Thursday, March 17, 2011

Metro Jets season recap - Part 1: The Captains Speak

WATERFORD, MI – By earning 15 wins this season, the Metro Jets have certainly built a foundation for the future.

Still, not qualifying for the North American 3 Hockey League playoffs stings, but the outlook is bright for next season and a playoff berth is already being discussed for this time next year.

Team captain Morgan James and alternates Justin Bennett and Matt Stirling all feel the 2010-2011 season went better than expected, even considering head coach Jason Cirone didn’t come aboard until late in the summer.

“We had a lot of potential as a team and had the ability to beat any team in the league,” said James. “I just don't think we knew how to put it all together for every game. I feel like we under-achieved because we had the potential to be great.”

“Cirone is a great coach and he deserved more from us,” Bennett said. “The whole year was a roller coaster – highs to high and lows to low. We showed glimpses of the hockey we should have played all year. We as a team were a shell of what could have been.”

“I think the season went well for the Jets,” added Stirling, who represented the Jets in the first annual NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament this season. “I think the addition of Jason Cirone was definitely a great move. Jason established an attitude that the Metro Jets needed to make them successful again. I think we could have done better than our record, but we won more games than most people expected.”

In December, goalie Matt Braun earned his first win in a shootout against then-first place Chicago. Other highlights included the Jets taking every game from Battle Creek, their season-ending sweep on the road over Quad City and an earlier sweep at home over Quad City. An early-season five-game winning streak also boosted team confidence when the team hit the .500 mark.

Seeing certain players develop was also a key part of the year, especially in January when forward Tommy Kilgore earned a call-up to the Port Huron Fighting Falcons of the North American Hockey League.

“Tommy played well for us all year and his success at the beginning gave him a chance to play in the NAHL,” said Stirling. “Mike (Moroso) came to the Jets from his travel team and helped the Jets considerably. His offensive help, especially in the beginning of the year, helped the Jets win games early as everyone else found their stride. For Ian (Costello), he didn't play many games at the beginning of the year, but he came a long way from where he was and played in many games at the end of the year. Ian didn't give up when he didn't see much action in games and looks like a great player for the Jets in years to come.”

“To me everyone grew significantly,” added Bennett. “Kilgore came in with loads of raw talent and is now leaving polished ready to tackle the NAHL. Stirling came in a shy, skilled player and is leaving a proven leader and go-to player. Costello overcoming size and age to be one of the most reliable blue liners at the end was also something very positive for us.”

As for what lies ahead, uncertainty has always been a staple in junior hockey, but with Metro, good things appear to be lurking on the horizon.

“The Jets are heading in the right direction as a franchise,” Stirling said. “With our improved record this year from previous years, this coming year looks to be even better. Young guys like Travis Hargett and Ian Costello are set to lead the team and hopefully to the playoffs. With some veteran help as well, the Jets can be a playoff team next year.”

Bennett showed a humorous side when discussing the 2011-2012 season.”The future for the Jets looks less handsome without me, but with the coaching staff in place and a solid foundation of talented young players, nothing but good things will happen with this team,” said Bennett.

As the wearer of the ‘C’ and a graduating player, James reflected on what he wishes could have been.

“We had a great time, a lot of fun, and became very close teammates,” James said. “I wish we could start over and do it again.”

Check back next week when head coach Jason Cirone reflects on the Jets’ 2010-2011 campaign.

Photo by Andy Grossman/Detailed Images

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Captain's Corner - '10-11 season, highlights, scrap with Rank

For the final week, Metro Jets captain Morgan James will chime in on the current situation of the team and discuss what’s on his mind.

-- On the 2010-2011 season.
We had a lot of potential as a team and had the ability to beat any team in the league. I just don't think we knew how to put it all together for every game.

-- On the highlights of the season.
We had a great time, a lot of fun, and became very close teammates. I wish we could start over and do it again.

-- On his fight with Quad City captain Jerry Rank last Saturday night.
Yeah, I've wanted to go with Rank for a while, being that he's also a heavyweight fighter in the league.

-- On his emotions at the end of the game Sunday afternoon.
It was the last game of juniors for me and a few others, so yeah, we were pretty bummed.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Metro ends season by sweeping Jr. Flames on the road

DAVENPORT, IA – The Metro Jets put the 2010-2011 season to rest with a two-game sweep on the road of the playoff-bound Quad City Jr. Flames this past weekend.

With the two victories, the Jets finish with a 15-29-1-0 record, their best in five seasons.

Saturday night, Matt Stirling, Brett Grech and Mike Moroso scored in the second period and Metro held on for a 4-3 win.

Matt Stemkoski scored what proved to be the game-winner at 13:22 of the third period as Quad City scored two late goals to make the game close.

Goaltender Matt Braun finished with 45 stops for the win.

Sunday afternoon, Eric Trunick made 40 saves as the Jets skated away with a convincing 4-1 win.

Stirling and Grech each had a goal and two assists to lead the attack, while Moroso and Tommy Burns also tallied.

The Jets will now start preparations for the 2011-2012 season with summer tryout camps and the NA3HL Entry Draft. Stay tuned to MetroJetsHockey.com for all the offseason news out of Lakeland Arena.

NA3HL PLAYOFFS SET

The first round of the postseason showcases four best-of-three series in which the No. 1 seed (St. Louis) hosts the No. 8 seed (Quad City), No. 2 (Cleveland) hosts No. 7 (Queen City), No. 3 (Peoria) hosts No. 6 (Toledo) and No. 4 (Chicago) hosts No. 5 (Pittsburgh).

The winners of those four series will advance to the Hurster Cup Finals, which will take place March 24-27 in Toledo at the Team Toledo Ice House.

At the Hurster Cup Finals, the four participating teams will play a three-game round robin from March 24-26 with the top two teams at the conclusion of the round robin (most points) advancing to the Hurster Cup championship game, which will be played on March 27.

The two teams that advance to the championship game will earn a berth to the USA Hockey Tier III National Tournament. If one of those two teams is also the NA3HL’s regular-season champion, a third team will represent the league at nationals.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Jets' goalie coach Wilson takes pride in career

WATERFORD, MI – When it comes to goaltending, Randy Wilson knows a thing or two about playing between the pipes.

A former professional goalie, Wilson played for five teams in the old International Hockey League from 1977-1983 and has been a goalie coach the better part of the last 30 years, including two years with the United States National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor and a current gig with the Metro Jets.

“I always knew I wanted to coach,” said Wilson. “I worked my first goalie school back in 1968, so that’s going back a few years. Goalie coaches are still somewhat of a commodity, but it’s only come to pass in the past 12-15 years that goalie coaches are paying jobs. Back in 1998 or so, I started to look at making being a goalie coach my full-time vocation and here we are.”

Along with the Jets, Wilson also works with goalie as two other levels – with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League and the Motor City Metal Jackets of the North American Hockey League.

With the Jets, Wilson has seen marked improvement this season from Matt Braun and Eric Trunick, two 18-year-olds looking to move up the hockey ladder next year.

“Both Matt and Eric are technically sound and more than capable of making the jump,” said Wilson. “They’re as good as some of the other top goalies in this league (North American 3 Hockey League) and are both good team guys.”

Braun and Trunick each gave praise to Wilson for their play this season.

“Randy has helped me notice and improve a lot of the little mistakes I was making,” said Braun. “I think it’s very important to have someone there who knows the game like Randy does.”

“Randy has helped me this season and he’s been helping me for a few years now,” added Trunick. “We have a pretty good relationship and it’s always good to have him there to remind us of things. Playing juniors, I think you have to have a goalie coach that knows what he’s talking about and Randy is very qualified for the job. I’m glad he has been around to help when I need it the most.”

Wilson noted that over his tenure mentoring young goalies, 35 have been drafted by National Hockey League teams. That stat aside, Wilson said it’s more than numbers and big statistics that make his job fulfilling.

“When I get a kid who I think has potential, if I can get him to adapt to good game habits and he can move on, I feel I’ve made a contribution,” said Wilson, who makes his home not far from Metro’s home rink, Lakeland Arena. “The biggest compliment a coach can receive is when a kid tells you that you made a difference. When I’m coaching a kid, I treat him like my own kid. Seeing them learn and excel, that’s the biggest reward for me.”

Born in Pontiac, Wilson played juniors at Lakeland the first year the arena was open and has stuck around ever since.

