Mite #2 second at Chi-Town

Captures second place, beats nemesis in hometown tourney

NOTE: This is the long-overdue writeup on the Chi-Town Cup tournament held in West Dundee from Feb. 18-20. While information has appeared previously on the results, the official scoresheets did not become available until today.

Jaguar Mite #2 may have stayed close to home, but in doing so, they found in their own backyard a few things they had been looking for all season long.

The Jaguars participated in the Chi-Town Cup tournament in West Dundee from Feb. 18-20, and returned to Joliet with medals around their necks and a trophy to place into the display cases in the lobby of the Inwood Ice Arena. While there was some disappointment the awards represented only a second-place finish, the smiles on the team members’ faces after the championship game that Monday morning showed they were still happy with claiming their first hardware of the year.

Bringing home hardware, however, was not the only goal Mite #2 achieved during the tournament. The final preliminary round game also marked the first time the Jaguars have been able to best the St. Jude Knights. The Knights, who rebounded from the defeat to clip the Jaguars in the championship on Monday, Feb. 20, remain the only team to have beaten Mite #2 in 2012.

St. Jude, which plays one level above the Jaguars in the Northern Illinois Hockey League, also defeated the Jaguars twice in the Motown Cup Tournament in Detroit. The Jaguars finished in third place in that event, which the Knights won.

GAME ONE: JAGUARS 6, NORTHBROOK BULEHAWKS MITE A 3

The Jaguars opened tournament play with a 6-3 victory over the Northbrook Bluehawks.

Mite #2 jumped on top first in the game, scoring a little more than halfway through the opening 12-minute period, but it was not until the midpoint of the second period that they were able to put some breathing room between themselves and the Bluehawks.

Ryan Louthan got the scoring going for the Jaguars, tallying the opening goal on an assist from Nathan Guseman with 5:41 remaining on the clock. The lead, however, lasted just 9 seconds, as the Bluehawks came right back with a goal off the stick of Owen Just, knotting the score at 1-1.

The Jaguars responded approximately one minute later with two quick goals to increase the margin to 3-1. The go-ahead goal was scored at the 4:43 mark by Blake Brenczewski, on an assist from Louthan. Twenty-eight seconds later, Trevor Hudak added some insurance off assists from Lukas Bomba and Jarrett Goodwin.

Before the close of the period, however, Hayden Gansberg tallied the Bluehawk’s second goal, on assists from Edward Paulissian and Noah Wilson with 2:58 to play in the first. The period ended with the Jaguars leading 3-2.

The only goal of the second period, coming at the 6:08 mark off the stick of Louthan, provided the Jaguars with a bit of a cushion going into the final stanza. Credited with the assist on the goal was Grace Gonzalez.

The gap grew to 5-2 at the 6:27 mark of the third period, when Hudak scored his second goal of the game on assists from Gonzalez and Bomba.

With 5:50 to play, however, Just gave the Bluehawks a glimmer of hope, notching his second goal on the afternoon on assists from Timothy Miller and Alex Link.

The glimmer fizzled quickly though when Hudak, in completing his hat trick, quashed any thought of a Northbrook comeback with an unassisted goal at the 4:57 mark. The Jaguars then closed out the 6-3 victory, notching an opening with in the tournament.

GAME TWO: JAGUARS 6, LEAFS MITE A2 4

The Jaguars found themselves in familiar territory against an unfamiliar opponent in the second game of the tournament, scoring first as they had done in the opener en route to a 6-4 nail-biting victory over the hosting Leafs.

Unfamiliar for the Jaguars, however, was the need to play from behind for a portion of the game before ultimately coming back and securing the win against a team they could see again in the Wolves Cup Championship game on Sunday, March 11. The Leafs won the regular-season title in the Red Tier of the Silver B Level of the Northern Illinois Hockey League, while the Jaguars finished third in the White Tier.

The Jaguars grabbed the lead against the Leafs less than three minutes into their game, as Blake Brenczewski scored at the 9:02 mark of the opening period on assists from Evan McDonald and Ryan Louthan. The tally would prove to be the only one of the stanza, giving the Jaguars a 1-0 lead after the first 12 minutes.

That lead grew to two just :45 seconds into the new period, as Trevor Hudak tallied an unassisted goal.

The Leafs, however, came roaring back, scoring with 7:31 and 2:56 showing on the clock to knot the score at 2-2. Chase Jetel and Wyatt Teets recorded the unassisted tallies.

The Jaguars responded, however, as Ryan Louthan found the net with 2:35 to play in the middle period, giving the Jaguars back the lead at 3-2.

That lead disappeared before the period closed. The Leaf’s Jetel notched his second goal of the game with 1:21 to play and, with just 10 clicks left on the clock, Kory Carlson game the Leafs’ the lead on an assist from Bryce Strum.

It did not take Mite #2 long to regain momentum. Brenczewski found the back of the net just :53 into the period, using the unassisted goal to draw the Jaguars even.

And even is where the game stayed for the next seven minutes.

At the 4:16 mark, however, Hudak converted a Louthan assist to put the Jaguars back in front, 5-4. The Leafs put the pressure on for the remainder of the game, pulling the goalie with over 1:00 to play in an all-out effort to notch the equalizer.

It backfired, however, as Hudak found the empty net with :29 to play to tally his second hat trick in as many tournament games and secure the 6-4 Jaguar victory.

Luke Brzezinski recorded the win in the net for the Jaguars, collecting 20 saves in the contest, including 8 in the final period.

GAME THREE: JAGUARS 2, ST. JUDE KNIGHTS 1

Goalie Luke Brzezinski and the Jaguars’ defensive quartet of Nathan Guseman, Dylan Graziano, Grace Gonzalez and Emily Stornello came up big in Sunday’s second game, a 2-1 victory over the St. Jude Knights.

The win over the Silver A-level team was the first for the Jaguars in four games against the Knights this season, dating back to a 1-0 heartbreaker in the seeding round early in the season.

While the outcome was one the Jaguars had been striving for all season, things did not start out as promising as they ended. That Knights got out to the early lead, when Dominick Lococo converted a Nick Capuano assist with 4:12 to play in the opening period.

It took nearly eight minutes, until the 8:28 mark of the second period, before the Jaguars could figure out the Knights goaltender, Owen Flaig, and tally the equalizer. That came off the stick of Trevor Hudak on an unassisted goal.

The teams played each other even for the remainder of the period, trading shots and saves throughout. The back and forth play prompted some observers to speculate between the second and third periods that it was very likely the next goal would win the game.

That next goal finally game with 4:59 to play in the final period, when Hudak again found the back of the net, this time on an assist from Jarrett Goodwin.

The fact that it would indeed become the game winner, however, was not clear until the final buzzer sounded. When it did, it revealed that both goalies, Flaig with 21 saves for the Knights and Brzezinski, with 24 saves of his own, had played a big role of making that next-goal-wins prediction a reality.

The Jaguar victory lifted their tournament record to 3-0, giving them the top seed going into the Monday championship. Despite the loss, St. Jude’s two previous wins in the event were good enough to earn them second place and a berth opposite the Jaguars in the final game.

CHAMPIONSHIP: ST. JUDE KNIGHTS 2, JAGUARS 0

Both teams entered the Monday championship knowing they would be taking home hardware. The only thing left to decide on the ice was which one would get the bigger trophy. When the final buzzer sounded, that honor would go to St. Jude, which won the game 2-0.

As they did the day before, St. Jude jumped out to the early lead, notching a goal just 1:07 into the game. Brendan Martin managed the some-what controversial early tally. The Knights followed up that goal at the 5:41 mark with another score, bringing the margin to 2-0.

Unlike the day before, however, the Jaguars were not able to mount a comeback, despite strong defensive and goalie play that stifled the St. Jude offense for the rest of the game. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, the Knights did the same, holding the Jaguars scoreless.

Luke Brzezinski ended the game with 17 saves, compared to 13 for the Knights’ Owen Flaig.

Despite the defeat, the Jaguars still celebrated the season’s first hardware, receiving their medals on the ice and passing the trophy from player to player in the locker room, each player posing for photos with the coveted prize.

Setting the stage for a playoff run

Mite #2 opens with 7-0 win over Sabres #3

William Shakespeare wrote that “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”

There was little drama on Sunday morning for the boys and girls who are the players on Jaguar Mite #2, but with their 7-0 win over Sabres #3 the first stage is complete in their pursuit of the Silver B-level Wolves Cup. It could be said that winning the championship would mean the world to the team.

Up next is a second-round game at 4:40 p.m. Saturday, March 3, against the Chicago Jets at Rocket Ice Arena in Bolingbrook. The Jets are the second seed in the playoffs, while the Jaguars are the third seed.

In Sunday’s opening round game, the Jaguars got the scoring started shortly after the curtain was raised on the contest. The initial spotlight shone on the Jaguars’ Jarrett Goodwin, who scored just 17 seconds into the game, on assists from Trevor Hudak and Lukas Bomba.

There was, however, no single leading man in Sunday’s performance, which featured more of an ensemble cast as the Mite #2 team took center stage at Inwood Ice Arena.

Blake Brenczewski was the next to draw the attention of the crowd, however, scoring at the 9:36 mark, and again on the Power Play with 2:05 remaining. On both goals, Ryan Louthan was the supporting actor.

Louthan and Brenczewski both got assists as Evan McDonald scored with :38 remaining to increase the Jaguar lead to 4-0 as the curtain dropped on the opening act.

The score remained the same as the action played out in the second period, until the climax with just :44 remaining, as Louthan scored a Power Play goal on an assist from Brenczewski to make the score 5-0. The five-goal margin as the final act began mandated a running clock until the deficit was reduced.

