Jets Return Home After Montana Trip
February 28, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Fargo-Moorhead Jets News Release
Fargo (ND) The Fargo-Moorhead Jets are hoping that the normalcy and familiarity of home ice will be the answer to breaking out of their first prolong slump of the season. Following a 0-2-1 road trip to Montana last week, the Jets are on a franchise long five game winless streak.
The Jets begin a four-game home stand with games Mar. 4-6. Fargo-Moorhead then wraps up the home portion of their schedule with a game Mar. 11. Home ice will definitely be a welcome sight for the Jets who lost three one-goal games in Montana.
Fargo-Moorhead fell 2-1 at Billings on Feb. 23, then saw a late comeback fall short in a 4-3 loss at Bozeman Feb. 25. The trip ended with a 3-2 shootout loss on Feb. 26 in Bozeman. That loss saw the Jets unable to hold a 2-1 lead in the third period, one of the few times all season the Jets gave up a final period lead.
All in all, the state of Montana hasn't been too kind to the Fargo-Moorhead Jets this season. The Jets are 1-4-1 in two trips out west.
This winless streak comes on the heels of a franchise-record seven game win streak, which had the Jets flying high and poised to break away from the pack in a tightly contested North American Hockey League West Division. However, in the two weeks that have passed since the last Jets victory, Fargo-Moorhead has slipped into second place and is part of a three-team race for first place.
The Jets are also still looking to officially clinch a playoff spot. At one point, the Jets had a chance to be the first team in the NAHL to secure a postseason invitation but that opportunity has since passed by. Fargo-Moorhead's magic number to clinch a playoff spot has inched down to two.
Fargo-Moorhead can clinch a playoff spot as early as their next win, or Bismarck loss.
Despite the winless trip to Bozeman, the Jets did return with something to smile about. Robert Carr's (Roseau, MN) first-ever Junior A hockey goal, which he scored in the Feb. 25 game at Bozeman, provided one of the trip's biggest highlights.
Dain Prewitt (Westminster, CO) had three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in the three games. Prewitt began his career with Bozeman, and has family that lives in a Livingston, MT a town, located between Billings and Bozeman. One of Prewitt's tallies was a short-handed goal which gives the Jets 15 on the season, the second-highest total of any NAHL team.
After this upcoming home stand, the Jets conclude the regular season with a six-game road trip. That road trip will include a four-game swing to Montana. It will be the team's third visit to the state in a three month span.
Wed. Feb. 23 Jets 1 Billings Bulls 2
Billings (MT) Two first period goals by Billings were enough as the Bulls defeated the Jets 2-1 Wednesday night at the Metra Park Arena. With the victory, the Bulls overtake the Jets for first place in the North American Hockey League's West Division. However, the Jets still have three-games in hand.
The Jets actually controlled the tempo of the game over the first ten minutes with a strong-fore-check and a few offensive chances. In fact, the Jets had out shot Billings 6-1 in the first ten minutes.
Nevertheless, a fluky play would change the whole game at 10:29 of the first period. The Bull's Brett Gorman streaked into the Jets' zone on a one-on-one. Nonetheless, he was tied on in the right circle when Paul Solberg (Maple Grove, MN) knotted him up like a pretzel on a good back-check.
Unfortunately for the Jets, the puck kicked free right to the stick on the Bull's Mike Mayra who whistled a wrist shot from between the circles, past goalie Andy Stricker (St. George, UT) to give Billings the lead.
Billings then controlled the remainder of the period, extending their lead at 16:48 of the first when Gabe Harren followed his own rebound making it 2-0. That goal proved to be the game winner.
The Jets would regain control of the game, dictating the tempo, especially in the final ten minutes of the third period. Still, all the Jets were able to get was a power play at 10:18 of the second period from Dain Prewitt (Westminster, CO) off assists from Tom Dickhudt (Woodbury, MN) and Creighton Scarpone (Buchanan, MI).
In the final frantic minutes of the game, the Jets peppered Billings' goalie Jon Anderson with numerous shots but the Twin Cities native withstood the challenge. On two separate occasions, Phil Fox (Stillwater, MN) was robbed off of shots from the right circle, and Joe Schuster (Grand Rapids, MN) was stopped at the side of the net, all in the final few minutes.
