The Stonewall Jets closed out a strong early-January stretch with a decisive 9–1 road victory over the Raiders Jr. Hockey Club on Friday, Jan. 9, winning three of four games over seven days in Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League action.
Stonewall erupted for three first-period goals and never looked back at Seven Oaks SportsPlex, building leads of 3–0 and 5–0 before pouring in four goals in the third period. Peyton Bateman led the offence with two goals and two assists, while eight different Jets scored. Rylan Slatcher, Karson King, Kai Smith, Seth Clements, Gavin Holod, Alex Kaczorowski and Dean Saunders also found the back of the net.
Ron Cailo earned the win in goal, stopping 20 of 21 shots, as the Jets outshot the Raiders 34–21. Holod added a short-handed goal, while Stonewall limited the Raiders to one goal on four power-play chances.
The win followed a narrow 5–3 home loss to the league-leading Transcona Railer Express on Thursday, Jan. 8. Wylie Garchinski, Bateman and King scored for the Jets, who were tied 2–2 early in the second period before Transcona pulled away with a pair of power-play goals.
Earlier in the week, Stonewall posted back-to-back shutouts behind goaltender Spencer Hunnam. On Friday, Jan. 2, Hunnam stopped all 40 shots he faced in a 4–0 home win over the Ft. Garry/Ft. Rouge Twins. Gavin Holod and Rylan Slatcher each recorded a goal and an assist, while Cohen Cheung and Kaczorowski also scored.
Hunnam followed that performance with another shutout on Sunday, Jan. 4, turning aside 42 shots in a 4–0 road win over the River East Royal Knights. Kai Smith scored twice, while Holod and Seth Clements added the other goals as the Jets were outshot 42–37 but remained composed defensively.
Following the four-game stretch, the Jets sit fourth in the MMJHL standings at 16-11-1, firmly in the playoff mix as the regular season continues.
