Springfield Junior Blues Hockey - The upcoming week ahead

Springfield Junior Blues Hockey

(A Look Ahead at the Upcoming Week Ahead)

Monday, February 13th through Sunday, February 19th

Monday, February 13th

Team Practice from 2pm to 4pm (No Game)

Tuesday, February 14th

Team Practice from 2pm to 4pm (No Game)

Wednesday, February 15th

Team Practice from 2pm to 4pm (No Game)

Thursday, February 16th

Team Practice from 2pm to 4pm (No Game)

***Practices are inside the Nelson Center and are open to the public***

Friday, February 17th

Springfield Jr. Blues @ Coulee Region (7pm inside the Omni Center)

Saturday, February 18th

Springfield Jr. Blues @ Coulee Region (7pm inside the Omni Center)

Sunday, February 19th

No Practice. No Game. Team has Day off

**unofficial**

The following is coming from what I have heard from the team previously.

Peter Traber Dominates, Topeka defeats Jr. Blues 5-1

Peter Traber shut down the offensive attack for the Springfield, Sean Gaffney netted two goals, and the Topeka RoadRunners defeated the Junior Blues 5-to-1 inside the Nelson Center on Saturday night for a North American Hockey League regular season game.

Springfield went 0-for-11 on the one-man-advantage powerplay, and Traber shut the door on them all night long. He stopped 29-of-30 Jr. Blues shots and picked up the win to improve his record to 20-7 overall, still proving himself as one of the best in junior league hockey.

Springfield scored just one goal on the night, which was at 16:33 of the third and final period, as the game was already out of hand with Topeka leading 5-to-0.

The Roadrunners outshot head coach Joe Dibble's squad for the second straight night, at 39-to-30. Dan Dupell scored the only goal in the first period, which was at just 1:20 in.

Topeka scored three second period goals, one on the powerplay from Sean Gaffney, and then two others from the likes of Gage Houg and Williem Nong-Lambert. They scored the only goals of the entire game through the first two periods, and were in control from there.

With still maintaining a four goal lead almost midway through the third, Sean Gaffney added his second of the game on an assist from Ben Bahe at 8:46. The goal gave the RoadRunners a 5-0 lead before Joesph Pontasch's unnassisted shorthanded goal with under four minutes remaining made it 5-1/

Gabe Antoni was once again given the start inbetween the pipes for the Jr. Blues, as he recieved just his first regulation loss with the team on the year. He played all sixty minutes of the contest and saved 34-of-39 Topeka shots, making his record fall overall to 6-1-1.

Tonight's contest was the last home game before the Jr. Blues hit the road for nine straight. The teams next home stand will begin on March 16th when they host Janesville for three games. Once the roadtrip ends, the team will finish there regular season campaign off with five of there final seven inside the Nelson Center.

With Saturday night's loss, the team fell to 20-22-2 overall, and currently stays in third place in the Midwest. The Jr. Blues will travel to Coulee Region to battle the Chill for two games inside the Omni Center on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Topeka RoadRunners------ 1 ------ 3 ------ 1 ------ (F) 5
Springfield Jr. Blues ------- 0 ------ 0 ------ 1 ------ (F) 1

Goals Scoring Summary
(1st) [TOP] Dan Dupell (Ryan White) 1:20
(2nd) [TOP] (PP) Sean Gaffney (unnassisted) 6:04 (2nd) [TOP] Gage Hough (Williem Nong-Lambert) 6:32; (2nd) [TOP] Williem Nong Lambert (Dan Dupell, Jake Lynes) 19:37
(3rd) [TOP] Sean Gaffney (Ben Bahe) 8:46; [SPR] Joesph Pontasch (shorthanded) (unassisted) 16:33

Tufte, Antoni lead Jr. Blues to 5-2 win over Topeka

The Springfield Junior Blues got a big night from Gavin Tufte, and excellent performance between the pipes from Gabe Antoni, and they defeated the Topeka Roadrunners 5-to-2 inside the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois on Friday night in a regular season North American Hockey League regular season contest.

Tufte scored two goals for the Jr. Blues, who were outshot on the night from the RoadRunners 34-to-21. Along with his two goals, Tufte also assisted two more as well, as he led the game in points with four total.

Gabe Antoni continued to impress many as well, as he saved 32-of-34 RoadRunner shots on goal, and improved his overall record with Springfield to 6-0-1. In his seven starts -- and eight appearances, he has allowed just twenty-four goals and has a saves percentage of 91.5 percent.

Also scoring for the hometown Jr. Blues were the likes of Joesph Pontasch, Radium Matus, and Kevin Walters. Pontasch's goal was a powerplay goal scored in the first period at 16:31.

Scoring goals for Topeka were the likes of both Ryan White, which was a powerplay goal at 9:10 of the second period, and Kevin Patterson, which was a powerplay goal at 16:25 of the second as well. Patterson finished the night with a team lead in points for Topeka with two as he had one goal and one assist.

Peter Traber got the loss on the night, and had a rather off night. Springfield found the net on some very nice shots that not many goalies in any league could have saved, but he is one of the best there is in the North American Hockey League. Traber saved sixteen of twenty shots on the night, as Springfield scored there final goal from Tufte at 18:39 following Traber being pulled.

Tonight's game consisted of just seven penalties total -- three from Springfield, and four from Topeka. The Jr. Blues were 1-for-3, while the Roadrunners went 2-for-4 on the one man advantage.

The win for Springfield made it there seventh in their last eighth overall and bumped them up to 42 points overall. Both teams will be back in action on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m., as Springfield will be gunning for their eighth win in there last nine games.

Topeka RoadRunners-------- 0 ------- 2 -------0 ------(F) 2
Springfield Jr. Blues---------- 1 --------1 ------ 3 ------(F) 5

Goal Scoring Summary(1st) [SPR] Joesph Pontasch (PP) - (Kyle Cook, Cody Dixon) 16:31
(2nd) [TOP] Ryan White (PP) - (Dan Dupell, Kevin Patterson) 9:10 (2nd) [TOP] Kevin Patterson (PP) - (Sean Gaffney, Joe Van Antwerp) 16:25 (2nd) [SPR] Gavin Tufte - (Radium Matus) 17:11
(3rd) [SPR] Radium Matus - (Gavin Tufte, Ethan Nauman) 11:11 (3rd) Kevin Walters - (Radium Matus, Gavin Tufte) 13:51 (3rd) [SPR] Gavin Tufte - (emptynet) 18:39

Weekend Series Preview: Jr. Blues VS. Topeka RoadRunners

Springfield Junior Blues (19-21-2, 40 points) vs. Topeka RoadRunners (30-12-2, 62 points)

2 Game Weekend Series inside the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois

(Friday, February 10th and Saturday, February 11th)

Game 1: Friday night: 7:00 pm Central Time -- Nelson Center -- Springfield, Illinois

Game 2: Saturday night: 7:00 pm Central Time -- Nelson Center -- Springfield, Illinois

Season Series (Head-to-Head)

Four Games - Topeka Leads Series 4 Games to None

Head-to-Head Previous Games (Topeka Leads 4 Games to 0 Games)
1. Topeka 4, Springfield 2 (11/4/11 - @ Topeka)
2. Topeka 4, Springfield 3 (11/5/11 - @ Topeka)
3. Topeka 3, Springfield 1 (11/18/11 - @ Topeka)
4. Topeka 4, Springfield 0 (11/19/11 - @ Topeka)

