The Minnesota Magicians (22-12-4) hosted the North American Hockey League (NAHL) leading Janesville Jets (30-6-3) over the weekend, splitting a pair of close contests at Richfield Ice Arena.
On Friday January 20th, the Magicians got the scoring started with a goal from captain Travis Brown (Assist: Nikita Kozyrev) late in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. After Janesville answered a short time later, Lino Lakes native Mitch Slattery (Brown) found the back of the net to give the Magicians a 2-1 lead heading into the 1st intermission. Janesville would score the lone goal of the middle period to tie the game, and with just under a minute to play in the game the Jets scored again to steal a victory from the Magicians in heartbreaking fashion.
On Saturday night, the Magicians came out strong looking to avenge the previous night’s loss. First, it was newcomer and Edina native Parker Mismash (Andrew Kangas, Slattery) finding the back of the net. Mismash was recently acquired by the Magicians in a trade with the Bismarck Bobcats and was playing in his first series for the team this weekend. The Magicians’ lead was extended to 2-0 when former South St. Paul HS Packer Cam Buhl (Dmytro Kobylyanskyi, Brendan Skarda) scored just two minutes later. Janesville got the game’s next two goals to draw even and it remained tied at 2-2 until midway through the final period. With just under 10-minutes remaining, Dmytro Kobylyanskyi snuck a shot past the Jets goaltender to give the Magicians a 3-2 lead. Goaltender Jake Acton was stellar down the stretch to preserve the 3-2 victory for the Magicians. Acton made 23 saves in the game, and is now 2-0 as a Magicians starting goaltender.
The Magicians continue to be one of the league’s best teams and are approaching a stretch of three straight road series. They return home on February 17th and 18th against the defending NAHL Robertson Cup Champion Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Tickets are available at www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com!