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)