Anchorage, Alaska| 10/21/22 | Isaac Smoldon
17 minutes and 22 seconds into the 2nd period, the Janesville Jets scored to go up 4-0. 22 minutes and 30 seconds of game time later, Anchorage tied the game at four goals apiece, completing a comeback that seemed all but impossible just a while earlier. From the 9:32 mark of the 3rd to the final eight seconds, the Wolverines scored four unanswered goals, and went on to win the game in a shootout, utterly deflating the visiting Jets. Aiden Westin, Jackson Reineke and Clay Allen all scored goals for Anchorage in the final period, with Westin pocketing two of the goals for his squad. Shane Soderwall made impressive saves all night to keep his team in the game, ending with 31 saves on 35 shots.
Nothing seemed to go the Wolverines way through the first two periods, with Janesville scoring two goals in each period to go into the 3rd up 4-0. It seemed as if the Jets were about to skate away with an easy victory, but Westin broke the ice for Anchorage at the 9:32 mark of the 3rd, off a pass from Cameron Morris. Then six minutes later, Reineke battled through three skaters to tap in a goal from in front of the net to make the score 4-2. Now down by just two, the Wolverines pulled their goalie, and were rewarded with another goal, again from Westin to make it a one-goal game. Anchorage would pull Soderwall again following that goal, and Clay Allen collected a rebound and fired it past Jets’ goaltender Selby Warren, with just eight seconds remaining on the clock. Overtime would pass with both teams still tied, and the game would need to be decided in a shootout. The shootout would go back and forth, but ultimately a snipe by Cameron Morris followed by a Soderwall save would win the game for Anchorage, by a listed score of 5-4.
Both teams will faceoff against each other tomorrow at 7 p.m. AKDT, with Janesville hoping for redemption while the Wolverines look to sweep their home opening weekend. Tickets are available for purchase now at anchoragewolverines.com, or for those not in the Anchorage area, the game is available to livestream exclusively on HockeyTV.