Instead of allowing the Sabres to reduce the deficit, however, the Jaguars increased it to 6, with a goal by Trevor Hudak, on an assist from Bomba, with 5:05 to play. Louthan then brought the score to the final 7-0 margin with 4:15 to play. Brenczewski and McDonald were credited with the assists.

The win was the fourth shutout of the season, dating back to the seeding round, for goaltender Luke Brzezinski, who recorded 10 saves on Sunday. His counterpart, Payton Aldridge, who was forced into goaltending duties due to the absence of the Sabres’ regular goalie, had 20 saves on the morning.

The win extended to 10 the unbeaten streak in NIHL play for the Jaguars, who have gone 8-0-2 since losing to the Bruins, 3-1, on Dec. 4, 2011. Since that loss, Mite #2 has compiled an overall record of 13-3-2, including a third-place finish in the Motown Cup tournament in January and a second-place finish in the Chi-Town Cup earlier this month.

The only team to beat the Jaguars in the past three months has been the St. Jude Knights team that plays in the Silver A level of NIHL, one level above the Jaguars. The Jaguars did manage to beat the Knights, 2-1, in preliminary round play at the Chi-Town Cup tournament, before falling to them 2-0 in the championship game.

Happy with the hardware

This has been my first chance since their big game on Monday morning to officially congratulate Jaguar Mite #2 for finishing second in the Chi-Town Cup Tournament held in West Dundee over the holiday weekend. While they lost the championship game 2-0 to St. Jude -- still the only team to beat them since Dec. 4 as the team has gone 12-3-2 -- from what I have seen and heard, the team members were still  thrilled to bring home their first hardware.

I missed the game because of other obligations, but I was updated via text message frequently and have been given varied reports on it since then. It sounds like the first goal was a fluke, while the second one was a legitimate tally for the Knights. If a couple of shots off the post had been an inch or two one way or the other for the Jaguars, it sounds like the outcome would be different.

The loss on Monday, however, in no way takes away from the fact the Jaguars defeated St. Jude 2-1 on Sunday, marking the first time the Jaguar Mite #2 has been able to get past the Knights teams that plays one level above them in the Northern Illinois Hockey League.

I am still hoping to obtain the score sheets from each of the tournament games so I can put together a full report on Mite #2's successful efforts to bring home the hardware. When I do, it will appear here, on Facebook and at http://www.jaguarhockeyclub.com/.

It should be noted, with the start of Mite #2's playoff run just a few days away, that the second-place finish in the Chi-Town Cup Tournament may actually be a good omen for the Jaguars. In their first tournament of the year, at Johnny's Ice House over Thanksgiving, before the run of success began, the team finished in fourth place in the four-team tournament.

In their next tournament outing, the Jaguars took third place in Detroit, losing only to St. Jude in the Motown Cup tournament. Now, at the Chi-Town Cup Tournament, the Jaguars have stepped up second place. Their is, of course, only one more step in that progression and the only tournament left for the Jaguars is the playoffs. (Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Jaguars faced and defeated in West Dundee the team they are likely to face should they advance to the Wolves Cup championship).
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The playoffs for the Jaguars will begin with an 8:30 a.m. home game at Inwood against the Sabres on Sunday morning, Feb. 26. After a win, it will continue with play at the Sabres' home rink, Rocket Ice Arena, on Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4. Games will be against the Chicago Jets Saturday and, after a victory, most likely the Chicago Bulldogs.

The Wolves Cup Championship is set for Sunday, March 11, at Inwood. The consolation game will be the afternoon before in Crystal Lake.

Hardware is on the horizon

Now, there is no team that Jaguar Mite #2 has played this year that it has not been able to beat.

In fact, between Northern Illinois Hockey League play and games in the Motown Cup and Chi-Town Cup tournaments, the Jaguars are 12-2-2 in their last 16 games, dating back to their last NIHL loss on Dec. 4. The two loses since then were both at the tournament in Detroit at the hands of the St. Jude Knights, who play in the Silver A Level of NIHL, one level above the Jaguars.

On Sunday, however, the Knights' mastery over the Jaguars came to an end with a 2-1 Jaguar victory in the third of three preliminary-round games in the Chi-Town Cup Tournament being hosted at the Leafs Ice Center in West Dundee. The win, highlighted by two goals from Trevor Hudak, lifted the Jaguars to 3-0 in the tournament, making them the top seed when they face St. Jude again Monday morning in the tournament championship.

Win or lose, Mite #2 will be bringing home its first hardware, as it is guaranteed a trophy for the Jaguars' trophy case at Inwood in Joliet and medals for each of the members of the team.

Also helping put the Jaguars in that position was a 6-4 victory over the hosting Leafs earlier Sunday. The back-and-forth game, in which the Jaguars did not seal the victory until scoring an empty net goal in the final minute after the Leafs pulled their goalie, could prove to be a preview of the Silver B Level Wolves Cup Championship in a few weeks.

The Leafs went 13-1 on the season to win the Red Tier of the Silver B Level in the Mite Division, earning a first-round playoff bye in the process. The Jaguars finished third in the White Tier and will have to defeat the Sabres and two other opponents -- probably the Chicago Jets and the Chicago Bulldogs, who finished in second and first place in their tier, respectively -- before earning their spot in the championship game.

For now, however, the Jaguars are just focusing on the 36 minutes they will spend on the ice against St. Jude on Monday, with hopes of bringing home the Chi-Town Cup championship.

After that is when they will concentrate on the Wolves Cup, which they will begin pursuing on 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, when they host the Sabres in a first-round game at Inwood.

Being the (United) Center of attention

There hadn't been much for the 22,077 fans who packed the United Center on Sunday morning to cheer about in the first period.

The Blackhawks had closed out their long losing streak a few games before and were actually looking to build on the modest two-game winning streak that had begun on the heels of the skid. In the first period, however, the fans welcoming them back to the United Center after nearly a month saw only four Blackhawk shots on goal and a questionable goal by the St. Louis Blues.

It was with that backdrop that a car was pulled onto the ice during the first intermission. The car was followed by the Squirt-aged players from the ADM Major program of the Joliet Jaguar Hockey Club. They were met with a smattering a applause from throughout the United Center, as well as loud cheers from a small section in the 300 Level where their families and friends were sitting.

Divided into two teams based on their Jaguar uniform colors, the 12 youth hockey players participated in a relay race that required them to skate the length of the ice, turn around a pylon and, during their return to the far end of the ice, slide under a  hockey stick supported on tires and leap over a second stick before crossing the start/finish line and releasing the next person in line.

As each member of the Jaguars participated, their name was announced over the public address system. The white team pulled ahead early on, but the black team caught up about midway through the line of participants. By the time the goalies went, the two teams were neck and neck and the volume of the United Center crowd  rose noticably as the white team finished slightly ahead to the cheers of far more occupants of the U.C. than just those in that select area in the nose-bleed seats.

The competition, however, was simply a friendly one. Each of the kids were winners in their own right, because they took away from the day a memories that will last a lifetime, highlighted by not only their friendly competition, but also the chance to see several Blackhawks players warming up before the game.

It also didn't hurt that each of the kids also received the Marian Hossa bobblehead that was being given away on Sunday and got to see the Blackhawks stage a third-period comeback en route to a 3-1 victory.

Mite #2 opens Chi-Town Cup with 6-3 win

Action got under way for Jaguar Mite #2 in the Chi-Town Cup Saturday afternoon with a 6-3 victory over the Northbrook Bluehawks. The victory positioned the Jaguars at the top of the pool based on goal differential after the first day of tournament action. The St. Jude Knights, the only team to defeat the Jaguars in their last 14 games, was the other victorious team on Saturday, topping the Leafs 2-1 in their game. Both the Leafs and the St. Jude await the Jaguars on Sunday in tournament play, the Leafs at 9:20 a.m. and St. Jude at 4:30 P.m. Both of the Jaguars' Sunday opponents will also take on the Bluehawks on Sunday. The two teams with the best records after play on Sunday will advance to Monday morning's championship game. The Jaguars got on the board first against the Bluehawks Saturday and never trailed, although the Bluehawks did cut the Jaguar lead to just one, at 3-2, before the end of the first period. The offensive star for the Jaguars was Trevor Hudak, who netted a hat trick on the afternoon. Watch for further updates throughout the tournament and a full story after the Jaguars conclude play.

Play against Sabres is ugly, but effective

In 1983, the phrase “Winning Ugly” was coined to describe the successful run of the Chicago White Sox.

Even though the members of Jaguar Mite #2 were far from being born back then, they took a page from the White Sox playbook on Wednesday evening in an 8-2 regular-season-closing victory over the Sabres.

In fact, things were so ugly early on that Coach Bob Ambroffi used his lone timeout just 4:00 into the second period, with the Jaguars leading 1-0. It was a moment of frustration he admitted later that he regretted briefly when, after the Sabres scored with 9:31 remaining in the third period to cut the Jaguar lead to just 3-2, he realized he no longer had a timeout at his disposal.

While the timeout may have helped to get the minds of the Jaguar players back on the task at hand, it was that Sabres’ goal that really seemed to give Mite #2 the sense of urgency it seemed to lack in the early going. With the urgency back in their game, the Jaguars quickly made it clear that their unbeaten streak in Northern Illinois Hockey League play would indeed be extended to nine games.

The win, which brought their record to 7-0-2 in their last nine games in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division of NIHL, gave the Jaguars an overall season record of 8-4-2 and solidified their hold on third place in the tier – and a first-round playoff contest against this same Sabres.

