Next generation Jets storm back for win

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This article was published 17/09/2023 (750 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just call them the Comeback Kids.

Down and seemingly out after 40 sleepy minutes, the Winnipeg Jets Young Stars woke up and rallied for a 3-2 shootout victory over the next generation of Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon in Penticton.

The “Class of 2023” played a major role in this one.

Thomas Milic, the reigning Western Hockey League goaltender of the year selected in the fifth round this past summer, was sensational. He stopped 39 of 41 shots in regulation and overtime, plus two of the three pucks he faced during the breakaway contest.

Milic, who is from Coquitlam, B.C., was especially sharp in the first two periods when he team was outshot 36-12 and under siege for large stretches, which wasn’t helped that they had taken five minor penalties (and drawn none) in the first 40 minutes.

Milic, who is turning pro this fall and likely to start with Winnipeg’s ECHL affiliate in Norfolk, kept the deficit at just 2-0 with numerous big stops. That set the stage for his teammates to flip the script in the final frame.

Jacob Julien, the towering 6-4 centre who was selected with Winnipeg’s other fifth-round pick down in Nashville, got his group on the board when he poked home a loose puck created off an Elias Salomonsson shot with just over eight minutes left in the third period.

At that point, Winnipeg was outshooting Vancouver by a 10-3 margin and had titled the ice in their favour.

Less than two minutes later, 2023 first-rounder Colby Barlow tied it up by ripping a shot past Canucks goaltender Ty Young. The Jets were on the power play at the time, and Daniel Torgersson made a nifty backhand feed from behind-the-net.

Barlow, the standout winger with the Owen Sound Attack, then scored again in the shootout, sliding a puck right through Young’s legs to even it up after Vancouver’s Aidan McDonough had beaten Milic on the first attempt. After two straight Milic saves, Danny Zhilkin, a third-rounder from 2022, beat Young with the decisive goal.

Winnipeg had dropped its opening game on Friday night to Edmonton by a 3-1 score, getting badly outplayed and outshot (36-14). Connor Levis, another 2023 selection (seventh round) scored the lone goal, and only a superb performance from reigning Ontario Hockey League goaltender of the year Domenic DiVincentiis kept the score respectable.

It looked like deja vu through 40 minutes on Sunday. Jets assistant general manager Craig Heisinger, who also oversees the Manitoba Moose, pulled no punches with a blunt assessment of what he’d seen so far when he appeared on the broadcast during intermission.

“I think we’re chasing the game. I don’t think we’ve tried to dictate much of the pace. I think our compete has been inconsistent,” Heisinger told Jets TV host/colour commentator Jamie Thomas.

“We just need to be better. Nobody’s earned anything here. Our skill level, which I think is pretty good, hasn’t stood out.”

Consider that message received, with a much better finish than start.

Winnipeg ended up 1-for-5 on the power play, while Vancouver went 1-for-7.

The Jets brought 24 skaters to B.C. and can only dress 20 per game. Forward Mark Liwiski and defenceman Wyatt Wilson, who are both undrafted players on invites, were scratches for a second straight contest.

Forward Connor McClennon and defenceman Simon Kubicek both made their Young Stars debuts, while Thoams Caron and Jordan Tourigny came out of the lineup.

The Jets wrap up the three-game, four-day tournament when they face the Calgary Flames on Monday (Noon CT). The game will be streamed live at www.winnipegjets.com.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg