TOLEDO, Ohio – The Metro Jets tied the game late and then defeated the Toledo Cherokee 3-2 in overtime Saturday night at the Team Toledo IceHouse.
Alec Lindecker knotted the game at 2-all 14:28 into the third period and then Conner Graham’s second goal of the game won it at 4:11 of extra time.
“What a great game to be a part of,” said Jets associate coach Jamie Lovell. “Great atmosphere, a tough atmosphere. This is a very hard building to play in and we’ve had to do it five times this season out of six total games. I’m still not sure how that works, but I’m proud of our guys for coming into a hostile environment and not letting it affect them, even after giving up a goal 30 seconds in.
“We just stayed focused and started tilting the ice in our favor. Our second period we felt was dominant but only one goal to show for it. Credit to their goalie (Joey Cormier, 40 saves) for keeping it tied. We have a lot of young talent, but at this time of year, we need our veteran players to step up. Graham and Lindecker showed why they are our leaders and I think that’s huge for our young guys to see what it’s going to take to win these types of games.”
Jets goaltender Louis-Pierre Fortier finished with 35 saves in picking up the win in goal.
The Jets next play the Wooster Oilers Sunday at 3:30 p.m. from Fraser Hockeyland.
Kicking off the day’s action Saturday, Tate Potteiger (pictured front) turned aside all 43 shots he faced as the MHC blanked Wooster 3-0 at the Alice Noble Ice Arena.
Anders Florek, Ethan Smith and Ronny Zamojski all scored in the victory, the MHC’s second in three games.
“It was a great game for the guys,” said Jets associate coach Dan Pszenyczny. “They brought the energy today for all three periods. All four lines and seven ‘D’ played a smart game. ‘Z’ (Brennan Zatelli) and Florek had a great game, and Tate was stellar in goal tonight. Best game I’ve seen him play this year.
“The confidence for this team is high right now after this game.”
Wooster goalie Rob Holden stopped 20 shots in taking the loss.
The MHC next plays the Detroit Fighting Irish on Tuesday at 2 p.m. from Fraser Hockeyland.
Also Saturday, the MJDP fell 4-2 to the Fort Wayne Spacemen from the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse.
Brendan Rachfal and Hugo Fonovic scored and Caden Fisher made 20 saves between the pipes.
“It’s a disappointing result to say the least,” Jets coach-GM Justin Quenneville said. “This time of year, we can’t let poor reffing, bad bounces, or excuses be the reason we are on the wrong side. We had 51 shots against that kid and missed opportunities. We need to capitalize on our chances. We will be ready tomorrow and the guys know it. Imagine if we weren’t taking stupid penalties either. That might have helped.”
Earning the win, Fort Wayne netminder Cedric Lariviere finished with 49 saves.
The same two teams play again Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Fraser Hockeyland.
All USPHL games are streamed live on HockeyTV.com.