The ugly start to the Jaguars’ play was even depicted in the types of goals they scored in the early going.

The Jaguars got on the scoreboard first when, with 8:13 to play in the opening stanza, a shot off the stick of Jarrett Goodwin somehow managed to trickle past the Sabres’ goalie and just over the goal line. The goal, which was not apparent until the referee signaled the score, was unassisted.

The tenacious Sabres held the Jaguars at bay for the remainder of the first period and through the first several minutes of the second, prompting Ambroffi to call the early timeout. A minute later, Trevor Hudak responded to the pep talk with the Jaguars’ second ugly goal of the game.

In this instance, Hudak played the puck from behind the Sabres’ net and managed – perhaps unintentionally – to bounce a shot off the rear of the Sabres’ goaltender and into the net to double the Jaguars lead to 2.

Hudak scored in a slightly more convincing fashion with 2:00 to play in the period, as he convincing fired a shot past the netminder from between the hash marks. Goodwin received credit of assisting the goal, which made the score 3-0.

A strong offensive play by the Sabres’ Ian Gall, despite the pestering defense of the Jaguars’ Dylan Graziano, kept the stanza from closing with that score. With Graziano whacking at his stick all the way through the Jaguars’ defensive zone, Gall still managed to fire a shot just wide of the outstretched glove of goalie Luke Brzezinski and into the back of the net to put the Sabres on the board. Ryan Burk received credit for the assist.

The Sabres made the score 3-2 – and made Jaguar’s Coach Ambroffi regret his early timeout call – when Nicholas Niecikowski found the net after a flurry of activity in front of Brzezinski. Nicholas Soldan recorded the assist.

It was indeed the wakeup call the Jaguars needed.

And wake up they did, starting with Blake Brenczewski, who tallied the first insurance goal for the visitors with 8:14 to play to stretch the lead to 4-2. The Jaguars then proceeded to score approximately once a minute for the next four minutes, bringing the score to the final 8-2 margin.

Lukas Bomba scored on an assist from Goodwin at the 7:25 mark, and 1:02 later, they switched roles, with Goodwin converting a Bomba assist to make the score 6-2. With 5:18 to play, Brenczewski scored his second unassisted goal of the game.

Ryan Louthan closed out the scoring in the game with his own unassisted goal with 3:43 to play.

With the regular season concluded, the Jaguars will tune up for their playoff run by participating in the Chi-Town Cup Tournament in West Dundee this coming weekend, Feb. 18-20. They will open the playoffs by hosting the Sabres at Inwood sometime between Feb. 20 and 28, with an eye toward advancing to second- and third-round play the first weekend in March at Rocket Ice.

Knowing becomes doing as Mite #2 salvages 2-2 tie vs. Jets

They knew it could be done.

After all, the Chicago Bulldogs had done it to them one game before.

Knowing and doing, however, are often two different things.

On Sunday morning, Feb. 12, however, there was no distinction for Jaguar Mite #2 between knowing it is possible to come back from a one-goal deficit with less than a minute to play (and a two-goal deficit overall) and doing it against the Chicago Jets .

Despite being down 2-0 going into the third period – and 2-1 with 1:00 appearing on the clock near the ice at Johnny’s Ice House West – the Jaguars skated off the ice after the final buzzer sounded with a 2-2 tie in the books, bringing to eight games their unbeaten streak in Northern Illinois Hockey League play.

For the Chicago Jets, however, a tie was good enough to clinch a second-place finish in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division, which comes with a first-round playoff bye. The point gave the Jets 19 on the season, one ahead of where the Jaguars will sit should they beat the Sabres in their regular-season finale on Wednesday night, Feb. 15.

Dropping to third place means the Jaguars will have to play a first-round game in the NIHL Wolves Cup playoffs, hosting the Sabres at Inwood in a yet-to-be-scheduled game that must by played between Monday, Feb. 20, and Tuesday, Feb. 28.

The Chicago Bulldogs also received a playoff bye, garnering 20 points during the season and securing first-place in the tier.

The Jaguars and the Jets played Sunday’s game as if it were the important game that it was. The teams battled defensively throughout the contest, closing the first period knotted in a 0-0 tie.

The Jets finally lit up the scoreboard with 8:18 to play in the second, as Alex Laverty got behind the defense and scored on assists from Joey Giunta and Mario Scalise. A little more than three minutes later, at the 4:41 mark of the middle period, the Jets stretched the lead to 2-0 on a Tyler Pan goal. Assists went to Scalise and Sean Doyle, who had led the Jets’ offense each time the two teams had previously met this season.

Just shy of 1:30 into the third period, the Jaguars finally solved the Jets’ goaltender, with Black Brenczewski converting on a Jarrett Goodwin pass to cut the Jet lead to 2-1. And there the score stayed for more than nine minutes.

After using his timeout and with the final seconds ticking off the clock, Coach Bob Ambroffi pulled goaltender Luke Brzezinski off the ice in favor of a sixth attacker. The Jaguars dodged a bullet when a Jets’ shot from the blue line drifted just wide of the empty net, but the Jets could not dodge a bullet off the stick of Ryan Louthan.

With just :33 left to play, Louthan found the back of the net, on an assist from Nate Guseman, to know the score at 2-2.

The scenario was all-too-familiar to the Jaguars. In their previous game, the Jaguars were the team that saw a two-goal lead slip away and result in a 2-2 tie because of a goal scored by a team defending an empty net and pushing full force in the closing seconds trying to tally the equalizer.

The Jaguars will finish the regular season with a 6:30 game Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, against the hosting Sabres. They will then tune up for the NIHL Wolves Cup playoffs by competing in the Chi-Town Cup tournament in West Dundee from Feb. 18-20, during which they will meet the St. Jude Knights, who during a tournament in January became the only team to have beaten Jaguar Mite #2 since early December 2011.

Playoff pairings set; Jaguar Mite #2 settles for third

With the Jaguars coming back in the final seconds Sunday morning to earn a 2-2 tie against the Chicago Jets, the playoff pairings -- if not the final positions -- are set in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division in the Northern Illinois Hockey League.

By picking up one point on Sunday, the Jets locked up second place in the tier (and a first-round playoff bye) one point behind the tier-winning Bulldogs, who finished play with 20. A win against the Sabres in their regular-season-ending game on Wednesday, Feb. 15, would elevate Jaguar Mite #2's total to 18 points, one behind the point total of the Jets', who wrapped up regular season play Sunday.

The only thing that remains to the be determined is whether the Maniax or Bruins will finish in fourth place. That will likely not be determined until the two square off in the tier's final regular-season game on Saturday, Feb. 18. It is likely each team will enter that game with 12 points, meaning the winner will claim the higher seed.

The only thing really to be determined in that game is whether the Maniax or the Bruins will host when the two teams meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Jaguars, it is already known, will host the Sabres when they play.

According to information posted on the NIHL website, the first-round games must be played between Monday, Feb. 20, and Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the home of the higher-seeded team. Winners of those games will advance to play the Bulldogs and the Jets, respectively, on Saturday, March 3, at Rocket Ice Arena.

Jaguars get rematch against only team to beat them this year

A very familiar opponent will be waiting for Jaguar Mite #2.

The St. Jude Knights -- who defeated the Jaguars twice during the Motown Cup tournament over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend -- are slated as the Jaguars opponent in the final Chi-Town Cup tournament game before the championship.

The losses in Detroit are the only ones the Jaguars have suffered -- in either tournament or Northern Illinois Hockey League play -- since Dec. 4, when they fell 3-1 to the Bruins in Addison. Since that defeat, the Jaguars are 8-2-1 and are currently riding a seven-game undefeated streak in NIHL play.

Like St. Jude, the Jaguars' two other opponents in the Feb. 17-20 tournament also play in NIHL, although none of the three is in the same Silver B Level White Tier as the Jaguars. Indications are, however, that the Northbrook Bluehawks #2, whom the Jaguars will play in their tournament opener at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, is the same team that plays in the Silver B Red Tier.

With one regular-season game to play, that team is in sixth place in the seven-team tier, with a season record of 1-8-4.

The Jaguars' second opponent, whom they face at 9:20 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, is Leafs Mite A2, which appears to the be the Leafs' team that plays in the same NIHL Silver A tier as the St. Jude Knights. The Leafs have a record of 6-4-2 and are in fourth place in the Silver A White Tier. St. Jude is currently in sixth place in the tier, with a record of 2-5-3.

The Jaguars game against St. Jude is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19.

The top two teams after round-robin play will faceoff at 9:10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 20, in the championship game.

All of the games in the tournament will take place at the Leafs Ice Center in West Dundee.

Bulldogs clinch first, but bye still up for grabs

The Bruins did not come through for Jaguar Mite #2 Friday night, but if the Jaguars take care of business on Sunday, Feb. 12, and Wednesday, Feb. 15, they can still benefit from a bye in the first round of the Northern Illinois Hockey League Playoffs.

What the Jaguars cannot do, however, is finish the regular season atop the White Tier of the Mite Silver B Division in NIHL. That honor goes to the Chicago Bulldogs, who clinched the first-place finish with a 2-0 victory over the Bruins Friday evening.

