The opening round of the Robertson Cup Playoffs pitted the Chill against their divisional rival in the Janesville Jets. The first game of the best-of-five series played out in Janesville Friday night where there were no shortage of fireworks. The game was opened with a Jets goal in only 14 seconds. This goal was answered by both Caleb Schroer (Kendall, Doran) on a power play and Steven Quagliata (McGlynn) scoring before the first period came to a close to give the Chill a 2-1 lead. A second-period goal for the Jets tied the game up where it stayed until Janesville scored with 3 minutes left in regulation. The Jets held the lead which handed Brad Arvanitis the loss after saving 38 of 41 shots. The Chill’s shot total proves a unique statistic as the team’s two goals came in the period with only 6 shots on goal and couldn’t find the net in the following two periods where 26 shots on goal were registered.
In game 2 the following night, Janesville brought its offensive firepower right off the bat scoring two goals in the first period separated by a goal from Billy Duma (McGlynn, Bryant). The last regulation goal was put in by Matt Doran 38 game minutes later to bring the score to a 2-2 tie. The first overtime went by without a score leading to the second overtime period. The Chill struggled offensively in this final period only adding 4 shots to their total compared to 12 from Janesville. Ultimately, a poorly-timed penalty for the Chill led to a power-play goal from Janesville to clinch the win and put Coulee Region in a 2-0 hole in the series.
This coming weekend the Chill will fight for their survival at home where they hold a 3-3 record facing the Midwest Division powerhouse. The Chill will host game 3 (and game 4 if necessary) on Friday and potentially Saturday night. The puck will drop on a crucial game 3 Friday night at 7:00 at Green Island Ice Arena and will start at the same time Saturday night if game 4 is needed. In the case of the Chill knocking off the Jets for both of these games, the fifth and final game of the series will take place at 7:00 Sunday night in Janesville.