ADDISON, Ill. – The MJDP and Metro Jets Elite teams began the 2023-24 USPHL season on the road over the weekend, each playing a pair against the Chicago Crush at the Addison Ice Arena.
The MJDP lost 4-3 in a shootout Saturday before coming back for a 2-0 win Sunday, while the Jets Elite won 3-1 Sunday after falling 4-1 Saturday.
Saturday night, Lukas Nies’ goal at 19:41 of the third period brought the MJDP into a 3-3 tie after a 3-1 deficit and forced overtime and then the shootout, where Crush goalie Jack Sundhall stopped all three MJDP attempts. Nick Zehelein scored the lone goal for Chicago.
“You know, I think we came out of the gates a little bit slow tonight and at this level, not playing for a full 60 minutes can be the difference in a hockey game,” said Jets associate coach Jake Howie. “With that said, we did a lot of good things, and I thought we controlled the pace of the game for the final 40 minutes. I love the resiliency of the group to battle back from down two goals in the third period to get the game into overtime.
“There’s plenty of positive things we can build from as this season progresses.”
Jake Taylor (pictured below) and Jack Rivera also scored, and Austin Muirhead stopped 25 shots between the pipes.
Sundhall made 28 saves, with Zehelein, Owen Rycerz and Caden Day scoring in regulation.
Finishing up Sunday, Andrew Parmentier (pictured front) turned aside all 25 shots he faced as Taylor and Nicco DeStefanis found the back of the net.
“The boys came out ready today,” Jets associate coach Tina Ciraulo said. “Parmentier did his job for us. Taylor had a nice goal to help us get two up on them. Overall on the weekend, I’m happy with the boys’ play but still got a lot of work to do moving forward.
“Happy with leaving the weekend with three out of the four points.”
Andrew Young finished with 37 saves for Chicago.
For the Jets Elite squad, Peter Spiridonakos scored 33 seconds into the first period Saturday and Ben Vanderdonck was strong in making 33 saves in goal.
“First game under us showed what we need to work on,” Ciraulo said. “There are a lot of positives that we can build on, so we’re really excited about where we can go as a group from here. This group is excited and eager to learn and develop. It was great having Benny Vanderdonck in net tonight. He did a great job of keeping us in the game and giving us a chance.”
Ryan Brown scored twice for the Crush and Johnny Augusta made 13 saves in net. Vincent Cerrentano and Joseph Coglianese also scored in the win.
Wrapping up the weekend on Sunday, Zach Robert was superb in making 38 saves and Robert Poliski scored a pair of power-play goals to gain the victory. Spiridonakos scored for the second straight game.
“Winning at this level is never easy,” said Howie. “The group came out and played hard for 60 minutes and dug deep to get two points. Special teams were great, with two big power-play goals from Robert Poliski, and the kill was perfect including a five-minute major in the third. Zach Robert was solid in net for us and was able to steady the ship when we needed.
“Really happy for this group getting their first win of the year but still plenty we can clean up, too.”
Crush goalie Tyler Siuda kicked out 26 shots, while Coglianese scored again.
This coming weekend, the Metro Jets open their season with a 5:15 p.m. puck drop at Mount Clemens Ice Arena against the Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones in a game that will be preceded by a special presentation to recognize Braydin Lewis. The MJDP stays on the road at 7 p.m. Saturday to play the Battle Creek Kernels from The Rink Battle Creek.
Watch all Jets games on FloHockey.tv.