Team Leaders (Both Teams)
Topeka RoadRunners
Ryan White (45 pts-16G, 29A) - Brian Christie (35 pts-17G, 18A) - Dan Dupell (32 pts-18G, 14A) - Ben Bahe (28 pts-10G, 18A) - Jake Lynes (27 pts-11G, 16A)
Springfield Jr. Blues
Kyle Cook (42 pts-22G, 20A) - Chris Sitler (42 pts-16G, 26A) - Josef Pontasch (39 pts-13G, 26A) - Ethan Nauman (32 pts-13G, 19A) - Gavin Tufte (32 pts-10G, 22A)

Last Five Games (Both Teams)
Topeka RoadRunners:
(gm44) 8-2 win VS. Corpus Christi  (gm43) -- 4-3 win VS. Corpus Christi  (gm42) -- 5-1 win VS. New Mexico  (gm 41) -- 3-2 win VS. New Mexico  (gm40) --3-2 win VS. Texas
Springfield Jr. Blues:
(gm42) -- 6-5 win @ Chicago  (gm41) -- 2-0 loss @ Chicago  (gm 40) -- 10-2 win @ Chicago  (gm39) -- 4-3 win VS. Michigan  (gm38) -- 3-1 win VS. Michigan

T-Cobb's Pregame Analysts and Series Prediction against the Topeka RoadrunnersHave the Springfield Junior Blues finally turned the corner during this 2011-2012 North American Hockey League season? Are they finally a team that is going to start winning on a consistent basis? And be a team that is to not be wreckoned with by the rest of the opponents? As of late, that's exactly what this Jr. Blues team is seeming to do--turn the corner. But tonight's opponent, the Topeka RoadRunners, will give us a pretty clear vision of whether or not it is indeed what has happend.

Entering tonight's contest inside the Nelson Center, the hometown Jr. Blues currently own six wins in there last seven contests. They have have climbed up a bit in the standings, and are flying high with confidence, But as we all know, that may not matter unless they bring that same intensity and effort tonight. Topeka enters the matchup with five straight wins, and have arguably played some of the best as any team in the North American Hockey League. They are led by assist-leader Ryan White on offense, and have six players with ten or more goals--and also three with atleast sixteen.

Despite Springfield being 0-4 against the RoadRunners this season, the team has been on fire and it's something that hopefully will continue. With the team finally being healthy and on the ice together as a unit, they have gotten a lot better. The goalie play has been over par lately and if we can continue to get the same performances from Tyler Parks and Gabe Antoni, coach Dibble and co. should be in really good shape in every game from here on out.

T-Cobb's Series Predictions
Both teams have been on a roll lately, so this should be one of the primed matchups over the weekend around the NAHL. Antoni and Parks have been very impressive over the last couple of weeks, which is why they are the two to watch over the weekend. I'm predicting a huge split weekend out of them two at home. If they continue to stay hot, the Jr. Blues will do the same.

Call me crazy, but with expected-large crowds inside the Nelson Center for both nights, I am predicting the Jr. Blues to win both games. 4-2 on Friday night, 3-1 on Saturday.

Josef Pontasch becoming the total package for Jr. Blues

Just one season ago, Josef Pontasch was just a first year player in the North American Hockey League. He was the true definition of a rookie, was shifted from Saint Louis, Missouri to here in Springfield, and was trying to find a way for himself against this leagues' stiff competition.

This season, the 20 year-old native from Perrysburg, Ohio is in his second season and has become one of the catalysts for the Springfield Junior Blues and their high-potent offensive attack.

At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Josef has made himself become a top-line threat, and a fan favorite around here in the state capital. He is as dedicated to the game as anybody that I have seen personally, and is a physical, hard-nosed forward that can find the open man with the puck from anywhere on the ice. Also, don't forget that he is also a guy that can put the puck into the back of the net from time-to-time as well.

Last season as a rookie, Pontasch played in 15 games for the Saint Louis Bandits, and just two with the Junior Blues. Before being traded here to Springfield, Pontasch totaled up thirteen points for Saint Louis. He had eleven assists and just two goals, but even more impressive was the fact that he was at +5 on the ice. Following the trade to the Jr. Blues, in his two appearances, he scored one goal and had no assists. No matter the stats, Josef's passion, size, and skills showed a lot of promise for his future.

This season Josef has become what everyone had seen and hoped for from him. Despite the Junior Blues starting this season out a little slow due to injuries early on, now that they are getting back to full strength, the team is starting to turn heads from the rest of the league. Just like last season, coach Joe Dibble and the team started slow, but went on a run to end the season--except this season, this team has a lot more talent than they have in years. A big reason? Josef and Joe DIbble, himself.

"Coach Dibble is a players coach. He is approachable and honest with all of his players." said Pontasch in an interview. "Instead of being standoff-ish, he is a hands on kind of coach who likes to get involved on a personal level with the players. It makes it easy for us to want to go out and give him our best every game."

Following a hard off-season, Pontasch is starting to put the puzzle together. With this being his first full-season in the league, through 42 games thus far, he has posted thirty-nine (39) points, scoring thirteen (13) goals and assisting twenty-six (26) more. He is currently third on the team in points total, and is tied for the team lead in assists with Chris Sitler. Also, he ranks tied for third in scoring on the team with two other teammates--Ethan Nauman and Mike Williams. He has also scored six powerplay goals and has assisted fourteen while scoring a team-leading four game-winning goals. Quite a difference from last season, huh?

"I have a lot of confidence this season from being a veteran in the league," he said. "Having found a place to play where I am comfortable, and I also worked hard in the off-season on some key aspects to my game."

As of right now, Pontasch and his Jr. Blues team is currently in third-place in the Midwest division. They are five points ahead of Coulee Region, who is in fourth place; and eighteen points ahead of the Chicago Hitmen, who are currently in last place and is the team that is the lone Midwest team not in a playoff spot. Despite the team being eighteen points behind Pontasch's former squad, the Saint Louis Bandits, Josef and this nitty bunch of Jr. Blues still believe they have a shot at home-ice advantage in the first round.

"With everybody playing well now, I anticipate a close race for the second spot in the rankings with Saint Louis going into the last part of the year. Follow that up with a thrilling first round playoff matchup with them as well."

Although there is still an awful lot of hockey left to be played, Pontasch continues to get better and better each time out on the ice. With him proving himself as one of the teams' top catalysts, the success of this team hinges a lot on how much production he gives the team.

Despite myself not being an NHL scout--or any scout for the sport of hockey, Josef Pontasch is definently a kid that has a lot of upside and potential. Following a learning season during his rookie campaign, he has proving himself to not only be a very dedicated player, he is becoming the NAHL's "total package".

Jr. Blues face Topeka in pivitol games this weekend

The Springfield Junior Blues have been playing some pretty good hockey as of late, but if this team wants to present themselves as a threat to opponents and be considered championship contenders, what happens during the two-game home stand this weekend against Topeka could determine quite a bit.

Entering Friday night's contest inside the Nelson Center, head coach Joe Dibble and his Jr. Blues will have won six of there last seven contests overall, and will be flying high with confidence. Just three weeks ago Springfield was in fourth place and five points behind Coulee Region. Now, they have 40 points and are five points ahead of Coulee Region (35 points), sitting in third place in the Midwest.