Fargo-Moorhead has now dropped three of four to the Billings Bulls this season, including both games played in Montana. The Jets travel to the Metra Park Arena two more times during the regular season.
Fri. Feb. 25 Jets 3 Bozeman Icedogs 4
Bozeman (MT) Ross Johnson's goal with 8:46 remaining in regulation was the difference as the Bozeman Ice Dogs defeated the Fargo-Moorhead Jets 4-3 at the Valley Ice Garden Arena Friday night.
Johnson took a centering pass from Josh Heidinger, who had raced around the Jets' defense from his own zone, and scored to break a 3-3 tie.
Fargo-Moorhead had just overcome a 3-1 second intermission deficit to knot the game. However, the Jets were unable to catch the Ice Dogs again after Johnson's goal. The Jets were unable to score on a power play chance with six minutes left, and in the frantic final seconds, missed an open net.
As been the case in the other games in the streak, the Jets allowed their opponents to take an early lead. Nick Biondo and Ryan Bunger gave Bozeman a 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes.
Nonetheless, rookie Rob Carr (Roseau, MN) would give the Jets some life in a big way. On the same shift in the first period, Carr lifted Ice Dog Zach McKelvie head over heels with a strong hip check. Then started a breakout which ultimately resulted in his first-ever Junior A goal at 15:19.
The Jets would take full control of the temp of the game for the remainder of the period, but Bozeman recaptured that momentum at 2:15 of the second period on a Fillip Macejka goal.
Bozeman took a 3-1 lead into the third period, before a Jets comeback tied the game. Tom Dickhudt tallied a power play goal at 4:39 and Dain Prewitt scored a short-handed breakaway goal at 8:51 to tie the game.
However, moments later Heidinger took the puck from behind his own net, coasted along the right board to the Jets' zone and then feed a centering pass to Johnson for the game winner.
Sat. Feb. 26 Jets 2 Bozeman Icedogs 3 Shootout
Bozeman (MT) Fillip Macejka tied the game in the third period, and score the clincher in a shootout to lift the Bozeman Ice Dogs to a 3-2 win over Fargo-Moorhead on Saturday night.
The Jets get a point for the shootout loss, ending their four-game losing streak. However, Fargo-Moorhead is still winless in five games, a new-franchise high.
With the Jets leading 2-1 midway through third period, Anton Kharin stole the puck in the Jets' right circle. He then fed a pass to Macejka who scored. The teams traded scoring opportunities -the Jets had many chances in the third, while Bozeman had chances in overtime- until the shootout.
In the shootout -just the second of the season for the Jets - Bozeman scored on their first three shooters while no Jet could score. Macejka's goal in the third round sealed the victory for Bozeman.
Fargo-Moorhead took an early lead on Lance Malark's (White Bear Lake, MN) 14th goal of the season at 2:21 of the first. However, Ryan Bunger tied the game for Bozeman three minutes later when the Jets turned the puck over in front of their own net.
The Jets would take the lead back, at 16:39 of the second period when Kyle Graalum (Fargo, ND) slid the puck just inside the right post.
Last Week's Results
2/23 @ Billings 1-2 Loss
2/25 @ Bozeman 3-4 Loss
2/26 @ Bozeman 2-3 SOL
This Week's Games
3/4 Minnesota 7:05pm (CST) Frisbee Giveaway
3/5 Bozeman 7:05pm (CST) Team Photo Giveaway
3/6 Bozeman 7:05pm (CST) Ace's Birthday
The FM Jets are in their second season as members of the North American Hockey League.
The NAHL is the nation's largest Junior A hockey league and is now in its 29th year of operation. For more information, visit fmjets.com or call (701) 235-2354.
Jets home games are played at the John E. Carlson Coliseum in Fargo, ND. All games are broadcasted on STAR 103.9 and sportsjuice.com.
North American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2005
- Minnesota Blizzard weekly summary - Alexandria Blizzard
- Tickets on sale March 1st for Pros vs. Prospects game - Texas Tornado
- Wildcats Continue Run at Playoff Spot - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Jets Return Home After Montana Trip - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Phantoms Rally for Overtime Win - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
