Marquette, MI – January 3, 2023 – The Marquette Redmen hockey team rang in the new year with a 5-0 victory over the Painesdale-Jeffers Jets at Lakeview Arena on Tuesday night. The Redmen, who improve to 9-3-2 with the win, started slowly but eventually hit their stride in a game that was broadcast on 97.5 GTO by Joe Gaffney and Jason Welch.
Marquette looked rusty early on, but it wasn’t long before their offense began pouring shots on Painesdale goaltender Simon Rajala. Rajala was able to withstand the barrage until the final minutes of the first period, when C.J. Carter found the puck in a crowd and scored to give Marquette a 1-0 lead. The Jets didn’t give up another in the opening period, and given that the shots were 24-2 in favor of the Redmen, Painesdale-Jeffers was happy to get to the intermission down by one.
End of First Period: Marquette 1, Painesdale-Jeffers 0
Colin Nemacheck doubled the Marquette lead early in the second period with a shot from just inside the blue line that Rajala wasn’t expecting, making the score 2-0. Marquette went ahead 3-0 when Jake Garrow scored on a short-handed breakaway. The Jets seemed to have pulled one back just minutes later, but the goal was disallowed immediately, the officials deeming that the puck was directed in by a high stick. Garrow scored his second goal of the game in the final minute of the second period, and Jace Moore added another Redmen goal only moments later to give Marquette a 5-0 lead after two.
End of Second Period: Marquette 5, Painesdale-Jeffers 0
After the late burst of Marquette goals in the second, Painesdale-Jeffers improved their team defense in the third period. Marquette had a few chances in the final frame to push for a mercy-rule win, but the Jets’ goaltender shut the door on every shot he saw in the final 17 minutes. Painesdale-Jeffers didn’t have any offensive success either though, and Marquette skated away with a 5-0 win.
Final Score: Marquette 5, Painesdale-Jeffers 0
The Marquette Redmen will next hit the ice on January 13th, when they travel downstate to Traverse City. The time of puck drop is yet to be determined, but John Thomson and Joe Gaffney will have all the action on Fox Sports Marquette 105.1/99.9 and online at foxsportsmarquette.com.
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