Springfield, who is sitting comfortably in a playoff spot at the moment, will play it's last two home games during the two-game stand over the weekend before hitting the road for nine straight games. The team will visit Coulee Region (2 games), Michigan (2 games), Chicago again (3 games), and Kalamazoo (2 games) before coming back home inside the Nelson Center on March 16th when they host Janesville for three contests.

Topeka presents a tough matchup, as the two teams have played six times this season with Topeka winning five of the six. The Roadrunners (30-12-2) are currently in second place in the South with 62 points overall and have outscored Springfield in the six games thus far by a total of 15-to-10, and have won both games that were played inside the Nelson Center.

With the Jr. Blues being 10-11-2 at home so far this season, winning both games would put them over the .500 mark, which would be a huge success before the road trip begins. Even though the team is comfortably locked into a playoff spot, confidence will be one of the main keys' to this team making a run. With the way that it looks for the Chicago Hitmen, this team could stumble quite a bit down the stretch and still make it safely into the playoffs, which is certainly not something that this team wants to do.

The Blue notes have an excellent offensive attack, which is led by possibly the best trio of forwards in the entire North American Hockey League--Kyle Cook, Chris Sitler, and Josef Pontasch. All three players have atleast 39 points so far this season--and Cook leads the team with 22 goals through 42 games.

The team hasn't been healthy and on the ice together as a complete team for very long yet--but it is slowly but surely starting to happen. The team is finally getting to play together and the chemistry is most certainly starting to look a lot better already. Just imagine if they can stay healthy and continue to gain more and more confidence until playoff time? That is most certainly a question that only time will answer. But the run that this team made under Dibble last season is something most people still remember.

The return and production from Mike Williams (22 pts) has intstantly helped make an immediate impact to the offense as he has scored thirteen goals and added in nine assists. Also, Gavin Tufte and Ethan Nauman present a tough combo for any opponent when they are on as they have combined to tally 64 points between the two (32 pts each).

As for the defensive side of the puck for the Jr. Blues, both of the goalies have become pretty good for the team. With the addition of Gabe Antoni, the results have been better. Antoni and Parks both own a .915 save percentage and have been dominant between the pipes during the teams' six wins over the previous seven games.

Antoni is 5-0-1 since being a Blue Note and has allowed seventeen goals in seven starts. He started on Sunday afternoon but was pulled from the game when he allowed five goals on eighteen shots. Parks' came in in relief and pitched a shutout for the final 21 minutes and helped the team in the 6-5 win.

The team is surrounded by some very good defensemen, which helps out tremendously. Ben Kramer (5'9, 160 lbs), and Kevin Walters (5'7, 165 lbs) both are small but bring speed and quickness to help on defense while Ruslan Pedan (6'1, 185 lbs), Cody Kohn (5'10, 180 lbs), and Cody Dixon (5'11, 185) all bring some size and aggression to help protect the netminders.

Also, a huge factor for helping determine how far this team could go, is the penalty box. The Jr. Blues are first in the division in penalty minutes, which hasn't helped out much--although it penalty kill is starting to get better. If they can stay at full strength, this offense continues to become even more dangerous.

This team certainly has the potential and the ability to make this season turn into something special, but there is still a lot of business that needs to be taken care of. Winning both games this weekend against a tough opponent that has owned the team so far before a long road trip could go a long, long way. One thing that I have noticed is that winning at home gives you the confidence to go on the road and do the same thing.

Head coach Joe Dibble has a track record of being a second-half coach, and from being around the players, they all seem to have a good amount of confidence in what he says. This team did something pretty special last season, but with a little more talent in my eyes. What will this season's Springfield Junior Blues bring us? That my friends, only time will tell.

Junior Blues Update: Late rally on Sunday helps Springfield take two-of-three over the weekend in Chicago

Good evening folks, and thanks once again for following the blog. I have been under the weather lately, which is why it took a little while to get back at it, so I am very sorry about that. I currently missed four games on the team, and luckily they continue to be playin' pretty hot as of late. Here is a look at the results of the past four games:

Game 39-Junior Blues 4, Warriors 3 (Jan. 28)
Game 40-Junior Blues 10, Hitmen 2 (Feb. 3)
Game 41-Hitmen 2, Junior Blues 0 (Feb. 4)
Game 42-Junior Blues 6, Hitmen 5 (Feb. 5)
-(3-1 in the previous four games)

In the previous four games for the Jr. Blues, the team has managed to win three of the contests. Joe Dibble's squad currently has reached nineteen wins on the season, and is just two wins away (19-21-2) from being .500 overall on the year.

Springfield rallied back from down 5-to-3 to start the third period, scoring three goals, and beating the Hitmen 6-to-5 on Superbowl Sunday. Ethan Nauman scored two in the period to even the score up at five with just under four minutes left. Just ninety-seconds later, at 17:30, Kyle Cook scored his team-leading twenty-second goal of the year, which was all she wrote in the weekend finale in Chicago.

Cook, who is tied for the team lead in points for the season, tallied up five points during the visit to Chicago as he scored three goals and added in one assist. Both Josef Pontasch and Chris Sitler finished the weekend with three points each, while Nauman had four points with three goals and one assist.

With a successful trip in Chicago, the Jr. Blues (40 pts) moved up in the Midwest as they are now five points ahead of fourth-place Coulee Region (35 pts). As of right now, Springfield would be in a playoff series against division-rival Saint Louis.

Both goalies played well this weekend, as Tyler Parks' started two games, and Gabe Antoni started one. Parks went 1-1 in his tenure in the net, as he started on Saturday night and came in as back up on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, Parks' lost the game 2-0 as he saved 42-of-43 Hitmen shots. On Sunday, he entered the game for Antoni as he was pulled, and made all sixteen saves in 21 minutes, picking up the win. As for Antoni, he started on Friday night, and made 30-of-32 saves in the 10-to-2 victory. Then on Sunday, he picked up his first no-decision of the season with Springfield as he was pulled late in the second period following five Hitmen goals on eighteen shots.

The Jr. Blues continue to look better and better it seems with every performance, which is something to build on from here on out. Springfield will be playing there last two home games inside the Nelson Center until March 16th (Janesville) this coming weekend when they host the second-place Topeka RoadRunners on both Friday and Saturday night. Hope to see everybody there!

Jr. Blues beat Warriors 3-1; Move into third-place in MidWest

Tyler Parks got a suprising start; then suprised everybody
on Friday night as the Jr. Blues beat Michigan 3-to-1. (NAHL)

Following a long lay off from the ice, Kyle Cook and the Springfield Junior Blues overcame an early first period goal from Michigan, then defeating them 3-to-1 on Friday night inside the Nelson Center in a North American Hockey League regular season contest.

In front of a crowd of 1,903 roudy fans inside the Nelson Center, the Warriors scored on a goal from Matus Matis just 1:43 into the contest. But just as Michigan could relax, Radim Matus netted a goal for Springfield just twenty-nine seconds later to even up the score at 1.

Then at the 12:28 mark of the first period, Gavin Tufte netted a goal that was assisted from both Chris Sitler and Kyle Cook, which proved to be the eventual game-winner, making it 2-to-1 Junior Blues.