The Bulldogs completed regular-season play with 20 points. The Jaguars, who gave up a point in the standings to the Bulldogs when they allowed the Bulldogs to salvage a tie in the closing seconds of their Jan. 28 game, will complete the year with 19 points if they sweep their final two games. That point total will be good enough for second place and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Conversely, if the Chicago Jets (who defeated the Midwest Maniax 3-1 today) are able to defeat the Jaguars when they meet Sunday morning at Johnny's Ice House West, the Jets will finish in second place and keep the Jaguars in third ... and force them into a first-round NIHL playoff game against the sixth-seeded Sabres. A Jets' win would give them a final point total identical to the Bulldogs' 20 points, but the Bulldogs have gotten the better of the Jets in their head-to-head competitions.

No matter the outcome of Sunday's game, it is highly likely the Jaguars and Jets will meet at 4:40 p.m. Saturday, March 3, at Rocket Ice Arena in the second-round of the playoffs, when the second-seeded team will meet the winner of the first-round game between the third-seeded team and the Sabres. The Sabres went 0-11-1 on the season.

The winner of that March 3 game will play the winner of the game between the Bulldogs and the winner of the first-round game between the Maniax and the Bruins, who are still battling to determine which will claim the fourth seed. That game, at 12:40 p.m. Sunday, March 4, at Rocket Ice, will determine which White Tier team advances to the Wolves Cup final against the Red Tier winner.

The championship will be at 9 a.m. Sunday, March 11, at Inwood.

The loser of the 12:40 p.m. Sunday game will battle the loser of the Red Tier semi-final in the consolation game at the Ice House in Crystal Lake at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 10.

No February 'Hockey Time' for ADM Major Squirts

It appears the Major ADM Squirt team will be forced to endure its first hockey disappointment without even stepping on the ice for the Chicago Cup Tournament the weekend of Feb. 17 - 20.

Because of an apparent registration error by the tournament production company Hockey Time Productions, the team rostered for the tournament has been excluded from the competition. As a result, the squirt-aged players who have spent nearly an entire season simply scrimmaging among themselves and with the older ADM Major players will have to wait yet another month -- until the tournament scheduled for March 23 to 25 -- before they get the opportunity to play a team not also wearing Jaguar uniforms.

Actually, it appears as if the error actually was multi-faceted as the Jaguar Squirt 2 team was excluded completely (as was the Jaguar Pee Wee 1 team), while the Jaguar ADM Squirt team was bracketed at a level that would have had them matched against far-more-experienced players. As a result, it was decided -- rightfully so, in my opinion -- to have the Squirt 2 team take the provided slot (which was more appropriate for the Bronze-level teams' skill and experience level) and leave the ADM Squirt kids on the sidelines, instead of allowing them to be discouraged in their first truly competitive foray into the sport.

"This is an egregious error that in my 6 plus years of travel hockey is a first," wrote Dave Guseman, vice president of development for the Jaguar Hockey Club, in an email to the parents of the affected players on Wednesday. "What makes it worse, it that another Jaguar team was left off of the final schedule as well."

Guseman went on to note that he is recommending to Cristi White, president of the Jaguar Hockey Club, that the Jaguars reconsider their relationship with Hockey Time Productions and, instead, participate in future seasons in tournaments produced by other organizations.

It is very respectable that the Jaguar Hockey Club will be providing a reduction in spring program fees for the affected players to offset the fact the club was going to cover the cost of the second tournament in March from fees already paid for season play by the ADM Major players. However, it seems that rather than applying the fees parents paid for this tournament to the next one, the club should be able to refund those fees or double that spring fee reduction because Hockey Time Productions, it seems to me, should acknowledge its error by stepping up and providing entry into the March tournament free of charge for both the ADM Major Squirts and Pee Wee 1.

It seems that such a make-good by the tournament producers, however, is not very likely. In fact, I would be surprised if Hockey Time were to even go so far as to issue the letter of apology and explanation to parents that the Jaguar Hockey Club has requested.

The one fortunate reality that should help ease the disappointment the ADM Major Squirts feel about being deprived of their chance to play in this tournament is the fact they will still have the opportunity on Sunday, Feb. 19, to participate in a shootout between the first and second periods of the Chicago Blackhawks game.

While the cheers of their parents, siblings, families and friends as they took the ice for the Chicago Cup would have buoyed their spirits and given them a thrill, the roar of that crowd would still pale in comparison by the cheers they will hear as they take the ice at the United Center in front of 20,000 rabid Blackhawks fans to shoot the puck into the same nets that Patrick Kane shoots at and Duncan Keith defends. Now that will be a thrill.

Rocket Ice to host Mite Silver B playoffs

The Northern Illinois Hockey League has clarified the location of the Mite Silver B second- and third-round games. They will be played at Rocket Ice in Bolingbrook the weekend of March 3 and 4.

Originally, it was announced the Sabres would be hosting the playoff weekend competition, but when the bracket was first released, it indicated the games were to be played at Arctic Ice in Orland Park, which is the host site for the Mite Silver A playoffs. A revised version of the bracket sheet posted on http://www.nihl.info/ now reflects the Bolingbrook location.

Prior to play in the second and third rounds, teams finishing third through sixth in the White Tier and second through seventh in the Red Tier will play first round games on the home ice of the higher-seeded team. The top two teams in White and the regular season winner in Red will receive byes and advance automatically to weekend play.

In the White Tier, the top-seeded team will play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3, against the winner of the first-round game between the fourth and fifth seeded teams. The actual seeds are not yet set, but that first-round game will be between the Midwest Maniax and the Chicago Bruins, who can still switch places in the standings but are locked into the fourth and fifth seeds.

At 4:40 p.m. that day, the second-seeded White Tier team will play the winner of the first-round game between the third and sixth seeds. While the top three seeds are still up for grabs, the Sabres are already locked into the sixth seed for the playoffs. See earlier posts on jaguarhockeydad.blogspot.com for a discussion of how the top threes seeds may shake out.

Winners of the second-round games will play at 12:40 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, for the right to advance to the Wolves Cup Championship against the Red Tier winner. That championship game will take place on the Jaguars home ice at Inwood in Joliet at 9 a.m. Sunday, March 11. The losers of the two third-round games will play in a consolation game for third place at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at the Ice House in Crystal Lake.

Red Tier games in the second and third rounds are set for 3:20 and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3, with the top-seeded team automatically advancing to play in the 3:20 p.m. game. The Leafs have already guaranteed themselves the top-seed and the bye.

Winners of the second-round games will play at 1:50 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the championship game against the White Tier winner. The loser will play in the third-place game.

Bruins drop out of contention

It took 33 minutes on Sunday for the Chicago Bruins to go from being a hot team in contention to a team fighting for a fourth-place finish.

The Midwest Maniax out of Dyer, Ind., handed a 5-1 defeat to the Bruins, a team that one game earlier had defeated the Chicago Jets 3-0. The game before that, the Bruins had pushed Jaguar Mite #2 to the limit before falling on Inwood Ice, 2-1.

The Maniax's win moved them into fourth place, two points ahead of the Bruins. Both teams still have the potential to end the season with 16 points, although only one of them can actually get to that total since they play the season finale against one another. The team that gets there, however, will likely have to settle for fourth place in the White Tier of the Mite Division of the Northern Illinois Hockey League.

The fourth-place finish is probable because of the point totals already enjoyed by the three teams sitting above the Maniax in the tier.

The Chicago Bulldogs, who like the Jaguars were idle on Sunday, still sit atop the tier following the end of weekend play. They have 18 points and are two points ahead of the Chicago Jets, who increased their point total to 16 -- and climbed ahead of the Jaguars, who remain at 15 -- on the strength of a 13-1 victory over the last-place Sabres on Sunday.

The Bulldogs have one game remaining, against the Bruins on Feb. 10, and could end the year atop the tier with 20 points. Should they tie with or lose to the Bruins, however, that opens the door to the top spot for whichever team wins when the Jets and the Jaguars square off next Sunday morning, Feb. 12, at Johnny's Ice House.

Both teams should win the other game they have remaining -- the Jaguars against the Sabres (on Feb. 15) and the Jets against the Maniax (on Feb. 11) -- meaning a win over the Jets would give the Jaguars a probable 19 points on the season, while the Jets would, as a result of a loss, likely max out at 18 points. Conversely, if the Jaguars fell to the Jets, they would max out at 17 points (and settle for third), while the Jets could go on to a 20 point total.

Mite #2 controls its own fate ... sort of

OK. First things first. Bulldogs 1, Jets 0. That was the final score when the two teams in contention along with the Jaguar Mite #2 team in the White Tier of the Mite Division of the Northern Illinois Hockey League met at McFetridge in Chicago on Saturday evening.

While a tie between the two teams would have been better for the Jaguars, the Bulldog victory means the Jaguars can now assure themselves a first-round bye in the Wolves Cup playoffs simply by winning their final two games of the regular season. They play the Jets, who still sit one point behind them as of Saturday night, and the Sabres, who locked up sixth-place in the six-team tier with a loss on Saturday.

Let's look at the current standings, and then I'll explain why I have come to this conclusion.

As of Saturday night, on the strength of the win over the Jets, the Bulldogs increased their first-place point total to 18. The Jaguars, who have been idle since tying the Bulldogs last weekend are still in second place, now 3 points behind, at 15. The Jets, who have lost their last two games, remain at 14 points.

Now the scenarios.

By winning their final two games, the Jaguars would finish the regular season with 19 points, which is one point better than where the Bulldogs currently stand with one game to play. By completing this two-game sweep, which includes a game against the Jets, the Jaguars would guarantee the most points the Jets could pull from their final three games would be 4, which would raise their total only to 18 at the end of the season.

