Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette Jeffers forward Benton Rajala corrals a loose puck to create a scoring chance against Kingsford goaltender Brett Berglund during a game Thursday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton.

HOUGHTON — For a 3:03 stretch of the first period Thursday, the Kingsford Flivvers hockey team had everything going their way. They were up 3-0 on the Jeffers Jets on the road, and were positioned well to sustain that lead.

A costly turnover at their own blue line by the Flivvers led to four straight goals for the Jets, who battled all the way back and won the game, 4-3, at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

After the Jets lost to the Hancock Bulldogs on Tuesday night, thanks to a goal goaltender Kasen Helminen would love to have back, the fact that the Jets started slowly appeared to be a recipe for more bad news Thursday, according to coach Aaron Helminen. However, seeing Kasen battle after the early-game struggles proved to be another spark for the Jets.

“At the beginning of the third, they made a couple of quick opportunities to start in the third, and he was able to turn them away,” said Aaron. “So, that’s huge. As a goalie, you have to have a real short memory.

“(I was) glad to see that he was able to battle through.”

Late in the opening period, senior winger Cage Osterman created a turnover at the Flivvers’ blue line. He took the puck, skated in alone and wristed a shot from the slot that found some space between senior goaltender Brett Berglund’s glove hand and his chest, and snuck into the net with just 16 seconds left in the opening frame. That goal turned the 3-0 deficit into a much more manageable two-goal margin as time expired in the period.

That goal, along with the three that followed it, changed the course of the game and helped the Jets improve to 9-5-1 on the season.

“(That goal was) huge,” said Aaron. “Just to get the boys at least a little bit feeling like, ‘hey, we have a little bit of a breath here to get back at it in the second.'”

Flivvers coach Greg Wadge could only sit back and watch as the Jets whittled away at that two-goal lead in the second period. Before that frame ended, Jeffers led 4-3. Wadge felt that his team lost its composure as things went awry.

“I thought the first period was good,” he said. “I thought we moved the puck well, had lots of opportunities, and just as good as the first period was, I thought the second period was horrible for us positionally. We weren’t good. Our structure kind of fell apart, and then the third period was just as bad.”

Junior winger Brit Heinonen pulled the Jets within one at 4:54 when he skated into the bottom of the left circle and beat Berglund with a wrist shot.

Osterman then scored his second of the night at 5:41 to even the contest. The goal, which was assisted by sophomore winger Brogan Turner and captain Kailob Bianco, was the result of hard work in front of the net.

Aaron Helminen loves how Osterman is seeing results on the scoresheet now for all of the effort he plays with.

“He’s senior, shows a lot of leadership, plays it out on the ice, for sure,” Aaron said. “(He) has that for the size of guy that he is. He plays way bigger than he is, and he’s able to protect that puck.

“He’s a kid that you trust. A guy you want on the ice.”

Not satisfied with tying the game up, the Jets kept the pressure on, and were rewarded for a third time in the period when Bianco one-timed a pass from Osterman into the back of the net at 15:40 while the pair were on a 2-on-1 rush.

The Flivvers (6-14-0) had a couple of looks early in the third, but could not find the equalizer, even with Berglund pulled for the game’s final 70 seconds and a faceoff to Kasen Helminen’s left.

Kingsford broke the game open just 7:07 into the contest while on the power play. Center Will Murvich snatched the puck up in the left circle and found winger Jack Crockford in the slot. Crockford wasted no time beating Kasen Helminen with a quick shot.

Defenseman Seth Greenleaf put the Flivvers up 2-0 at 8:32 when he carried the puck down to the bottom of the left circle and beat Kasen Helminin with a wrist shot.

Forward Jack Supanich then extended Kingsford’s lead to 3-0 when he buried a rebound off a shot from forward Niko Burgoon at 10:11.

At that point, the Flivvers’ forecheck was working as intended. Wadge felt that changed over the remaining two periods.

“I thought, structurally, in the first period that F3 was in the right spot,” he said. “He was high, and then when we got control of the puck, he was in a position to get in a passing lane and get opportunities. Second and third period, F3 wasn’t high, and they took advantage of it and they spent a lot of time in our zone.”

Kasen Helminen made 21 saves on 24 Flivvers’ shots to win the game. Berglund stopped 30 for Kingsford in the loss.

UP NEXT

The Jets are back in action Saturday, when they host the Houghton Gremlins at 1 p.m. at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.