Springfield entered the first intermission holding a 2-to-1 lead. The Junior Blues were very aggressive and physical tonight-both teams committed six pentalies apiece. Despite there being twelve one-man-advantage opportunities, the two teams combined to be 0-for-12 as both goalies played pretty good games.

Kyle Cook scored the only goal in the second period at 9:05, and his goal was assisted by both Gavin Tufte and Kevin Walters. Cook won the number one star of the game as he tallied two points in the game, scoring one goal and adding in an assist.

A shot taken on Friday night as the time ran out inside the Nelson
Center as the Junior Blues defeated the Michigan Warriors 3-to-1.

Coach Dibble decided to start Tyler Parks in net for this one, and it turned out to be a very good decision. Parks picked up his eighth win of the season on Friday and saved 27-of-28 shots against him. This was Parks' first start since the team traded Connor Girard for Gabe Antoni on January 6th. Following a game like he had on Friday, it's hard to imagine him not the start on Saturday night.

As for the opposing team, the Warriors, Brach Tiller was the man inbetween the pipes. Tiller, who saved 26-of-29 shots, lost his fifth straight game and hasn't picked up a win since the game against December 17th when Michigan defeated Traverse City 4-to-2.

With the win tonight the Blues moved into sole possession of third place in the MidWest division following a Coulee Region loss on Friday, and as for Michigan, this was there fifth straight loss overall, and they are being outscored 27-to-8 during the streak.

The same two teams will be back at it tomorrow (Saturday night) inside the Nelson Center with the puck dropping at 7:00 pm. Follow me on twitter at @tcobb1990 and look for me in the stands.

Michigan--------------(1) 1 --------(2) 0 ---------(3) 0 -----(F) 1
Springfield------------(1) 2 --------(2) 1 ---------(3) 0 -----(F) 3

Goals Scored:
[1st Period-(MICH) Matus Matis (Chris Eckler) 1:40; (SPR) Radim Matus (Ben Kramer) 2:12; (SPR) Gavin Tufte (Chris Sitler, Kyle Cook) 12:28;] [2nd Period-(SPR) Kyle Cook (Gavin Tufte, Kevin Walters) 9:05;] [3rd Period-NO SCORING;]

Three Stars of the Game:
1st-Kyle Cook (1 Goal, 1 Assist)
2nd-Ben Kramer (1 Assist)
3rd-Radium Matus (1 Goal)

Jr. Blues Host Michigan for two games inside Nelson Center

Springfield Junior Blues (15-20-2, 32 points) vs. Michigan Warriors (16-20-5, 37 points)

 Friday, January 27th, 2012

Michigan Warriors @ Springfield Junior Blues (Nelson Center)--7pm Central Time

Saturday, January 28th, 2012
Michigan Warriors @ Springfield Junior Blues (Nelson Center)--7pm Central Time

SEASON SERIES (HEAD-TO-HEAD): NONE - First meeting between the two teams this season.

TEAM LEADERS:

Michigan: Alex White (40 pts--24G, 16A), Joseph Ferriss (29 pts--10G, 14A), Chris Eckler (25 pts--9G, 16A), Martin Gruse (24 pts--11 G, 13A),  Tyler Perpich (8G, 12A)

Springfield: Chris Sitler (37 pts--15G, 22A), Kyle Cook (35 pts--18G, 17A), Josef Pontasch (35 pts--11G, 24A), Ethan Nauman (27 pts--10G, 17A), Gavin Tufte (25 pts--8G, 17A)

Michigan Warriors Last Five Games (1-4):

Traverse City 2, Michigan 3—Jan. 7^th
Michigan 2, Port Huron 5—Jan. 11^th
Michigan 0, Kalamazoo 8—Jan. 14^th
Kalamazoo 6, Michigan 2—Jan. 20^th
Michigan 3, Kalamazoo 5—Jan. 21^st

T-Cobb’s Game Preview/Scouting Report: vs. Michigan Warriors

After some much needed time off, the Springfield Junior Blues will be back in action tonight when they host the North-division’s fourth-place team, the Michigan Warriors, at 7pm inside the Nelson Center for a North American Hockey League regular season contest.

The Jr. Blues (15-20-2) enter tonight’s contest currently holding 32 points and tied with Coulee Region for third-place in the MidWest division. As for the opponent tonight, the Warriors (16-20-5), they are in fourth place in the North division with 37 points, and are just four points behind Traverse City for third place.

Michigan comes into the game tonight with four straight losses. The Warriors haven’t won since they beat Traverse City 3-to-2 at home on January 7^th, and during the losing streak they have been outscored by a total of 24-to-7.

The Jr. Blues are currently 8-11-2 inside the Nelson Center this season, and one thing is for sure: if this team wants to have any shot at being a contender for the Robertson Cup, they have got to defend the home ice a lot better in the second half of the season than they did in the first half.

Michigan is currently 6-12-2 away from their home ice, but what is even worse, they haven’t won a road game since they beat Traverse City 4-to-1 on Dec. 9^th. This also means that they are long overdue for a road win, but hopefully a big crowd will be on hands for this game and the team will be energized; but when a long layoff of two weeks without any games, this team should be more than ready.

With the team finally getting healthy, they look ready for a pretty deep run. Guys like Ethan Nauman, Mike Williams, and Kevin Walters all getting back on the ice at the same time, it adds a lot of depth to an already pretty deep team. The Jr. Blues have five players with 25 points or more so far, and with excellent performances from the new goalie Gabe Antoni, I am expecting big things from this squad for the next two months. Chris Sitler (37pts), Kyle Cook (35 pts), and Josef Pontasch (35 pts) are three of the most electricifying players in the league with the puck, and what them three do for the rest of the season will eventually prevail as to how far this team can go. Head coach Joe Dibble has a track-record of making big things happen in the second half.

The Warriors aren’t really a team that scare you with there goal-scoring, but they do have a pretty good defensive team with a good goalie. There leading goal scorer is Alex White (24), but after him it isn’t very impressive. Martin Gruse (11 goals) is second on the team, and both Joesph Ferriss (10 goals), and Sheldon Taylor (10 goals) are both tied for third on the team. If the boys in blue can score early and build an early few goal lead, it shouldn’t take much from Antoni (or atleast as much as he has done behind the net thus far for us). Brach Tiller is 14-14-3 this season and has allowed 89 goals, while he has saved 1,037 shots, and not to mention the kid owns a .921 save-percentage. He is the real deal, but with a wild Springfield crowd, and a motivated Jr. Blues team, I’m expecting this team to find the net early and often.

The new goalie for Springfield, Gabe Antoni, is the real deal as well. In four starts with the Jr. Blues, Antoni is 3-0-1 with seven goals allowed on 129 shots. He beat the Saint Louis Bandits twice, and his only lost was in overtime against Kalamazoo. He has brought rejuvinated hope back inside the Nelson Center and inside the Jr. Blues locker room. How he performs tonight could go a long way—as well as the rest of the season.

T-Cobb’s Prediction: Jr. Blues and Warriors split the games 1-1. Springfield gets the win on Friday but ultimately falls on Saturday night. The team’s are about even on paper, but it’s pretty safe to say that the offensive attack of Springfield probably makes the difference in who is better overall, especially if Antoni continues what he has been doing.