With the Jets locked in at 18 points, that would mean the Jaguars, with 19, could finish no worse than second place, which guarantees them a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

That 19 points, however, could be good enough for first place in the tier if the Jaguars can get a little help from the surging Chicago Bruins. If the Bruins beat the Bulldogs in the Bulldogs' last game of the year, the Bulldogs, like the Jets, would end the season at 18 points, one point behind the Jaguars. The news would also be positive for the Jaguars if the Bulldogs and Bruins tie, however, because even if the Buldogs claim that point and end the year wth 19 points, the Jaguars hold a 2-0-1 record agains the Bulldogs this year, meaning they would win a head-to-head tiebreaker.

I would be remiss to not mention the Bruins at this point, as they could find themselves right in the mix of things by the end of the season. They currently sit at 10 points, with four games to play, which means they, too, have a potential to end the year with 18 points. The team that defeated the Jets in their last outing (after lossing a 2-1 nailbiter to the Jaguars the game before that) have only the Bulldogs and three games against teams beneath them in the standings (one with the Sabres and two with the Maniax) left on their schedule.

Maniax win ensures Sabres' sixth-place finish

With an 8-4 victory by the Maniax over the Sabres Saturday afternoon, standings appear to be solidifying at the bottom of the White Tier of the Mite Division of the Northern Illinois Hockey League.

With the loss, the Sabres relinquish whatever slight hope they had of climbing out of sixth-place in the six-team tier. They remain at 1 point in the standings, nine points behind the Maniax, meaning even a sweep of their final three games could not now vault them past the Maniax. Going into the game, the Sabres were seven points back with 8 possible points remaining on their schedule.

As for the Maniax, the win moves them to 10 points on the season, tied for fourth with the surging Chicago Bruins, who have played one less game. With three games to play, it is still mathematically possible for the Maniax to end the year with 16 points, which is the point total currently held by the tier-leading Chicago Bulldogs. However, with two games remaining against the Bruins and one game against the Jet, who currently sit in third place with 14 points, it is highly unlikely a sweep of the remaining three is possible. In fact, it is not outside the realm of possibility that the Maniax will drop their last three games.

I guess we have to wait

Received the following email regarding the President's Day tournament in the Chicago area. The person who forwarded indicated they weren't sure what it meant.

"We at Hockey Time Productions would like to let you know that the tournament
start days is being delayed. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
As soon as we have that complete, we will email it out to all of the teams."

The translation: teams are supposed to be notifed two weeks ahead of the tournament whether they will play Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday. To put it plainly, Hocky Time Productions is still working things out and doesn't yet know which teams will play which days.

Stay tuned.

Well, here we go...

My wife decided I needed an outlet on which to discuss the ins and outs of Jaguar Hockey, especially Jaguar Mite #2 and too a lesser degree ADM Major. Over the past several weeks, as the Mite #2 team has climbed through the ranks of the White Tier of the Mite Division of the Northern Illinois Hockey League, she has grown tired of listening to me discuss the what-could-bes and the what-will-happen-ifs. As things stand today, Mite #2 is in second place in the tier, sitting one point behind the Chicago Bulldogs and one point ahead of the Chicago Jets. Those two teams play this evening in a game that will have huge ramifications on what will need to happen for Mite #2 to end the season at the top of the tier, or at least claim one of the two available byes going into the playoffs. I will attempt to keep everyone up to date as those things develop.

I have also dug back into what I have written for the Jaguar Hockey Club website thus far this season and posted all of those stories here, in the order in which they were originally posted, so they are together in one spot and will remain accessible on the World Wide Web even as the Jaguars roll into the Spring Season toward the end of March or early in April.

Late lapse costs Mite #2 a standings point

Originally published on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 9:39pm

2-2 tie with Bulldogs extends unbeaten streak, keeps Jaguars atop standings

It was the only real lapse Mite #2 had in the game.
It lasted less than 30 seconds.
But it was long enough for McFetridge Bulldogs #1 to take advantage of it.
And take advantage they did, scoring two goals in just :21 during the final 1:08 of the game to salvage a 2-2 tie against the Jaguars on Inwood Ice Saturday evening, Jan. 28.
Despite the late lapse that allowed the Bulldogs to gain a point in the standings, the Jaguars – on the strength of the point they did earn Saturday -- still sat atop the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division in the Northern Illinois Hockey League at the end of play on Saturday. The Jaguars had 15 points, while the Bulldogs sat one point behind, tied at 14 with the Chicago Jets, who recorded a 2-1 win Saturday morning over the Chicago Bruins.
Saturday’s tie, the first for the Jaguars on the season, stretched Mite #2’s unbeaten streak in NIHL play to seven games.
For much of the game, however, it appeared it would be a full-fledged winning streak that would remain intact for the Jaguars, who have not lost a game in NIHL play since dropping a 3-1 decision to the Bruins on Dec. 4, 2011.
The Jaguars put early pressure on the visiting Bulldogs Saturday night, peppering Bulldogs goaltender Brendan Summerhill with 7 shots on net in the opening period, while allowing the Bulldogs to challenge Jaguar goalie Luke Brzezinski with just 2 shots in the stanza. Brzezinski ended the night with 13 saves, while Summerhill managed to stop 15 Jaguar shots.
Despite the Jaguars’ early offensive pressure, the first period ended in a 0-0 tie, and it was not until just 8:48 remained in the second period that the Jaguars managed to get on the scoreboard. On a breakaway, Jarrett Goodwin shot from the wing and placed the puck just under the crossbar to tally the period’s lone goal. Lukas Bomba, who had dug the puck out from along the boards in the defensive end and popped it free to Goodwin received credit for the assist.
The Jaguars enjoyed the tenuous one-goal lead for the remainder of the second period and through the first 8:00 of the third, until Trevor Hudak scored what appeared at the time to be the game-clincher,  an unassisted Power Play goal with 3:00 to play in the game, to make the score 2-0.
The Bulldogs, led by a seemingly re-energized Nicholas Mathurin, were not ready to give up their position in what now appears will be a three-way competition for the regular season White Tier championship among the Jaguars, Bulldogs and Jets.
Mathurin found the net for the Bulldogs with 1:08 to play, converting an assist from Ansen King, to cut the Jaguar lead to 2-1.
With the lead cut in half, Bulldog Coach Greg Loose pulled the goaltender off the ice in favor of a sixth skater. That empty net at the far end of the rink would prove, as Jaguar Coach Bob Ambroffi termed it after the game, to be the Jaguars’ “kryptonite,” as they became overly interested in trying to shoot the puck into the empty net and, in the process, let down a bit defensively.
That was the lapse that Mathurin and the Bulldogs needed. Just :21 seconds after the first goal of the game for McFetridge, Mathurin scored again, this time on an assist from John Heffernan to knot the score at 2.
Due to a fluke in scheduling the tier-leading Jaguars are now idle until Feb. 12, when they renew their battle for the title against the Chicago Jets during a 10:10 a.m. game at Johnny’s Icehouse West. The Jaguars will then conclude the regular season with a Feb. 15 game against the Sabres.
The Bulldogs, who have played one less regular season game than the Jaguars, and the Jets, who have played just 9 games compared to the Jaguars’ 12, by comparison, have busy schedules over the next two weeks, including games on Sunday, Jan. 29. The Jets will again battle the Bruins at 5:40 p.m., while the Bulldogs will visit the Maniax.
The Bulldogs will finish the regular season with games against the Jets, on Feb. 4, and the Bruins, on Feb. 10.
In addition to visiting the Bulldogs on Feb. 4, the Jets also have games left against the Sabres and the Maniax, on Feb. 5 and 11, respectively, before concluding their regular season by hosting the Jaguars on Feb. 12.

Mite #2 'saves' hold on first place

Originally published on Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 8:50pm

2-1 win over Bruins is sixth straightvictory in NIHL

It was definitely worth the price of admission.
Actually, as Jaguar Mite #2 Coach Bob Ambroffi pointed out immediately after the game, since it cost spectators nothing, Sunday evening’s game between the Jaguars and the Chicago Bruins actually was worth far more than the price of admission.
Free or not, what spectators saw on Inwood Ice Sunday evening was a classic, hard-fought, hockey game that saw the Jaguars come out on the positive end of a 2-1 final tally.
It could have all been different, however, if not for a strong defensive performance by the Jaguars, including one particularly stellar play by goalie Luke Brzezinski about two-thirds of the way through the second period. The play, which may forever be known around Jaguar Mite #2 as “The Save,” preserved – at least for the time being – the Jaguars’ tenuous lead.
The Jaguars were leading 1-0 when a Bruins forward got free in the Jaguars’ defensive zone and drew a point-blank bead on the Jaguars’ net. The Bruin shot high over Brzezinski left shoulder, toward a seemingly open portion of the net. Instead of celebrating a game-tying score, however, the Bruins were left with shocked expressions on their faces as Brzezinski’s glove shot up – seemingly out of nowhere – and speared the shot.
Even Brzezinski admitted after the game that he was not sure he had made the save. He had. The most-spectacular of the 9 saves he made on the evening.
Conversely, the Bruins’ goalies, Sammy Deconcilis and Andrew Rugg, combined for 18 saves on the night. The two shots they couldn’t save, however, were enough to give the Jaguars the victory.
After a scoreless first period, it was the Jaguars who lit up the scoreboard first. Blake Brenczewski found the back of the net, after assists from Evan McDonald and Ryan Louthan, with 6:18 to play in the period. Due in part to “The Save,” the Jaguars still held the lead as the period came to a close.
The Bruins did, however, manage the equalizer with 8:27 to play in the game, as Danny Bagnole snuck a puck past Brzezinski. Assists went to Frankie Cardinale and Chris Deconcilis.
Instead of succumbing to the obvious change in momentum, however, the Jaguars seized back control of the game quickly, regaining their one-goal margin 1:12 later, as Trevor Hudak scored during a flourish of activity in front of the net on assists from Jarrett Goodwin and Lukas Bomba.
The Jaguars then buckled down into a defensive posture for the final 6:55 of the game, holding off the Bruins and earning the victory they needed to preserve their hold on first place in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division of the Northern Illinois Hockey League. At the end of play on Sunday, the Jaguars were sitting at 14 points and enjoying a two-point lead over the Chicago Jets and a three-point lead over the Chicago Bulldogs, both of whom recorded 4-0 wins earlier on Sunday.
The win on Sunday, the sixth straight in NIHL play for the Jaguars, also marked a sort of milestone for the Joliet-based squad. With having successfully avenged an early season 3-1 loss to the Bruins, the Jaguars have now defeated every other team in the Silver B White Tier at least once.
Jaguar Mite #2 will next be in action at 4:25 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, when they host the Chicago Bulldogs on Inwood Ice.

