“I don’t know…just, we came to play,” he said. “That’s it.”

Both the Jets and the Gremlins entered the night with 14 wins. The Jets’ resume included two wins over Escanaba, a win over Marquette, a win over Hancock and one over Calumet leading to a 14-2 record. With the win Wednesday, they took another big step towards their end goal of breaking the stranglehold the Gremlins, the Bulldogs and the Copper Kings have had over the Region 17 tournament for decades.

“I think the belief from the guys right from the start, they (are a) good group to work with,” Aaron said. “They put in the work, obviously, you get a few, right? A good statement win against Marquette, a few weeks go down 4-0, battle back and win. You know what I mean? They kind of had this mindset, right? ‘Let’s beat everyone in the Copper Country.’ And then we actually looked at it further today. We don’t play the Sault (Ste. Marie), but now we’ve beaten everyone in the (area), so kids are excited for that. This is stuff that they dig up and find. So they’re, they’re thrilled for that.”

The Gremlins came into the night 14-5 overall, with wins over Hancock, Calumet, Marquette, Hartland, Trenton, Brighton, and Grandville. However, as impressive as those wins have been, it is not a substitute for playing the game the right way from the opening faceoff.

Jeffers skaters storm goaltender Kasen Helminen after defeating Houghton in a game Wednesday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

“They had a really good start,” said Gremlins coach Micah Stipech. “They wanted it more. They won puck battles. They won races. They stopped on pucks. They went to the net. They did all of the things that you need to do to win hockey games.”

Stipech felt that, perhaps, this is the type of experience that the Gremlins need at this point in the season to remind them of how every game matters down the stretch to the state playoffs.

“The kids, as disappointed as we are, this is good for us,” he said. “We can’t win playing casual against a team that’s as hungry as them. They are hungry. Hats off to them. They played really hard.”

The Jets shocked the Gremlins just 5:12 into the contest when co-captain Benton Rajala won a faceoff right to junior winger Brogan Turner, who ripped a quick shot past Gremlins netminder Brycyn Nettell. Then, just 38 seconds later, Benton Rajala, a senior center, and sophomore forward Tage Rajala battled until Tage knocked a rebound past Nettell.

“We knew going into this faceoffs were going to be big for us, just a chance to jump on it quick,” said Aaron. “They’re a great team as far as defending. Their defense are studs at shot blocking. So, anything generated high or anything like that, (there was) a good chance that they were going to block it and stuff. So, we had to generate quick opportunities off the draw, or grind them out down, lower on the net. So, that was kind of our hope for it.”

A faceoff win led to the Jets’ fourth goal of the night at 12:11 of the middle frame when senior forward Cullen Larson knocked a rebound home. Then, in the third period, on the Jets’ final tally, senior forward Brit Heinonen scored a goal eerily similar to the Jets’ first goal off another faceoff win at 15:10.

“(Cody Turner is) really good at winning it between his legs,” said Stipech. “So, we weren’t able to tie, we didn’t tie up, or make it ugly or messy. Our 45er, as we call him, the guy that’s going out to block, the guy that’s behind their center, didn’t get the block. They set up a pick, a strong pick, and we just didn’t get through to get a block, and they got a shot through with traffic. It was like line-of-scrimmage-type stuff. They made a hole and got it through.”

The Jets’ third goal of the night came 8:51 into the second period on a turnover by the Gremlins behind their own net. The defender tried to put the puck behind his net, but it ended up right on Benton Rajala’s stick, who was the first man in on the forecheck. Rajala circled behind the Houghton net and fed the puck out front to Brogan Turner for his second goal of the night.

Aaron Helminen has been really happy with the way Benton Rajala has learned to move the puck quicker to his teammates, and that has helped him develop into a playmaker, as well as a scorer.

“He’s had the tools of speed, a good shot,” Aaron said. “He really focused so much on that scoring aspect of his game. It’s been a (lot of) work, and credit to him, he took it in stride, like, ‘All right, that’s what I got to do.’ And, (he) has become a tremendous playmaker. That’s why he ends up on that sheet, in the assist column, because he doesn’t just use his speed and skate himself into no man’s land. He actually now uses that speed, makes other guys get themselves in position, and then finishes it. (He) makes a great play to them.”

Houghton’s lone tally came from co-captain Jace DeForge just 18 seconds into their second power play of the night at 6:16 of the final frame.

Nettell made 21 saves in the loss for the Gremlins. Junior goaltender Kasen Helminen made 26 saves for the Jets to earn the win.

UP NEXT

The Jets hit the road this weekend to face Port Huron Northern and Lakes Area on Friday and Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie. The Gremlins are off until Sunday, when they host University Liggett.