Just a quick five minutes with T-Cobb...(Part 1 on Blog)

Good evening out there to everybody. Just wanted to start this post out by saying thank you to everybody out there that follows my blog, that gives me feedback, and that is a big-time Junior Blues fan. As most of you know this is my first local blog that I have done, and actually been involved with the actual team and players--as to rather my older blogs on the Chicago Bulls, and Missouri Tigers--as fan blogs.

This is the first post on "Just a quick five minutes...", and this is a post that I will be doing once a week, and just give my feed back on the team, players, and just other local sports from around the nation in college athletics and professional sports. As you probably know, my dream is to become either a sports broadcaster for TV or radio; or to be a big-time sports blogger, and/ or writer.

It's pretty much self-explainatory, but it will just be all that I can write in five minutes, and pretty much it will be just whatever is on my mind at the time that day. It is just a special feature that I am going to add to the blog and see what it can add to it. I would most certainly love feed-back on this post every week, and if you could just add some ideas in for the next week for me to add in there.

So no further will I go, here it goes: Just a quick five minutes with T-Cobb (Part 1)...

The first half of the 2011-2012 North American Hockey League season has officially come to an abrupt end, not all things are really that bad for our Springfield Junior Blues.

We are currently in third place in the MidWest division, and have added in the addition of Gabe Antoni at goalie. The kid has only started in four games since the trade on January 6th that sent away Connor Girard, but in them four games he has generated a lot of hope. He is 3-0-1 and beat the second-place St. Louis Bandits two games in a row; and beat Kalamazoo as well, with his only loss coming in a shootout--and still he only allowed two goals in that game.

Antoni has shifted the outlook on this team lately, and instead of us being considered a scoring team, he's transforming this team into a defensive-juggarnaut team with one of the league's top goalies. The Junior Blues currently have three players with atleast 30 points or more, and are only one-of-six teams in all of Junior Hockey to have that. We may be out of the race for the MidWest championship at this point and time, but we have set ourselves up great for another late-season run just like last season.

The team is finally getting healthy once again, and guys like Mike Williams and Ethan Nauman finally coming back at full-strength will only help this team tremendously. Head coach Joe Dibble is a fiesty second-half coach that has proven he can get the job done in the latter-half of the season. With the team getting an entire week off, and not having our next game until January 27th, this team has quite a bit of time to get ready and back to one-hundred percent focused on the ultimate goal--a Roberson Cup championship.

Well I am going to wrap this one up as I only have about thirty-seconds left on my timer. Please feel free to leave comments on this and let me know your opinions and thoughts on what I wrote about, as well as whatever thoughts and opinions you have on the team's current state.

Gabe Antoni proving to be difference maker for the Jr. Blues

Gabe Antoni is 3-0-1 with the Jr. Blues in just
four starts so far. Four goals allowed; 122 saves.

Head coach Joe Dibble and his Springfield Junior Blues were approaching the second-half of the current 2011-2012 North American Hockey League season with a lot of heart and talent--but still it seemed that they lacked that certain "something" to be considered "top-tier", and a legitimate championship contender.

They have an offensive attack that is as relentless as any in the league, and can score with the best. They have excellent talent on shifting, they have a solid defensive foundation, and a pretty good special teams squad--but one thing that seemed to be lacking, which is one of the most important factors in winning a championship, is the man between the pipes -- the goalie.

Through the first 32 games of the season, Dibble used a trio of goalies; (Tyler Parks, Connor Girard, Caleb Neal) and while none of them played terrible, nor very bad, they just struggled at times that were unaffordable.

Tyler Parks has proven to be probably the best of the three, as he is 7-6-1 in fifteen starts and has allowed 44 goals against 456 shots, and he owns a save percentage of .903. Caleb Neal only lasted four games with the team, and he went 1-3 during the four starts. Neal allowed sixteen goals, and was allowing on average over four goals allowed per game before he was cut.

Then there was Connor Girard, who was the second-best to most spectators. He started sixteen games for Springfield, and while he owned a record of 4-11-0, he owned a 3.38 GAA (goals against average) and had a saves percentage of .900.

Well, on January 6, Dibble decided to make a change and the Junior Blues traded Girard away to the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) for another goalie in exchange, Gabe Antoni.

Antoni, who just turned twenty-years old on the day he was traded to Springfield, stands inbetween the pipes at 5'11, and 175 pounds. While he doesn't provide a huge body in the net, he certainly has the talent and quick enough instincts to make up for it and go a long way.

When he joined the Junior Blues, the team was riding a five-game losing streak to end the year of 2011, they owned a record of 12-20-1, were in fourth place in the MidWest division, and the team looked lost and didn't seem to have much confidence.

But that has changed--and in just four starts.

Antoni is 3-0-1 with the Blues and is looking like a force to be reckoned with in net. He has allowed just seven goals in 250 minutes, has 122 saves in his four games, and owns a save-percentage of .946 with a 1.68 goals against average--very impressive to say the least.

He is coming from the Dubuque Fighting Saints out of the USHL, and his success here with the Blues shouldn't be a big suprise. He started sixteen games for the Saints and was 10-4-1 with just 40 goals allowed, 305 saves, and a 2.65 goals against average.

He has helped improve Springfield's record to 15-20-2, and since he has been the starting goalie, the team has already jumped Coulee Region for third-place in the division.

Antoni, who is from Lansdale, Pennslyvania, has defeated the second-place Saint Louis Bandits' twice, Kalamazoo once, and then he also lost to Kalamazoo in a shootout--and with a very favorable second-half schedule, you have to be excited with what he could do for this team.

In his two starts against the Bandits, who have the best scoring offense in the division, he impressed everybody. Before Antoni became the starter, the Bandits' owned Springfield with a 6-1 record head-to-head. He allowed just three goals in the two wins, and the team outscored Saint Louis' 9-to-3.

As for his two against Kalamazoo, he allowed four against them, with two in each game. His only lost came in a shootout, and depsite the loss, he still only allowed two goals on 35 Kalamazoo shots.

We certainly have only had a small sample of what this kid can bring. In all reality, the kid could just be having some beginners luck and the fans of Springfield are just too excited over the kid after just four starts--but in his four starts, he has defeated one of the league's best and flat out put the Junior Blues on his back and rallied them into believing in themselves again.

I'm not going to say he's the best goalie in the NAHL, maybe not even on the team as we still have a good back-up in Tyler Parks', but what I do know is that since he has been apart of this Springfield team, he has raised the expectations, given the city and team a lot of hope, and has been showing hopefully a small sample of what he is here to do in the long run.

Junior Blues offense stays hot in St. Louis, beat Bandits 4-1

Chris Sitler netted two goals, Gabe Antoni dominated between the pipes once again, and the Springfield Junior Blues did no looking back on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the second-place Saint Louis Bandits 4-to-1 inside the Hardees Iceplex Center in Chesterfield for the second consecutive day.

Sitler opened up the scoring for the game just 1:18 into the opening period. His goal was the only scoring in the first period as Springfield led 1-0 at the first intermission, but there was twenty-three total shots on goal in the first twenty-minutes, as Springfield fired twelve, while Saint Louis fired eleven.

Springfield had a big second-period as well as they added two more goals onto there lead. Stewart Bell scored a shorthanded goal to put the team up by two before Sitler netted his second goal of the game with less than thirty seconds remaining.