Mite #2 takes third place in Motown Cup

Originally published  on Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 9:13pm

 

Jaguar squad goes 2-2 in Detroit

They had a hard time getting there and left earlier than they wanted to, but in between Jaguar Mite #2 found success in the suburbs of Detroit.
With all but a few members playing in their first out-of-state tournament – and everyone enduring a slippery, snowy, elongated trip to Michigan – the Jaguars recorded a 2-2 record en route to a semi-final berth and third-place finish in the Motown Cup Tournament held over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend Jan. 13-16, 2012.
The Jaguars’ only losses at the event came to the eventual tournament champion St. Jude Knights, who  play in the White Tier of the Silver A Level of the Northern Illinois Hockey League, a level above the Jaguars, who are in first place in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of NIHL.
Conversely, the Jaguars topped the only unfamiliar teams they encountered, beating both the Canton-Akron Penguins and the Barrie Junior Colts on the opening day of the tournament.

GAME 1: JAGUARS 11, PENGUINS 1
It was Penguins who were late arriving at the rink, delaying the start of the tournament opener by nearly 20 minutes, but it was the Jaguars who found themselves trailing early on.
The Penguins tallied first, when Jacob Blumer took a Dagan Parker pass and pushed it past Jaguar goalie Luke Brzezinski at the 7:58 mark of the opening 12-minute period. That was, however, the last shot that would find its way behind Brzezinski on the afternoon.
The early goal by the Penguins provided the wake-up call the Jaguars – some of whom had made the 5-plus hour drive to Detroit that morning – needed. The Jaguars responded two minutes later with the equalizer off the stick of Ryan Louthan, who converted on a Blake Brenczewski pass to know the score at 1.
By the time the period ended 5:58 after that first Jaguar goal, the Joliet-based squad was enjoying a 5-1 lead. Other Jaguar markers in the period were scored by Jarrett Goodwin, on an assist from Trevor Hudak, at the 4:10 mark; Brenczewski, who was assisted by Evan McDonald and Louthan, at the 2:40 mark; and Louthan, who completed his hat trick with goals at 1:08 and 41.3. The first of those two goals was assisted by Brenczewski and McDonald, while the second was unassisted.
The Jaguars added five additional goals in the second period, to bring the score to 10-1 after the first 24 minutes of play. Putting the puck past Penguin goalie Michael Pelc were Goodwin, at 9:55; Hudak, on an assist from Guseman, at 6:05; Hudak (Goodwin assist) at 4:00; Louthan (Guseman assist) at 3:36; and Goodwin, who completed his hat trick with an unassisted goal at 1:33.
Going into the third period of play, Coach Bob Ambroffi began shuffling lines, moving defensemen into forward slots and putting the frontline skaters. Despite the unfamiliarity with their positions, the Jaguars still remained tough on defense and kept the pressure on net. The only tally of the period came with 5:00 to play, as Louthan recorded his fifth goal of the game off Guseman’s third assist in the contest.

GAME 2: JAGUARS 5, JR. COLTS 2
Perhaps it was a bit of awe about stepping onto the ice against a team from Canada, or maybe it was the fact the Jaguars were short-handed for half of the opening 12 minutes of the hockey game, but it took the Jaguars more than a period before they jumped out in front of the Barrie Junior Colts.
The first goal of the game, the second of the day for each team, did not come until the 8:41 mark of the second period, when Ryan Louthan tallied an unassisted short-handed goal to give the Jaguars’ a 1-1 lead. The fact the opening tally came while the Jaguars were shorthanded may have been inevitable, given the fact the Jaguars were whistled for six penalties in the first two periods and seven in the game.
Nevertheless, the remainder of the goals in the game – for both teams – came while the squads were at even strength, beginning with a Jarrett Goodwin goal with 2:44 to play in the second. Grace Gonzalez was credited with the assist on the goal, which made the margin 2-0 in favor of the Joliet-based team.
The Junior Colts cut the lead in half before the end of the period, however, as Tanner Kowalski managed to slip the puck past Jaguar goalie Luke Brzezinski with 2:18 to play. Assists went to Aiden Pethick and Jacob Coughlin.
Goodwin returned a two-goal cushion to the Jaguars with a little more than eight minutes to play in the game, converting a Trevor Hudak feed in to a goal.
The Junior Colts responded a little more than five minutes later, as Ben Armatage scored at the 2:59 mark on assists from Issac Nevin and Marcus Stolte to again cut the margin to one, at 3-1.
Hudak provided the breathing room the Jaguars needed with a goal at the 2:05 mark, and then added the clincher when he found the empty net with 1:18 to play. The first of Hudak’s goals was assisted by Goodwin, while the empty netter was unassisted.

GAME 3: KNIGHTS 3, JAGUARS 0
Defense and strong goaltending kept the Jaguars in the game against a familiar foe, but like the game in which St. Jude topped the Jaguars during the NIHL seeding round, the Joliet squad was held scoreless in the Saturday morning contest. Despite the defeat, the Jaguars’ 2-0 showing on the first day of the event was enough to advance them to the semifinal round.
The Knights had numerous opportunities turned away by the Jaguars and goalie Luke Brzezinski, although no official save totals were available. They were, however, able to convert on one opportunity in each of the game’s three 12-minute periods.
Their first-period goal came at the 4:36 mark, when Nick Capuano scored a Power Play goal. The successful shot was assisted, but it was credited to a player number not on the St. Jude roster.
The Knights scored even-strength goals at 4:54 of the second period and 8:06 of the third. Dominick Lococo scored in the second on an assist from E. Vogrich Schultz, while Conor Haggerty scored in the third on a feed from Ryan Hegeduis.
The St. Jude win, combined with a victory in the other semi-final by the Chicago Jets, meant the Knights would receive the No. 2 seed in the semifinals, setting up another matchup with the No. 3-seeded Jaguars early Sunday morning.

SEMI-FINAL: KNIGHTS 4, JAGUARS 1
Stepping onto the ice at 6:20 a.m. Chicago time may have impacted the early play of both Chicago-area teams, as the St. Jude Knights and Joliet Jaguars skated to a scoreless tie in the opening period of the second game between the two teams in approximately 21 hours.
It was early in the second when the Jaguars broke through for two firsts – their first goal and their first lead against St. Jude in the three games they have played this season. Trevor Hudak did the honors for the Jaguars, pushing the puck past goalie Owen Flaig with 10:05 to play in the period. Jarrett Goodwin assisted on the goal that gave the Jaguars a 1-0 lead.
With 8:20 left in the middle period, Aidian Devlin scored the equalizer on an assist from Nick Capuano. The Knights took their first lead of the game, a 2-1 margin, at the 3:13 mark of the second on a goal off the stick of Anthony Roti, who was assisted by Capuano.
A Power Play goal just 13 second into the third period doubled the Knights’ lead to two. Dominick Lococo scored the goal, which was assisted by Timmy Whalen and Jake Ryan. The Jaguars hung with St. Jude for much of the period, however, until Anthony Rotti scored the clincher with 2:41 to play to bring the score to the final 4-1 difference.
With the win St. Jude moved on to face the Chicago Jets later that day in the championship. St. Jude also won that game to claim the tournament title.

You've got to hand it to Mite #2

Originally published on Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 7:33pm

 

Jaguars beat Maniax, extend NIHL winning streak to five games

Quite a handful.
Jaguar Mite #2 that is.
A handful as in having recorded its fifth straight regular season victory.
And a handful for other teams to contend with.
Or so the Midwest Maniax discovered on Saturday, Jan. 21, when the Jaguars skated into Dyer, Ind., and defeated the hosts 5-2 at the Midwest Training and Ice Center. The win avenged the twin defeats the Jaguars suffered at the hands of the Maniax to open the Northern Illinois Hockey League regular season.
The win helped the Jaguars remain in first place in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division in NIHL. As of the end of play Jan. 21, the Jaguars had tallied 12 points and led the Chicago Jets by 2 points. The Chicago Bulldogs sat in third with 9 points.
Coming off a third-place finish at the Motown Cup Tournament in Detroit the previous weekend, the Jaguars proved early on they were ready to return to their winning NIHL ways. The Jaguars jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period, with Ryan Louthan tallying a pair of goals on a pair of Evan McDonald assists. The goals came at the 7:16 and 2:16 marks of the opening stanza.
Blake Brenczewski extended the lead to 3-0, converting on a Louthan assist with 6:40 to play in the second period.
The Maniax got on the board nearly two minutes later, when Joey Bruszer scored an unassisted goal with 4:50 to play. The Jaguars responded quickly, however, with Brenczewski scoring an unassisted goal of his own, his second tally of the game, with 3:15 to play, giving the Jaguars a 4-1 lead when the period expired.
Brenczewski made it a hat trick less than a minute into the third period, scoring another unassisted goal at the 10:07 mark, closing out scoring for the Jaguars. The Maniax pressured the Jaguars for much of the third period, forcing Jaguar goalie Luke Brzezinski to make 9 of his 22 saves in the final stanza, but could only manage a Power Play goal with just 35.3 seconds remaining to bring the score to the 5-2 final. Bruszer again got credit for the marker, this time off assists from Ronnie Carraher and Joey Marx.
The Jaguars will look to extend their NIHL lead and avenge another early-season loss when they host the Bruins at 5:15 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, on Inwood Ice.

