Jaguar Mite #2 was tripped up Saturday in its efforts to
capture the Wolves Cup at the Silver B level.
Playing in a game marred by 11 total penalties, including
seven tripping calls, the third-seeded Jaguars fell to the second-seeded
Chicago Jets 2-0 in the second round of the Northern Illinois Hockey League
playoffs. The loss – the first by Mite #2 to a Silver B-level team since early
December – brought their season to an end.
Despite the tight officiating, which resulted in seven penalty
calls against the Jaguars and forced their successful stifling of two 5-3
short-handed situations, the Jaguars played well enough to win. While no
official shot/save statistics were kept for the game, the Jaguars pressured the
Jets throughout the first period and a half, getting repeated shots at the Jets’
goalie, while minimizing the Jets’ scoring chances.
With 4:21 to play in the second period, however, the Jets
managed to get behind the Jaguar defense and convert on one of the few scoring
chances they had to that point. Mario Scalise tallied what would prove to be
the game-winning goal on an assist from Sean Doyle.
With 9:44 left in the third period, the Jets scored an
insurance goal during a scramble in front of the net. The tally came after
Jaguar goalie Luke Brzezinski appeared to have frozen the puck along the goal
line. The puck, however, scooted clear of his glove and lie for a few seconds between
his pad and the goal post in a gap barely larger than the puck itself.
With no whistle having been blown, the Jets’ Doyle located
and took a whack at the loose puck, propelling it from outside the goal line to
the back of the net. Tyler Pan and Ryan Thomas were credited with the assists.
Undeterred by the two-goal deficit, partly because of having
forged a tie from a similar situation in their last outing against the Jets, the
Jaguars repeatedly tried to stage a comeback, but were continually stymied by
impressive goal tending. Even pulling Brzezinski in favor of an extra skater
with approximately 90 second remaining was not enough to get the Jaguars on the
board.
While the season ended for the Jaguars when the final horn
sounded, the win propelled the Jets into a semi-final game on Sunday against
the top-seeded Bulldogs, who had defeated the Bruins earlier Saturday. The
Bulldogs topped the Jets 2-0 on Sunday to advance to the Silver B championship
game at Inwood at 9 a.m. Sunday morning, March 11. They will take on the Red
Tier’s second-seeded Yellowjackets.
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