“This rink has always been home to me,” said Wilson. “I’ve worked with the Jets off and on for the last 12 or 13 years or so and I know (Jets’ GM) Butch (Wolfe) has always run a good program. I think now with the coaching staff they’ve got with (head coach) Jason (Cirone), Clarky (assistant coach Sean Clark) and (associate coach) Jamie (Hayden), from a development standpoint, I don’t know that this league has three better guys coaching one team. What those three have done this season has been pretty remarkable.”

As for what the future holds for Wilson, he said he has his eyes on the big time.

“I actually interviewed last year for the goalie coach job in Tampa Bay, but I didn’t get it,” explained Wilson. “I’d like to get an NHL job in the next 3-5 years, but until then, it’s status quo. I’ll still work and enjoy my time with Metro, Saginaw and Motor City and if I don’t get into the NHL, I’d still like to stay involved in hockey, but maybe I’ll just slow down some.

“I’d like to keep my hands in it, but I only wish I had more time. That being said, I feel I’ve been successful at what I do and I can take pride in that.”

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

The Jets split on the road in Cleveland last weekend, earning a dramatic win Saturday night before getting shutout Sunday afternoon.

Saturday night, Jacob Schlacht and Tommy Burns scored 42 seconds apart late in the third period to erase a 3-2 deficit and take a 4-3 win.

Schlacht tallied at 17:11 and then Burns potted the game-winner at 17:53.

Brett Grech and Dan Hudson also scored and Justin Bennett tacked on two assists to back Trunick’s 54 saves against his former team.

Jon Buttitta and Matt Zaremba each had a goal and an assist for the Jr. Lumberjacks.

Sunday afternoon, Brian Berger recorded two goals and two assists in an 8-0 win. Alex Larson stopped all 41 shots fired his way for Cleveland.

Trunick made 44 saves for the Jets.

Metro (13-29-1-0) finishes up the 2010-2011 season this weekend with two games on the road at Quad City.

JET STREAKS

The Jets’ 13 wins this season are the most since another 13-win season back in 2006-2007.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Barry Haber, one of the goalies on Metro’s 2002 Junior B national championship team, owns his own remodeling company in Tallahassee, Fla. – Haber Remodeling.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Metro gains split on the road in Cleveland

CLEVELAND – The Metro Jets split on the road in Cleveland this past weekend, earning a dramatic win Saturday night before getting shutout Sunday afternoon.

Saturday night, Jacob Schlacht and Tommy Burns scored 42 seconds apart late in the third period to erase a 3-2 deficit and take a 4-3 win.

Schlacht tallied at 17:11 and then Burns potted the game-winner at 17:53.

Brett Grech and Dan Hudson also scored and Justin Bennett tacked on two assists to back Eric Trunick’s 54 saves against his former team.

Jon Buttitta and Matt Zaremba each had a goal and an assist for the Jr. Lumberjacks.

Sunday afternoon, Brian Berger recorded two goals and two assists in an 8-0 win. Alex Larson stopped all 41 shots fired his way for Cleveland.

Trunick made 44 saves for the Jets.

Metro (13-29-1-0) finishes up the 2010-2011 season this upcoming weekend with two games at Quad City.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Diminutive Costello has Jets' coach beaming

WATERFORD, MI – Ian Costello is proof of the old adage, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”

Standing just 5-foot-9 and tipping the scales at about 150 pounds, Costello has played in 20 games this year for the Jets and performed well enough to where Metro Jets head coach Jason Cirone has plans for his 17-year-old defenseman next year.

“I’d take 25 Ian Costellos if I could, 25 kids with hearts bigger than they actually are,” Cirone said. “Ian’s not a big kid, but he plays like he’s the size of (Jets captain) Morgan James (6-foot-4, 255 pounds). Every shift of every game, he doesn’t take any shifts off and that’s why he’s in the lineup. I’m excited to see what he’ll bring next season.”

Costello, a Lansing, Mich., native, was originally going to skate for the Grand Rapids Jr. Owls this season, but when the franchise was sold and later moved to Battle Creek, Costello wanted an option close to home and made that choice come to light with a simple phone call.

“My dad and I called up Coach and asked if I could come out to their practice to show him what I could offer to the team and I guess I did something right,” said Costello, who played last year for the Grand Rapids Griffins AAA midget minor squad. “I made the team and played with them for the whole year. It was great being able to play juniors at a young age. It was also a great experience to play in a high-level league with some great players. All this is making me a better player and I hope to get better every year so I can keep moving up.”

Aside from playing half the season as a 16-year-old and sitting out the first month and change after taking an inadvertent skate to his armpit from teammate Mike Denston, Costello knew what the situation was coming into the year and accepted it with maturity far greater than his birth certificate shows. He’s hoping this year will be a springboard to increased ice next fall.

”For playing in half of the games, I felt that I was played a good amount,” Costello said. “I kind of figured that I wasn’t going to play all the games. I have to work a lot harder than the guy I’m against because of the size. I think this year has made me a smarter player and made me also a quicker one. What I mean by that is when I have the puck, I have to already know what I’m going to do with it before I actually get because if I don’t, I’ll be put into the nickel seats.

”I feel that my strongest part of my game is the ability to work as hard as I can at what I do such as play forward, penalty kill or power play. I have been told I see the ice really well, too.”

With a heart as big as his, expect Costello to see even more of the ice in 2011-2012.

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

The Jets closed out their home schedule with a 7-5 loss Saturday night at Lakeland Arena to the Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks.

Veteran forward Brett Grech, in his final home game, scored twice for the Jets, while Mike Moroso and Justin Bennett each had a goal and an assist and Matt Stemkoski scored the other goal.

“I thought Grech had a great game for his last home game and played like it,” Cirone said. “All the usual suspects played well. All the guys that seem to show-up did. As for the other guys, I don’t know what they’re waiting on. We have four games left and they look like they’re waiting for something to happen. They’re in for a surprise when it’s Game 45 and nobody’s called and nobody’s looking at them.”

Tommy Kilgore and Matt Stirling chipped in two assists apiece for Metro and Matt Braun finished with 45 saves in goal.

Matt Zaremba and Joe Sposit paced the Cleveland attack with two goals and an assist each.

“The first period, I thought we played well and our goalie kept us in it,” said Cirone. “Then there was about a nine-minute stretch in the second period where we didn’t play disciplined and took some bad penalties that killed us and cost us four goals. Then we get into the third period and win the third period, 3-2. Our lack of discipline and the lack of our defense wanting to do their job cost us again.”

The Jets travel to Cleveland for two games this weekend at Ice Land U.S.A. Game time is 9 p.m. Saturday night and 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Metro finishes out the regular season next weekend with a pair at Quad City.

“There is always something to play for and our kids have to understand that,” said Cirone. “Someone is always watching. You can’t hide in this sport.”

JET STREAKS

Three of the five 1990 birthdates on the Metro roster had points in their final home game last Saturday night – Grech with the two goals, Bennett with a goal and an assist and James with an assist. Of the other two, defenseman Mike Corder was solid on the back end and forward Tommy Burns didn’t play.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Steve Oleksy, who manned the Jets’ blueline in 2004-2005, was called up to the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League on Thursday.

Oleksy, a 25-year-old from Chesterfield, Mich., had been playing for the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads, where he recorded seven goals and 21 points in 55 games this season.

Photo by Andy Grossman/Detailed Images

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Captain's Corner - Cleveland game, Brett Grech, Ian Costello

Each week, Metro Jets captain Morgan James will chime in on the current situation of the team and discuss what’s on his mind.

-- On the downfall to last Saturday's home finale against Cleveland.
Somewere during the second period we lost it for a bit. It’s a mental thing that seems to happen to us as a team and we'll begin to fall apart. Normally, a very angry Coach Cirone will snap us out of it, which in this case he did, and we won the third period.

-- On seeing Brett Grech score twice last Saturday. I think the game meant a lot to Grech being that he's a five-year vet of the Jets. It meant a lot to everyone really. It's just too bad we couldn't get a win.

-- On expectations for this weekend's series in Cleveland.
I would really love to mess things up for Cleveland and so would Coach. Hopefully, we're going to come out with a couple wins.

-- On diminutive defenseman Ian Costello, who is just 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds, but a player who has shown promise this year as a 17-year-old.
I love Costello as a friend and a teammate. He has come a very long way and has made great improvements. I love to see him on the ice busting his tail, because that’s what you have to when you're that size.