Springfield led 3-0 to open up the third, but a quick Saint Louis goal from Frank Dichiara on the powerplay gave the Bandits slight hope as he scored just 1:37 into the period. With the Junior Blues up two but the Bandits getting numerous opportunities, Mitch Rogge put a wrister in the back of the net at 6:03 of the third and pretty much sucked the air out of the crowd in Chesterfield.

Antoni started his fourth straight game between the pipes today, and once again impressed. He saved 30-of-31 Bandits' shots taken, and played the entire sixty-minutes. As for the Bandits goalie, Spencer Viele got the day off and Tyler Green got the start. He recieved the lost as he saved 25-of-29 Jr. Blues shots.

Springfield went 0-for-6 on the powerplay today--while Saint Louis converted just once out of seven chances. The Bandits once again lost the game despite outshooting the Junior Blues 31-to-29.

Ethan Nauman and Chris Sitler both had two points on the day as Nauman finished with two assists--and Sitler had two goals. Josef Pontasch had one assist in the game while neither MIke Williams nor Kyle Cook scored, but had two shots apiece.

With the weekend sweep of the Bandits, the Junior Blues earned four points and are now in sole-possession of third place in the MidWest following another loss by Coulee Region. The Blues now have 32 points, while Coulee Region still has 28 total.

The Junior Blues will be off next weekend but will return to action on Friday, January 27 when they host Michigan for two games inside the Nelson Center here in Springfield, Illinois.

Saint Louis---------(1) 0 ------(2) 0 -------(3) 1 -----(Final) 1
Springfield----------(1) 1 ------(2) 2 -------(3) 1 -----(Final) 4

Jr. Blues fast start leads to 5-2 win over second-place Bandits

Junior Blues celebrating following Saturday night's
5-to-2 victory over Saint Louis inside the Nelson Center.

If the Springfield Junior Blues are planning on making a serious second-half run, it's obviously got to be soon--and a very good way to gain confidence and get momentum towards doing so would by beating the top-tier teams.

Well, on Saturday night, Nick Townes scored a goal just eleven seconds into the contest, and Springfield never looked back after that as they defeated the second-place Saint Louis Bandits' 5-2 inside the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois in a North American Hockey League regular season contest.

The Junior Blues went into the first intermission with a two goal lead after Mike Williams, who recently returned from injury, netted another goal at 7:41 on Saint Louis goalie' Spencer Viele.

Viele, who has already shut the Blues out this season, saved 28-of-33 on the night--and finally looked human between the pipes. As for Springfield, Gabe Antoni started his third consecutive game, as he earned the win following 38-of-40 save opportunities.

The Bandits had five powerplay opportunities on the night, but only cashed in on one of them when Patrick Pollock scored with just 25 seconds remaining in the ball game to make the score 5-to-2. As for the Junior Blues, they went 1-for-1 on the one-man advantage, as they got a powerplay goal from Kyle Cook at 10:00 in the final period--which made the score 4-0 in favor of Springfield.

Also scoring for Junior Blues in front of the 2,125 Springfield fans in attendance were Kevin Walters and Chris Sitler, which both occured in the third period. Following the win, Springfield took sole possession of third-place in the MidWest with now 30 total points following a loss by Coulee Region.

Despite the Junior Blues victory, the Bandits' still managed to outshoot them 40-to-33 and now lead the season series 6-2. The two teams will play the series wrap-up tomorrow afternoon at 2pm inside the Hardees Olympic Center in Missouri.

Saint Louis----------(1) 0 ------- (2) 0 ------- (3) 2 -----(Final) 2
Springfield-----------(1) 2 ------- (2) 0-------- (3) 3 -----(Final) 5

The Game's Top Three Stars':

1st Star: Kevin Walters (Springfield) -- 1G, 1A (2 Points)

2nd Star: Chris Sitler (Springfield) -- 1G, 1A (2 Points)

Third Star: Kyle Cook (Springfield) -- 1 G (1 Point)

official game boxscore from NAHL

Jr Blues and Bandits set for two-game battle (Preview)

Springfield Junior Blues
(13-20-2, 25 Points--Third place in the MidWest division)
Saint Louis Bandits
(24-8-2, 50 Points--Second Place in the MidWest division)

Team Leaders:
Springfield: Kyle Cook (34 points--17G, 17A), Chris Sitler (33 Points--12G, 21A), Josef Pontasch (32 Points--11 G, 21A), Gavin Tufte (25 Points--8G, 17A), Ethan Nauman (24 Points--10G, 14A)

Saint Louis: Joe Kalisz (43 Points--20G, 23A), Joesph Birmhingham (35 Points--13A, 22A), Framk Dichiara (31 Points-15G, 16A), Ryan Stouffer (24 Points--10G, 14A), Stephen Bopp (23 Points--10G, 13A)

Previous Meeting This Season: (Seven Meetings; STL leads 6-1)
-Springfield Junior Blues 2, Saint Louis Bandits 6
-Saint Louis Bandits 4, Springfield Junior Blues 0
-Springfield Junior Blues 4, Saint Louis Bandits 1
-Saint Louis Bandits 4, Springfield Junior Blues 2
-Saint Louis Bandits 6, Springfield Junior Blues 1
-Springfield Junior Blues 2, Saint Louis Bandits 4
-Springfield Junior Blues 2, Saint Louis Bandits 3

Saint Louis Bandits previous five games:
-Saint Louis Bandits 6, Springfield Junior Blues 1
-Saint Louis Bandits 4, Springfield Junior Blues 2
-Saint Louis Bandits 3, Springfield Junior Blues 2
-Topeka RoadRoaders 4, Saint Louis Bandits 0
-Topeka RoadRunners 4, Saint Louis Bandits 1

T-Cobb's Weekend Analysis and Weekend Predictions for Series against Saint Louis Bandits
The Springfield Junior Blues open up a two-game series on Saturday night against the division's second-place Saint Louis Bandits--and it's a matchup of two teams that seem to be heading two different directions. The Junior Blues had lost five straight games heading into the year 2012, but ended that streak last weekend when they beat Kalamazoo in a shootout last Friday night--then losing in a shootout to the Jr. K-Wings, putting them into sole possession of third place in the MidWest. As for the Bandits, they are still in second in the MidWest, and have already won 24 games on the season, but enter the conest after having lost two straight at the hands of the Topeka RoadRunners. These two teams don't seem to have much "like" towards each other, and with the two game series being a home-and-away, this weekend could turn out to be a very dramatic one.

T-Cobb's Prediction: Springfield and Saint Louis split the series (both teams win home game)

T-Cobb's Jr. Blues Weekend Recap: vs. Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings

Friday's Game: Springfield Junior Blues 3, Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings 2 (OT-Shootout)
The Springfield Junior Blues rallied back from down two goals in the final minutes of regulation before knocking off the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings in a shootout, 3-to-2 on Friday night in a North American Hockey League game inside the Nelson Center. Kalamazoo came out of the gates firing as they netted two goals in the first-period behind the likes of Anthony Appleyard and Jacob McDowell--and that was it, until the third period. Entering the final twenty-minutes or regulation, Kyle Cook netted a puck between the pipes--and three minutes later, so did Jordan Johnson. Following a scoreless five minute-overtime, the Junior Blues outscored the visiting opponents, 3-to-2, and captured the win. Head coach Joe Dibble awarded Gabe Antoni his debut behind the net, and he didn't disappoint. In his first game between the pipes, he allowed just two goals on 34 shots at him. With the win, Springfield moved into a tie for third place.