The cheese stands alone

Originally published on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 10:44pm

 

With 7-2 win over Sabres, Jaguars alone atop standings

In the “Farmer in the Dell,” it is the cheese that stands alone.
Apparently Jaguar Mite #2 could now be called the cheese, since after its 7-2 win over Sabres #3 on Sunday, Jan. 8, it stands alone atop the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division in the Northern Illinois Hockey League. The Jaguars now have 10 points on the season, putting them 2 points ahead of Jets #1, Bruins #2 and Maniax #1.
If the Jaguars are cheese, however, it would be best to assume that they are just plain “Gouda,” since Sunday’s win was their fourth straight victory. The streak dates back to Dec. 16, when the Jaguars topped the same Sabres team 7-0, and also includes a 4-2 New Year’s Eve win over Bulldogs #2 and a 7-5 win Saturday, Jan. 7, over the previously unbeaten Jets #1.
What has been clear during the streak is that the Jaguars are not Swiss cheese, as there have been few holes in the Jaguars defense – or offense, for that matter. That was evident again on Sunday, as the Jaguars jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
Lukas Bomba scored for the Jaguars on a shot from just inside the blue line less than three minutes into the game. Ryan Louthan scored in similar fashion with 2:54 to play in the opening period, lifting the Jaguars to a 2-0 lead.
The Sabres cut the margin in half before the end of the period, with Ryan Burk scoring at the 1:08 mark on assists from Connor DeTurris and Ian Gall.
The second period, however, was all Jaguars as they scored early and often, led by their big cheese, Trevor Hudak, who tallied his second hat trick in as many nights. Before Hudak got into the scoring column, however, it was Blake Brenczewski who lit the lamp, converting an Evan McDonald assist just 1:04 in.
Hudak lifted the Jaguars lead to 4-1 at the 5:07 mark, and to 5-1 with 1:28 to play. Both goals were unassisted, as was the Jarrett Goodwin tally that closed out scoring in the second period with just :43 to play.
The Jaguars and the Sabres played even in the third period, as Jaguar Coach Bob Ambroffi shuffled the deck by moving defensemen to the front lines and dropping forwards into defensive roles for much of the period.
The Jaguars margin grew to 7-1 with 7:17 to play as Hudak converted a Goodwin assist to finish off his hat trick and the Jaguars’ scoring. The Sabres added a goal with 5:29 to play off the stick of Burk, who was assisted by Matthew O’Hara, to close out the scoring.
The Jaguars will next be in action at the Detroit Motown Cup Tournament, where they begin play at 1:20 p.m. (EST) Friday, Jan. 13, against the Canton-Akron Penguins at the Berkley Ice Arena. The Jaguars will also be in action at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on Friday, against Barrie Jr. Colts BMW at the Ice Box Sports Center.
The Tournament continues for the Jaguars at 10:50 a.m. (EST) Saturday, Jan. 14, when they take on the St. Jude Knights at Dearborn University of Michigan Ice Arena.
Depending on their record in the first three-tournament games, the Jaguars will play at 7, 7:15 or 7:20 a.m. (EST) on Sunday, Jan. 14, with hopes of advancing to the championship at 1 p.m. (EST) that afternoon.
The Jaguars will be back in NIHL action on Saturday, Jan. 21, when they travel to Dyer, Ind. to take on Maniax #1 at 11:10 a.m. The Jaguars’ next home game is at 5:15 p.m. Sunday.

Jaguar Mite #2 shoots down the Jets

Originally posted on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 9:56pm

 

7-5 victory lifts Jaguars into first-place tie

He still provided the Jets’ offensive fire power.
Jaguar Mite #2, however, had some fire power of its own on Saturday, Jan. 7. More, in fact, than Sean Doyle and his Chicago Jets #1 teammates could muster. The end result, the Jaguars handed the Jets their first loss of the regular season, topping the previously unbeaten team 7-5 on Inwood Ice.
The win improved the Jaguars’ record to 4-4 on the season and moved them into a first-place tie with not only the Jets, but also Bruins #2 and Maniax #1. At the end of Northern Illinois Hockey League play on Saturday, each of the teams had 8 points in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division.
The Jaguars, who had played the Jets on three previous occasions this season, had devised a defensive plan aimed at slowing down Doyle, who had led the Jets offensively in each of the three previous meetings. While the Jaguars’ defense played him and the rest of the Jets tough on defense, especially in the third period, the Jets’ star still managed to record a hat trick in the contest, as well as contributing an early assist.
The Jaguars, however, responded with numerous offensive weapons, including Trevor Hudak, who recorded a hat trick of his own, and Blake Brenczewski, who tallied twice but was also a force from his forward position in helping to stymie the Jets’ offense.
It was the Jaguars who got off to a quick start on Saturday, claiming a quick 1-0 lead just 25 second into the game when Hudak converted a Jarrett Goodwin pass into a goal. Approximately 2:30 later, Goodwin raised the margin to two with an unassisted goal of his own.
The Jets, however, cut the margin in half, trimming the Jaguar lead to 2-1 when Julian Loessl-Cain scored at the 4:51 mark. The assists were credited to Doyle and Jacob Pohl.
The Jaguars were quick to respond, reclaiming the two-goal margin just 20 seconds later off Brenczewski’s stick.
The momentum switched back to the Jets’ side early in the second period, however, when Doyle flipped the puck into the back of the net at the 9:57 mark of the period, making the score 3-2 in the Jaguar’s favor.
That is when the real shootout began, as over the next 9:00, the teams combined for five goals, beginning with an unassisted Ryan Louthan marker, which returned the Jaguars to a two-goal cushion… briefly. It took just 10 seconds for the Jets’ Dylan Knusta to respond with an unassisted goal of his own.
Hudak had a fast response for the Jaguars, however, scoring his second goal of the game on an unassisted tally just :18 after the Knusta goal.
The Jets’ Doyle answered with two goals just 30 second apart – one at the 1:38 mark of the middle stanza and the second with 1:03 to play – to knot the score at 5-5 going into the final 11:00 of play.
That is when the Jaguars really buckled down defensively, holding the Jets scoreless in the final period on the strength of goaltender Luke Brzezinski, who tallied 9 of his 14 saves in the period. Conversely, the Jaguars, who found themselves short-handed for 2:58 of the final 8:21 of the game, only produced two shots in the stanza, but both found the back of the net to secure the 7-5 victory.
Brenczewski lifted the Jaguars to the lead with an unassisted goal at the 5:43 mark, and Hudak iced the victory with his third tally of the game with 2:46 remaining.

Ringin' in the year the right way

Ringin' in the year the right way

Originally posted  Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 7:18pm

 

Jaguar Mite #2 ends year with 4-2 win over Bulldogs

At midnight on New Year’s Eve, it is tradition to blow horns and set off fireworks.
Jaguar Mite #2 didn’t wait until midnight Saturday to set off some offensive fireworks of its own and sound the goal horn four times in a 2011-ending 4-2 victory over McFetridge Bulldogs Mite #1 on Inwood ice. The win raised the Jaguars’ record to 3-4 in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division in Northern Illinois Hockey League play.
At first, it seemed like the year might end on a sour note for Mite #2, as once again it found itself trailing 1-0 in the opening seconds of the game. Nicholas Mathurin slammed the puck into the back of the net, under the outstretched stick of Jaguar goalie Luke Brzezinski, just 25 seconds after the opening faceoff.
The shot, however, would prove to be the only one the Bulldogs would take in the period, as the Jaguars pressured McFetridge goalie Theo Canji for much of the opening stanza, keeping the puck in its offensive zone for long stretches at a time. The pressure finally paid off when Blake Brenczewski converted a Ryan Louthan assist to tie the game with 1:32 remaining.
Just eight second later, an unassisted goal by Trevor Hudak put the Jaguars ahead.
The Jaguars held onto the tenuous 2-1 lead through the second period and into the third, until Ansen King tallied the equalizer on an unassisted goal with 7:38 remaining in the game.
The tie, however, lasted for just 1:19, until Brenczewski and Louthan combined for a second time and gave the Jaguars a 3-2 lead at the 6:19 mark.
A power play goal with 2:36 to play raised the margin to two. Hudak scored the goal, his second of the game, after digging the puck out from behind the Bulldogs’ net following a flurry of activity and converting from an awkward angle.
The win was the Jaguars’ second over the Bulldogs this regular season. Brezezinski, who posted a shutout in the first game, tallied 8 saves on Saturday.
Jaguar Mite #2 will return to Inwood ice on Saturday, Jan. 7, for a 4:05 p.m. game against the Jets. The Jaguars are also in action next Sunday, Jan. 8, when they play the Sabres at Rocket Rink at 6:30 p.m.

