Springfield Junior Blues 2012-13 (NAHL): Inside Scouting Report on the Janesville Jets (T-Cobb’s Perspective)

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Inside Scouting Report on the Janesville Jets (T-Cobb’s Perspective)

The Springfield Junior Blues will be hosting their division-foe Janesville Jets this upcoming weekend for two games on both Friday and Saturday inside the Nelson Center with the puck dropping at 7:05 p.m. both nights as the team looks to continue the current winning surge that they are on.

Following a weekend that the Junior Blues split the two game weekend series on the road in Kansas against the South divisions’ first place Topeka Roadrunners, the team will be looking to build even more momentum in front of the Springfield-faithful as they have won three of their last four games as they swept the division-leading Port Huron Fighting Falcons at home to start up the winning streak in which they have picked up six points.

Through fourteen games into the 2012-2013 regular season, Janesville currently has an overall record of seven wins, five regulation losses, and two overtime losses—which currently has them tied with Johnstown for fifth in the North division with sixteen points—six points ahead of our hometown good guys.

The Jets have currently scored forty-seven goals and have allowed fifty-three so far, and through their first six road games, own a record of 2-4-0 as they drop the puck off inside the Nelson Center. The Junior Blues enter this two game weekend-series at home holding a home record of 3-4-1 and will be looking to get back to the .500 mark in front of the home faithful.

Janesville’s top players thus far through the regular season; Jason Ford, Austin Vieth, Connor Lemirande, and Jordan Himley are some of the leaders on this squad out on the ice—and actually, all of them are forwards.

Jason Ford and Austin Vieth have combined for twenty-six goals so far—with fourteen coming from Ford and twelve coming from Vieth in twelve games (two less than Ford). Lemirande has seven total points thus far as he has scored four goals and assisted three more as well. Both of the likes of Himley and Eric Carlson both are evened up with five points each. Himley has scored four goals with one assist; and Carlson has scored three goals and two assists.

The Jets have went with two goalies on the season; Brock Kautz and Austin Priebe. In nine starts so far, Kautz has a 5-3-1 overall record, and has allowed just twenty-one goals on 266 total shots (.927 saves percentage). In the back-up role, Priebe, who has started five games himself, has basically been just as good. He has an overall record of 2-1-1 and has allowed just eleven goals on 142 shots (.928 saves percentage).

The Jets, like Topeka, is a team that struggles the most in the opening period of the game. Janesville outscores opponents in every period aside from the first as they have been outscored 14-to-8--and conveniently, the first period is the only period that we out score our opponents as well, as we do 10-to-7. If we are going to beat these guys this weekend, getting off to a great start early on could and most likely will go a long, long way.

This weekend’s two game weekend series will be the first of two weekend series’ between the two division-rivals. They will meet at the Nelson Center this weekend and then will meet up again on Janesvilles’ ice for two more on December 21^st and December 22^nd.

Friday night’s contest will be the first between the two since last season in the playoffs when our hometown Junior Blues defeated the Jets’ three games to two games in the best of five series the round before we were defeated at the hands of ex-league rival, Saint Louis. During the regular season, Springfield loss the season series to Janesville four-games to two-games.

Janesville Jets (14 GP--7W, 5L, 2OTL--16 Points--Tied for Fifth Place in North division)

Springfield Jr. Blues (14 GP--4W, 8L, 2OTL--10 Points--Seventh Place in North division)

Janesville Jets Top 5 Points Leaders (through 14 games)