JANESVILLE, Wis. — The Austin Bruins took advantage of a late two-man advantage and rallied to defeat the top team in the North American Hockey League North Division.
Josh Wilkins scored on a 5-on-3 power play with 36 seconds to go Friday night to lift the Bruins past the Janesville Jets 2-1. The victory lifts Austin (10-4-6) back into a first-place tie with Minot — a 1-0 loser against the Minnesota Wilderness on Friday — in the NAHL Central Division.
Janesville struck first, as Dan Kucerovy scored a power-play goal at 13:36 of the second period.
That was it for the Jets' offense, though, as Bruins goalie Jake Kielly stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced to improve to 6-0-4 this season.
Zach Kennedy tied the score on a goal 3:05 into the third period, then Cory Dunn and Ian Scheid set up Wilkins for the winner in the final minute.
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Austin and Janesville (13-6-1) meet again at 7 p.m. tonight in Janesville.
Bruins 2, Jets 1
Austin#0#0#2#—#2
Janesville#0#1#0#—#1
First period— no scoring. Second period— 1. J, Dan Kucerovy (Robert Smits, Drew Callin) 13:36 (pp). Third period— 2. A, Zach Kennedy (Nico Sturm, Pat Lauderdale) 3:05. 3. A, Josh Wilkins (Cory Dunn, Ian Scheid) 19:26 (pp, 5x3).
Shots on goal— A 9-13-13—35, J 8-7-4—19. Goalies— A, Jake Kielly (W, 18 saves); J, Jared Rutledge (L, 33 saves). Power plays— A, 1-for-6; J, 1-for-2. Penalties — A, 5-10 minutes; J, 9-18 minutes.