Jaguar Mite #2 gets into the holiday spirit

Originally posted on Friday, December 16, 2011 at 10:06pm

 

Celebrates 7-0 win over Sabres #3

They knew they were having a holiday party after the game.
Jaguar Mite #2, however, apparently felt they needed more to celebrate on Friday, Dec. 16, than just Christmas.
That additional point of holiday cheer proved to be a 7-0 victory over Sabres #3. The win improved the Jaguars’ record to 2-4 in the White Tier of the Silver B Level of the Mite Division in Northern Illinois Hockey League play.
The victory was also the second shutout of the regular season – and third overall – for goaltender Luke Brzezinski and the Jaguar defense. Brzezinski recorded 8 saves on the night.
The game, however, also included at least one regular season first for the Jaguars – the first hat trick. Trevor Hudak performed the feat, tallying his third goal with 6:01 remaining in the third period… and then did it one better, notching his fourth tally about a minute and a half after that.
Following an evenly played scoreless first period, it was Hudak who ignited the Jaguars’ offense like a Yule log on Christmas Eve. Just 11 seconds into the second period, Hudak converted a Jarrett Goodwin pass into a 1-0 Jaguar lead.
That lead grew to 2-0 just 48 seconds later, when Blake Brenczewski tucked the puck just behind the post into the side of the Sabres’ net. Lukas Bomba upped the margin to 3 with his tally at the 4:03 point of the period. The assists went to Hudak and Goodwin.
At the 7:44 mark and again with 6:01 to play in the third, Hudak found the net for the second and third times in the game, both times making good on assists from Bomba. His final goal, on an assist from Nathan Guseman, came with 4:29 to play and brought the score to its final point.
Before that goal, however, Evan McDonald had lit the lamp with 5:03 to play. Brenczewski and Ryan Louthan set up the goal that made the score 6-0.
The Jaguars, who will take part in NIHL’s Cross Ice Jamboree on Sunday morning, Dec. 18, in Addison, hopes to keep the holiday cheer going on New Year’s Eve, when they will usher out the old year with a 1:45 p.m. game at Inwood against the McFetridge Bulldogs.

Mite #2 brings it's A (Team) game

Originally posted Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 9:00pm

Ambroffi’s plan comes together in 2-0 win over Bulldogs

On the 1980s TV show “The A Team,” Col. John “Hannibal” Smith used to love it when a plan came together.
After a 2-0 victory over McFetridge Bulldogs Mite #1 in Chicago on Sunday afternoon, Coach Bob Ambroffi could well be saying the same thing regarding Jaguar Mite #2. The win, the Jaguar’s first of the regular season, moved the team to 1-2 in the White Tier of the Silver B level of the Northern Illinois Hockey League.
All three facets of the game – offense, defense and goaltending -- clicked simultaneously, as the Jaguars jumped out to their first lead of the regular season and held off the Bulldogs with strong defensive play and dominant goaltending by Luke Brzezinski. The shutout, in which he tallied 21 saves, was the second on the season for Brzezinski, who also held Peoria #1 scoreless during NIHL seeding-round play.
Sunday’s win came on the heels of a 4-1 loss Saturday on Inwood ice to the Midwest Maniax, the Jaguar’s second loss to the Maniax in a home-and-home series to open the regular season.
While the defense had also had a strong outing on Saturday, and the team, according to Ambroffi, had been repeatedly commended for its outstanding positioning, the plan fell short in that Mite #2 failed to generate the necessary pressure on the Maniax goalie – putting only nine shots on goal in the contest.
That was a deficiency the Jaguars corrected quickly on Sunday, putting early pressure on the Bulldog’s goalie with 10 first-period shots, and avoiding giving up a goal in the opening minutes of play as it had done in its four previous games. The barrage of shots led to the first goal of the game with just :28 to play in the opening stanza as Trevor Hudak found the back of the net following a scramble at the feet of Bulldog goaltender Brendan Summerhill.
One day earlier, Hudak had the only goal for the Jaguars in the loss to the Maniax, when he converted a Blake Brenczewski assist with 4:15 to play in the opening period.
On Sunday, the Jaguars held onto their tenuous one-goal lead throughout the entire second period. They finally put some breathing room between themselves and the Bulldogs at the 7:57 mark of the third period, when Ryan Louthan recorded an unassisted goal to put the Jaguars up 2-0.
From that point on, the Jaguars knuckled down on defense, killing off a penalty and then continuing to hold off the Bulldogs until the clock ticked away despite the home team having pulled its goaltender in favor of an extra skater for the final minutes of the contest.
Like the Maniax, whom the Jaguars played twice in one week, the Bulldogs will be awaiting the Jaguars for a second time in seven days when they meet on Saturday, Nov. 26, in Johnny’s Icehouse 14th annual Turkey Tournament. The two teams play at Johnny’s West at 3 p.m. that day.
The Jaguars open play in the tournament on Friday, Nov. 25, with a 9:10 a.m. game at Johnny’s East against the Florida Honey Badgers. They also will take on the Chicago Jets Mite #1 team at 9:10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, at Johnny’s West.
The tournament will conclude on Sunday, Nov. 27, with the Jaguars playing in either the 8 a.m. consolation game or the 9:10 a.m. championship game at Johnny’s West.
Mite #2’s next NIHL game will be against Chicago Jets Mite #1 at Inwood in Joliet at 4:05 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3.

Mite #2 falls in regular season opener

Originally posted  Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 5:18pm

Strong defense not enought to overcome slow start, Midwest Maniax

Hockey games are divided into three periods, but Saturday’s game for Jaguar Mite 2 was definitely a tale of two halves.
Despite once again closing strong, the Jaguars were unable to overcome a slow start, falling 3 -1 to the Midwest Maniax in their opening Northern Illinois Hockey League Silver B White regular season game.
For the third game in a row, the Jaguars found themselves trailing 1-0 before they even had a chance to get their skates under them. Ronnie Carraher scored for the Maniax off an assist from Joey Bruszer just 18 seconds into the game.
Bruszer and Carraher switched roles when the Maniax scored again with 2:07 remaining in the opening stanza, stretching the Jaguar deficit to two goals.
The margin became three when Jack Janik scored on a power play with 4:16 remaining in the second period. Richard Bozek and Quinn McCall were credited with the assists, on what would prove to be the Maniax’ final tally.
It was then that the game changed as the Jaguars kicked things up a notch not only on defense, which was strong throughout the game, but also at the offensive end of the ice.
The Jaguars, who were down one player due to illness, tallied their lone goal of the game with 10:06 to play in the third period, when Trevor Hudak converted a Ryan Louthan assist to cut the margin to 3-1.
Louthan nearly reduced the margin further a short time later when he got loose on a breakaway and put  a point-blank shot squarely on net, only to be denied by Maniax goaltender Augie Smith, who turned in five saves on the afternoon.
Jaguar goaltender Luke Brzezinski came up big all afternoon, boasting some spectacular saves among his 23 stoppers to help keep the Jaguars in the contest before being pulled in favor of an extra skater with 1:01 to play.
The Jaguars will attempt to avenge the early season loss on Saturday, Nov. 19, when they welcome the Maniax to Inwood Ice Area at 3:15 p.m. The Jaguars will also be in action at 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, when they go on the road to play the McFetridge Bulldogs.

Jaguars reap benefits from player switch

Originally posted Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 5:46pm

 

A slow start didn’t keep the Jaguar Mite #2 team from a strong finish in a Saturday, Oct. 22, loss to Huskies #1.
The 10-2 loss in Rink 3 at Canlan dropped the Jaguars to a final record of 2-4 in the seeding round of the Blue Tier of the Silver Division in the Northern Illinois Hockey League. Seeds will be finalized and the regular-season schedule set following the conclusion of seeding-round play on Oct. 29.
In its previous outing, on Oct. 13, the Mite #2 team had fallen 8-0 to Chicago Hawks #2 at the Darien Sportsplex.
The highlights came for the Jaguars in the second period, when a position swap made by Coaches Bob Ambroffi and Tim Brzezinski during the first intermission paid off.
With 4:14 to play in the stanza, Ryan Louthan was able to get behind the Huskies defense and convert on a clearing pass from Dylan Graziano, who had been moved from center on the Jaguars “yellow line” to defense on the “black line” as the period began.
With 1:06 left on the clock in the second, Evan McDonald, who moved from defense to center in the same switch, found the back of the net in a rebound situation. Trevor Hudak took the initial shot, which rebounded to Jarrett Goodwin, who also put a shot on the goalie, before McDonald picked up and deposited the rebound from that shot for the tally.
McDonald’s goal proved to be the final one of the game, as the Jaguars continued their resurgence by playing the Huskies even in the third period, when neither team scored.
The Jaguars had found themselves at an early disadvantage against the Huskies, giving up three early goals before getting their skates under them. They then held the host team at bay, due in part to some strong defensive play by everyone on the ice, for the next 7:30, until the Huskies notched two more quick goals with around one minute to play in the first period.
Goals for the Huskies, in the first period, were scored at the 9:50 mark, by P. Boisselle; at 9:43, 8:49, and 1:01, by S. Hay; and at 1:16 by N. Clark. In the second, the home team’s goals were at 10:34 and 6:34 by N. Comparetto (with Hay assisting on the first goal); at 5:09, by Hay; and at 3:40 and 3:32 by J. Gurgul.
Luke Brzezinski, who had recorded 24 saves in the loss to Chicago Hawks, was also in net for the Jaguars Saturday and made several strong saves throughout the contest – evoking repeated chants of “Luuuuuuuuke” from Jaguar fans. No officially saves tally was recorded.
When the Jaguar Mite #2 team will next be in action is not yet determined. The first day regular-season NIHL games can be played in Nov. 7.