose to do our own thing and make it interesting, it could be a tough road for us.
“I have confidence in this group and I am excited to get back to work this week.”
For the MJDP team on Thursday, Ryan Jacobson and Cory Anderson scored and goaltender Cam Cyrus finished with 24 saves in a 4-2 setback.
Nazar Yakubyak, William Minarik, Spencer Kauke and Andrew Engstrom scored for Chicago and Charles Donoghue made 30 saves between the pipes.
On Friday, Jayden Provencher scored late in the third period and Logan D’Andrea made 24 saves, but the MJDP fell 4-1.
Kaden McElroy and Dominic Menna had a goal and an assist for Chicago, while Gavin Jones and Minarik also scored. Ryan Luchsinger and Alexander Pulkstenis added two assists apiece and goalie Aidan Wysoglad made 29 saves in goal.
The MJDP salvaged two points Saturday, defeating the Cougars 6-2 as Aidan Rebone collected a goal and two assists and D’Andrea made 20 saves.
Provencher and Liam Smith each added a goal and an assist, Blake Brackett, John Legebokoff and Clovis Gamelin scored, and Gianluca Virelli, Alex Fournier and Ben McClaine posted two assists each.
Kauke had a goal and an assist for the Cougars, Minarik also scored, and Donoghue stopped 28 shots.
“It was a tough start to the weekend Thursday and Friday,” said Jets associate coach Jake Howie. “I thought we actually played fairly good games, but it wasn’t enough ultimately. Saturday, though, was one of our best games of the year. For 60 minutes, we moved our feet, managed pucks, and played a solid 200-foot game. On top of it, we finally broke through and got some pucks to find the back of the net that the puck luck hadn’t let us have the last few weeks. When this team plays like that, they are very dangerous and can make a deep run in the playoffs.”
At the Team Toledo Ice House, Toledo took a 6-2 win over the Jets on Saturday night.
Ryan Glomboske and Luka Pivec scored and Philip Hall finished with 32 saves.
Jacob Myers tallied two goals and an assist for Toledo, Jimmy Monks added a goal and an assist, Charlie Nolette chipped in three assists, and Zachary Machoian, Robert Leis and Jay Cormier also scored as goalie Daxton Lucidi turned aside 39 shots.
“If there was a good way to lose a game 6-2, I think that was it,” Jets associate head coach Jamie Lovell said. “It was a fun game to be a part of. I don’t think the score reflected the actual game and our effort. It’s too bad that we had a key decision go against us on our second goal to go up 2-0, but referees are human and they make mistakes, too. After reviewing the video, they admitted they were wrong, but can’t challenge it, so nothing we can do. That’s not why we lost the hockey game. but it certainly had an impact.
“We lost some of our composure on the bench after that call and that’s on me as a coach to keep my players focused on what matters. I didn’t do my job and ultimately the most costly mistake was one of our best players taking a major penalty while we were on the power play because he was frustrated and couldn’t keep it together. That was my job to get Jaxon Stone to stay focused and I blame myself for that. Not only does it take our chance on the power play away, but it puts us now on the PK and Toledo scores on it and they never look back. I’m very proud of how our team handled ourselves the entire game after that, especially in the third period.
“These are intense games and it’s fun to be a part of this rivalry.”
ON TAP
(Rest of 2025-26 regular season; Playoffs TBD)
Metro Jets
Feb. 13 – Columbus Mavericks, 7:30 p.m., Mount Clemens Ice Arena
Feb. 15 – Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones, 2:10 p.m., Queen City Sportsplex
Feb. 20 – Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones, 2:45 p.m., Mount Clemens Ice Arena
Feb. 21 – Fresh Coast Freeze, 12:30 p.m., Griff’s Ice House West
MJDP
Feb. 13 – Battle Creek Kernels, 7 p.m., The Rink Battle Creek
Feb. 19 – Fort Wayne Spacemen, 2:45 p.m., Mount Clemens Ice Arena
Feb. 20 – Fresh Coast Freeze, 12:15 p.m., Mount Clemens Ice Arena
Metro Jets Elite
Feb. 13 – Fort Wayne Spacemen, 4:30 p.m. CDT, Summit Ice Center
Feb. 14 – Red River Spartans, 9 a.m. CDT, Summit Ice Center
Feb. 14 – Chicago Crush, 3:20 p.m. CDT, Summit Ice Center
Feb. 19 – Fort Wayne Spacemen, noon, Mount Clemens Ice Arena
All USPHL games are available at BlackBearSports.tv.
Photos/Sara Vasseur
