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