Saturday's Game: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings 3, Springfield Junior Blues 2 (OT-Shootout)
Saturday night's game featured some familiar drama--except this time, for the visiting team. The Springfield Junior Blues carried a 2-1 advantage heading into the third-period--and to exact--19 minutes, and 50 seconds. With ten second remaining in regulation and a 2-1 Jr. Blues lead, the Jr. K-Wings took advantage of the extra-man advantage when they pulled the goalie, and had a wrist-flicker find the net from the the likes Jacob McDowell. The teams once again played another scoreless five minutes of overtime, and in this shootout, Kalamazoo took advantage. They scored on three of the four shootout rounds and walked outside of the Nelson Center with a series-split. The Junior Blues got goals from the likes of Tyler Rehm and Mitch Rogge.

Jr. Blues collapse late in third period; Wings win in shootout, 3-2

Less than twenty-four hours later following the Springfield Junior Blues dramatic come-from-behind win in a shootout on a Friday night; Saturday night featured much of the same story--except this time, the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings were on the winning side of things.

The Jr. K-Wings got the game-tying goal from Jacob McDowell with just ten seconds remaining in regulation; and following a scoreless overtime period, Kalamazoo outshot Springfield 3-to-1 in the four-round shootout to defeat the Junior Blues 3-to-2 inside the Nelson Center in a North American Hockey League regular season contest.

Kalamazoo got a powerplay goal from Brandon Flood at 9:38 of the first period--and they led 1-0 at the first intermission. Then the Junior Blues' Tyler Rehm scored a goal just 48-seconds into the second and Friday night's shootout-hero for Springfield, Mitch Rogge, followed with a goal of his own just 3:18 into the period; just 150 seconds later, to give the Junior Blues a 2-1 lead.

Following the two quick second-period goals from Springfield, the rest of the second period was dominated by good goalie performances from both teams. The entire third-period was scoreless, as the Wings had 17 shots on goal, and the Blues had 14. Kalamazoo proceeded to trail 2-1 throughout most of the game, but with just 10 seconds remaining in regulation, the K-Wings took advantage of the extra-man advantage by netting the game-tying goal from McDowell, and forcing overtime.

The two teams played a scoreless overtime as the Junior Blues had three shots on goal, and Kalamazoo had just one shot. The game ended in a shootout as the Wings scored goals on there first three chances, while Springfield scored just one time, which was scored by Mike Williams in the third round. Andrew Graves, Brandon Flood, and Kyle Gattelaro netted goals in the shootout for Kalamazoo.

Gabe Antoni was in net for his second straight game following his team-debut in Friday night's victory, and he recorded the loss after he saved 33-of-35 shots, and played all 65-minutes. As for Kalamazoo, Kenneth MacLean was given the win as he saved 52-of-54 shots.

The Springfield offensive attack got a season-high 54 shots on goal--as both Mike Williams and Stewart Bell had eight shots apeice, Gavin Tufte got seven shots on goal, and Ben Kramer had six.

The Junior Blues gained a point despite the loss, and overall moved to 13-20-2 on the season. With the one point earned, Springfield moved into sole possession of third-place in the MidWest following a regulation loss by Coulee Region. The Jr. Blues will play two against first-place Saint Louis next weekend, with one game at home and one game on the road.

Kalamazoo-------------1--------0-------1-----(3) 3
Springfield-------------0--------2-------0-----(1) 2

Goals Scored:Kalamazoo-(1st) Brandon Flood (PP**Brett Beauvais) 9:38; (3rd) Jacob McDowell (Brandon Flood, Sean Campbell) 19:50
Springfield-(2nd) Tyler Rehm (Brett Skibba, Stewart Bell) 0:48; Mitch Rogge (Guan Wang, Cody Dixon) 3:18

Shootout Results
1st Round: SPR-Mitch Rogge (NO) KAL-Andrew Graves (YES) 1-0 KAL
2nd Round: SPR-Kyle Cook (NO) KAL-Brandon Flood (YES) 2-0 KAL
3rd Round: SPR-Mike Williams (YES) KAL-Kyle Gattelaro (YES) 3-1 KAL
4th Round: SPR-Kevin Walters (NO) KAL-Jacob McDowell (NO) 3-1 KAL final

Jr. Blues rally to beat Kalamazoo in shootout, 3-2

Kyle Cook and his Springfield Junior Blues haven't had much to be very happy about lately with the team's recent struggles--but Friday night may have been a huge momentum-changer for head coach Joe Dibble and his team for the remainder of the season.

Despite trailing 2-0 throughout most of the game, Springfield rallied to score two goals in the third period to tie the game, got an eye-popping debut from new goalie Gabe Antoni, and the Junior Blues rallied to defeat the Kalamazoo Jr. K. Wings 3-to-2 in a shootout inside the Nelson Center in a North American Hockey League contest.

For the 1,150 Springfield fans in attendance, on a night that started to look a little much too familiar to the past five Junior Blues contests, it ended up being a pretty electric night.

Throughout much of the first fifty-minutes of regulation, the Wings held a 2-0 lead following two first-period goals from Anthony Appleyard and Jacob McDowell, and had looked to have a pretty solid win on the way--but not against these Junior Blues, and not on this very night.

Entering the third period, Kalamazoo held a 2-0 advantage over the hometown team--but a team-leading seventeenth goal from Cook at 10:28 continued with a Jordan Johnson goal at 13:54--which proceeded to a 2-2 game at the end of regulation--and overtime.

With Springfield owning the momentum heading into overtime, it certainly showed--but didn't lead to any results. The Blues recorded eighteen shots on goal while the road team only had one--but still the teams went into a shootout.

The six-round shootout featured twelve shooters total, recorded five finding the back of the net, and ended in a game-winning goal from the Junior Blues' Mitch Roggie. Roggie lit the lamp up in the sixth round and sent the Nelson Center crowd home excited and very pleased following the effort.

Antoni saved 21-of-23 Kalamazoo shots on goal, as well as four out of six shootout shots, earning him his first career NAHL victory in his debut. As for the visiting team, Alex Okicki earned the overtime loss for the Wings as he saved 39-of-41 Springfield shots--but allowed three of six shootout shots to find the back of the net.

Following the win, Springfield moved up to tie Coulee Region for third place in the MidWest division with 27 points. The same two teams will be back at it on Saturday night at the same place, with the puck dropping at 7pm.

Kalamazoo-----------2------0-----0-------2 (2)
Springfield------------0------0-----2------3 (3)

Goals Scored:
Kalamazoo-(1st) Anthony Appleyard (unassisted) 5:19; Jacob McDowell (shorthanded) (Kyle Gattelaro) 18:01
Springfield-(3rd) Kyle Cook (Ben Kramer, Kevin Walters) 10:28; Jordan Johnson (Cody Dixon) 13:54

Shootout Round:
1st Round: SPR-Josef Pontasch (NO)---KAL-Andrew Graves (YES) 0-1 KAL
2nd Round: SPR-Kyle Cook (NO)---KAL-Robbie Payne (NO) 0-1 KAL
3rd Round: SPR-Kevin Walters (YES)---KAL-Jacob McDowell (NO) 1-1
4th Round: SPR-Ethan Nauman (NO)---KAL-Austin Hervey (NO) 1-1
5th Round: SPR-Mike Williams (YES)---KAL-Kyle Gattelaro (YES) 2-2
6th Round: SPR-Mitch Rogge (YES)---KAL-Taylor Burden (NO) 3-2 JR BLUES

Junior Blues look to flip the script in 2012

With the way that the year of 2011 ended for head coach Joe Dibble and his Springfield Junior Blues, I don't think there was any team in the NAHL that could have been happier when the calander hit 2012.

