Jr. Blues need big things from the "Big Three"

This isn't the NBA. This isn't the Miami Heat. And this isn't a team full of super-star millionaires with the likes' of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh--but that doesn't mean there can't be a "Big Three" over here in Springfield, on the NAHL's Junior Blues team, correct?

The Junior Blues, who had a sluggish first half, is a team led by three guys that could most definentely lead them back into having a special season. Care to disagree? Oh well, get over it.

Kyle Cook in action

Kyle Cook. Chris Sitler. Josef Pontasch. Remember them three names. The three members of the Jr. Blues that us here in Springfield consider the "Big Three". Watch them out there on the ice together, you'll witness why for yourself.

Through twenty-three games in the 2011-12 season, the three have combined for 70 points. They have scored 27 goals and notched in a total of 43 assists.

Cook has scored eleven goals and notched in fifteen assists. Chris Sitler has scored nine goals and added in fourteen assists, while Pontasch has netted seven while assisting fourteen as well.

Although the three on the ice together combined to be a -2, they all three have the impact to change the game tempo, the score, and the momentum.

Kyle Cook is the team's leading scorer for the Jr. Blues, and has a deadly slapshot. The kid has yet to turn twenty-years young and has already signed to play D1 hockey following this season--so that in itself should tell you about him. He has a lot of heart and emotion as well, which is why he has become a tremendous team leader for the unit this season.

Chris Sitler in action

Sitler, who is second on the team in scoring with nine goals, is finally getting into his grove. He's in his second season with the team and is on pace to put up better numbers than last season if he continues his good play. Sitler has scored two power play goals for the team and is a very shifty passer and playmaker with his fourteen assist (which he finished with 22 assists last season in only seventeen games).

Josef Pontasch, who is twenty years young and getting his first full season in the NAHL this year, is certainly a prospect with a lot of talent and upside. He's tied for the team lead in assists with fourteen so far and has showed tremendous talent with his amazing-visioned passes that he's assisted into the net. Although the team is -6 with him on the ice, he's netted two game-winning goals this season and is one of the team's best playmakers.

Joseph Pontasch in action

These kids certainly aren't world beaters by any means of the imagine, but they are a team full of heart and potential--and when them two mesh well together, all you can really do is just sit back and watch. The Jr. Blues have gotten off to a slow start in the standings department--and if that is going to change, these three kids here will have a large part in doing so.