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Springfield Jr. Blues

Jr. Blues Head to Port Huron

January 3, 2013 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Springfield Jr. Blues News Release


The Jr. Blues came out of the short 4-day Christmas break by heading to Topeka, where they were able to earn a victory and weekend split. They returned home to face Michigan, Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon, dropping both hard-fought contests.

The Jr. Blues win 2-1 at Topeka

Leon stops 30 in victory

After spending the holidays with their families, the Jr. Blues returned to Springfield for a practice and then a bus ride to Topeka.

Friday marked the 7th meeting of the season between the two teams as the Jr. Blues skated away with a 2-1 victory. Matt Leon (pictured right) was strong in net as he made some key saves late in the game to preserve the win.

Mitch Rogge scored the first goal of the game, in the second period, after linemate Tommy Cooney created a turnover at the blueline and made a nice pass to Rogge. Rogge fired a shot that beat the Topeka goaltender low to the stick side. Topeka tied the contest less than 10 minutes later, only to give the lead back to the Jr. Blues on the next shift. Ryan Atkinson forced a turnover in the Topeka zone and found himself on a breakaway that he buried.

The Jr. Blues would hold on the win despite being outshot 12-5 in the final period.

Jr. Blues lose 3-1

Jr. Blues split season series with Topeka

The Jr. Blues lost the weekend finale by a score of 3-1. In the final game of the season series between the teams, the RoadRunners were able to manage 3 goals.

The RoadRunners outshot the Jr. Blues 32-17 and jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first. Nate Chasteen (pictured right) scored a powerplay goal in the second to even the score. Topeka would score with less than two minutes remaining in the second to take the lead. They would add to their lead late in the third and skate away with a 3-1 win.

The loss dropped the Jr. Blues record to 4-4 against the South Division powerhouse RoadRunners, who currently have a 20-8-5 record.

Ryan Kellenberger made 29 saves in the loss.

Jr. Blues blow late lead

Michigan scores 4 third period goals in loss

The Jr. Blues returned home early Sunday morning and were back in action Monday night against the Michigan Warriors at home.

Micah Ranum (pictured right) got the Jr. Blues on the board first in the second period on a nice individual effort. Tommy Cooney took the puck to the next hard and Ranum was able to bang in the rebound.

Michigan evened up the game at 1 less than 5 minutes into the third period. Ryan Atkinson gave the Jr. Blues the lead back less than 2 minutes later. Michigan would go on to score 3 unanswered goals, including 2 breakaway goals to close out a 4-2 win over Springfield.

Matt Leon made 25 saves in the loss.

Jr. Blues lose rare afternoon game

Jr. Blues give up 3 goals late in third period

The Jr. Blues jumped out a 2-0 lead in the second period. Ryan Atkinson scored the first goal of the game on the powerplay on a nice feed from Jeff McFarland (pictured right). McFarland, returning to the lineup for the first time in 3 weeks, contributed 2 assists in the game.

Less than 4 minutes later, Brett Skibba would add a goal for the Jr. Blues. McFarland drove the net hard and created a rebound for Skibba who was able to put the rebound in.

However, the Jr. Blues would give up 3 goals with less than 10 minutes to play in the third period and fall 3-2. The Jr. Blues are on the road for the next 3 weekends as they travel to Port Huron this weekend and then Alaska for 12 days to play Kenai River and Fairbanks.

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