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!