Morinville Jets in a great spot at the halfway mark

By Stephen Dafoe
The Morinville Jets had a two-game weekend on Friday, Nov. 8, and Sunday, Nov. 10, defeating the Beaumont Chiefs 6-3 on the road and the Spruce Grove Regals in a 5-4 shootout win at home. The back-to-back wins brought the Jets to a 15-3-1 record exactly halfway through the 2024-2025 Capital Junior Hockey League regular season.
Jets Vs Chiefs
The Chiefs were the first to light the lamp during the Jets road trip to Beaumont with Austin McDonald picking up the opener off an assist from Ty Sauer. The Jets bounced back five minutes later as Ty Van Brabant evened the score, assisted by Jets’ top scorers Ethan de Champlain and Cody Laliberte. Laliberte pocketed one of his own, assisted by de Champlain to bring the tally ahead by one for the Jets with less than five minutes on the clock. An unassisted shorthanded goal from Spencer Paplawski would send both teams to the dressing rooms with the game sitting 2-2.
The back and forth continued in the middle frame, with Graeme Hampton moving the needle forward for the Jets and Paplawski balancing things seven minutes later on a powerplay opportunity. With 15 seconds left on the clock, de Champlain put the Jets into a 4-3 lead to head into the third period.
The final frame would see the Jets move ahead with another pair of goals, Van Brabant pocketing one from an assist from Ashton Funk at 7:20 and Jase McRae earning a shorthanded goal at 5:41 to give the Jets a 6-3 finish and their third consecutive win.
Jets Vs Regals
The Jets struggled in the opening frame at home on Sunday night, failing to capitalize on any of their first 11 chances, while the Regals found the back of the Jets net twice during that time. But Ty Van Brabant scored with 3:16 left in the period to narrow the contest to a one-goal game.
Spruce Grove increased that gap to two when Maddox Seguin picked up a shorthanded goal three minutes in. Jesse Hiller found the mesh on a powerplay goal ten minutes later to end the frame 4-1 in Spruce Grove’s favour.
Facing a three-goal deficit and 20 minutes left on the clock, the Jets had some work to do. Cody Laliberte, assisted by Ashton Funk and Ethan de Champlain, started that work four minutes in to narrow the game to 4-2. Laliberte further narrowed the Regal’s lead to 4-3 five minutes later and picked up his natural hat trick to tie the game 4-4 with 1:16 left on the clock, assisted by Graeme Hampton and Jacob Klassen.
With both sides looking to sink the OT winner, thirteen shots between the two clubs could not find a result, and the game went to a shootout.
The Jets clinched a 2-1 shootout victory after three tense rounds. Cody Laliberte and Austin Robinson each missed in the first round, leaving the score tied at 0-0. In the second round, Graeme Hampton broke the deadlock to give the Jets a 1-0 lead, as Landon Kupsch missed for the opposition. The Jets pulled ahead further in the third round with Ethan de Champlain’s goal, securing a 2-0 edge. Though Jesse Hiller scored to keep the opponents alive, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide, and the Jets emerged with the win.
Looking Ahead
Heading into the second half of the CJHL regular season, the Jeys sit solidly in first place in the West Division with an impressive 15-3-1 record and 31 points. That standing is four points ahead of second-place Edmonton Mustangs and seven points ahead of long-time rivals, the St. Albert Merchants.
The Jets played two games last week: a Friday, Nov. 15 home game in Rivière Qui Barre against the Edmonton Royals and a road game on Sunday, Nov. 17 to face the Fort Saskatchewan Hawks. Results were not available by our press deadline.
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Trailing the Spruce Grove Regals 4-1 after two periods on Sunday, Nov. 10, Morinville Jets Cody Laliberte’s natural hat trick kid the game 4-4, allowing for the Jets’ ultimate shootout victory and their fourth consecutive win. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
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Jets and Regals battle for the puck during the first period of the Jets’ Sunday, Nov. 10 home game. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
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Morinville Jets players chase down the puck against the Spruce Grove Regals in a fast-paced moment during the first period of the Jets’ Sunday, Nov. 10 home game. – Stephen Dafoe Photo