Well, that statement could just be a little bit bold, but still, you get the point.

The Junior Blues had one of the best offensive attacks throughout the first half of the 2011-2012 NAHL season, but that didn't help them out much during this current five game stretch.

Springfield finished the calendar year of 2011 with five straight losses, including two straight shutouts to the hands of Peter Traber and the Topeka RoadRunners. The Jr. Blues, who fell to 12-20-1 (25 points) on the season following the 3-0 loss on Saturday night, remain in fourth place in the MidWest division.

During the current five game stretch for head coach Joe Dibble and his squad, the team has scored just five goals. Springfield hasn't scored in it's last 128 minutes and 37 seconds on the ice--the team's last goal was a short-handed goal by Ruslan Pedan during the third-period of a 3-2 loss to St. Louis on December 18.

Also, the team has gone over four games now without a goal at even strength (271 minutes; 17 seconds), and the last one they scored came from Chris Sitler at 8:43 of the second period in a game on December 16 against the Bandits as well, during a 6-1 loss.

But let's just hope that that stretch is over. The calendar officially switched over from 2011 to 2012 on Sunday morning at midnight, and a new year, means new hope and hopefully a fresh start with this squad overcoming a lot of adversity.

Entering 2012 and the second half of the season, the Junior Blues are currently right there in the playoff mix in the MidWest division. The NAHL playoffs' consist of four teams from each division--and right now Springfield currently holds a comfortable lead over the last place Chicago Hitmen (by 12 points).

The team still has an entire three months left on the season, and with the potential that this team has, I still have a lot of hope for a very good ending to this season. For those of you who don't know, despite what we seen these past five games, the Blues are just one of six teams with three guys with atleast thirty-points, and they are currently in the top ten in goals-per-game in the entire NAHL.

Both Kyle Cook and Chris Sitler own 33 points each, which ties them for the team lead--and Josef Pontasch has 32 points. Cook leads the team in goals with 16 total--while Sitler and Pontasch are tied for the team lead in assists with 21 apiece. Cook, Sitler, and Pontasch have shown that they have the ability to score the puck at any point-and-time that they have the puck.

Aside from the "Big Three", the Blues also have two more guys on the roster with atleast twenty-four points. Gavin Tufte has quietly tallied 25 points with eight goals and seventeen assists, and Ethan Nauman has put up 24 with ten goals himself.

As for the men between the pipes, the goalies haven't been all that bad lately. Both Tyler Parks and Connor Girard have been splitting time--and while Parks has better numbers on paper, they have basically split the time job 50-50. The goalies this season have allowed ninety-eight goals thus far.

This team has the potential to go anywhere that they want to--but focus will be the key. If there is one thing for sure, the team will need to get something going at home. We are currently 6-11-1 at home--and 6-9-0 on the road.

The Junior Blues still have a lot of time to write a miraculous ending to this season, but as the famous saying goes...only time will tell. Let's go Blues.

Traber shuts Jr. Blues out; RoadRunners win 3-0

Head coach Joe Dibble and his Springfield Junior Blues didn't expect to end the year 2011 on a skid--but following Saturday night's loss, that is exactly what they have done.

Peter Traber blocked all twenty-two Springfield shots and recorded his second shut-out in as many days on Saturday night when the Topeka RoadRunners defeated the Jr. Blues 3-to-0 inside the Kansas Expo Centre in Topeka Kansas in a North American Hockey League contest.

The RoadRunners wasted no time to get on the scoreboard thanks to a goal from Ben Bahe, just 3:39 into the first period. Topeka then added another goal at the 10:12 mark in the first from Dan Dupell and they held a commanding 2-0 lead against the Blues' starter, Connor Girard.

Girard was given the loss between the pipes after he allowed three goals on thirty-one Topeka shots. He fell to 4-11 on the season and has now given up fifty-goals on the season.

Sean Gaffney opened up the second period with a powerplay goal for the RoadRunners just 2:29 into the second period. Topeka went 1-for-4 on the one man advantage--while Springfield went 0-for-5.

The loss dropped the Junior Blues to 12-20-1 on the season, and now are entering the new year with a five game losing streak in which the team has scored just five goals during the five game stretch.

The team has outshot for the game 31-to-22 by the RoadRunners, and failed to find the net for the second straight game. Also, the team hasn't scored in it's last 128 minutes 37 seconds of play, going all the way back to a short-handed goal scored by Ruslan Pedan is the third-period of a 3-2 loss to Saint Louis on December 18. The Blues have gone more than four full games without an even strength goal (271 minutes 17 seconds) since Chris Sitler scored at 8:43 of the second in a 6-1 loss to the Bandits on December 16th.

Springfield will host Kalamazoo next weekend on Friday and Saturday night inside the Nelson Center. Both games will be dropping the puck and 7 pm.

Springfield--------------0-----0-----0-----0
Topeka-------------------2-----1-----0-----3

Goals Scored:
Springfield-none
Topeka-(1st)-Ben Bahe (Chris Bond, Dan Dupell) 3:39; Dan Dupell (Ryan White, Jake Lynes) 10:12; (2nd)-Sean Gaffney (PP-Luke Veitch, Michael Pastor) 2:29

Jr. Blues fail to find the net; fall to RoadRunners 1-0

Springfield and Topeka in action
on Friday night inside the
Kansas Expo in Topeka, Kansas

On a night where the Springfield Junior Blues got an outstanding performance from the man between the pipes, they failed to find the back of the net, and the Topeka RoadRunners capitilized on a one-man advantage in a 1-0 win inside the Kansas Expo on Friday night.

The RoadRunners' Michael Pastor scored a powerplay goal with just a little over a minute remaining in the first period, which ultimately turned out to be the eventual game-winner in a game that featured stellar performances from both of the goalies.

The game featured eight total powerplays--three from the Jr. Blues, and five from the RoadRunners.

The Jr. Blues were outshot for the game by a total of 30-to-18, and the only other point that was earned in the game besides the goal from Pastor, was Luke Veitch, who assisted the only goal of the game.

Gavin Tufte and Tyler Rehm both led the Blues with three shots on goal; while Kyle Cook, Josef Pontasch, Rusian Pedan and Nick Townes all put two shots on goal. Meanwhile, Topeka got four shots on goal from Ryan White, and Pastor, who scored the games only goal, had just two shots himself.

The loss by Springfield dropped there overall record to 12-19-1 and they continue to be stuck at 25 points for the fourth consecutive game. As for the RoadRunners, the win improved them to reach 42 points on the season, and currently hold a 4-1 season-series lead between the two teams.

Both teams will play there last game in the year of 2011 tomorrow night at the same place. The puck will be dropping at 6:00 pm Springfield time.

(for live game audio, check the Jr. Blues official facebook page before the game for the link.)

Springfield--------0-------0-----0------0
Topeka-------------1-------0-----0------1

Goals Scored:
Springfield-none
Topeka-(1st)-Michael Pastor (Luke Veitch): 18:47