DYER, Ind. – The MJDP swept the Midwest Blackbirds this weekend on the road at the Midwest Training and Ice Center, winning 6-5 in overtime Friday night and then taking a 10-0 win Saturday night.
With the victories, the MJDP is just one point behind the second-place Fort Wayne Spacemen in the USPHL’s Midwest East Division with one weekend to go in the regular season.
“The boys came ready and played hard tonight after going into OT last night,” Metro Jets assistant coach Tina Ciraulo said. “Last night’s game, their goalie (Nick Meyering) played very well and kept them in it.
“Our boys are on a mission to finish this season out strong, and they’re doing it. We’ll head back to work this week to finish it out next weekend.”
In the opener, Carson Finney tallied the game-winning goal 4:04 into overtime for the 6-5 win.
Tommy Purton had tied the game at 5-all with a power-play goal at 16:38 of the third period.
Joey Carpenter registered a goal and two assists, Finney had an assist for a two-point game, and Josh Boze, Steven Miller (pictured front) and Sam Westerberg added single goals to back Ethan Ryan’s 26 saves in goal (pictured below).
Saturday night, the MJDP was led by Robert Grasso’s four points (goal, three assists), two goals plus a helper from Miller and two goals from Westerberg.
“Tonight’s win was really important for the team after a pretty bad game last night,” Westerberg said. “It’s good that we are finding ways to score in these types of games.
“The confidence in the team feels really good, and everyone is ready to end this season in the best possible way.”
Finney chipped in three assists, while Austin Combs had a goal and an assist and Carpenter, Aidan Shannon, Ethan Smith and Ville Karlsson added to the scoring barrage.
Between the pipes, Freddy Soderberg stopped all 21 shots for his sixth shutout of the season.
Next weekend, the MJDP plays a home-and-home series with the Motor City Hockey Club to wrap the regular season. The first game is Friday night at 9:05 p.m. from Redford Ice Arena with the finale Saturday at 4:45 p.m. from Mount Clemens Ice Arena.
The Jets head to Cincinnati to play the Jr. Cyclones Monday night at 7 p.m. from the Heritage Bank Center.
All USPHL games are available on HockeyTV.com.
