A Fine Win
Published on September 30, 2011 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Springfield Jr. Blues News Release
On September 29th, Ryan Hardy notified the Junior Blues Board of Directors that he was resigning as Head Coach of the Springfield Jr. Blues, to pursue college coaching opportunities. While we are disappointed to see Coach Hardy depart we are proud of what he was able to accomplish in his tenure with the Springfield Junior Blues. The club has named Joe Dibble as Acting Head Coach and Jason Powers as Acting Assistant Coach. We are excited that Coach Dibble has accepted the opportunity and we wish Coach Hardy the best in his college coaching career.
A coaching change has been made, and we wish Coach Hardy the best of luck as he pursues his college coaching dream.
The Jr. Blues open their home season back finally, in the friendly confines of the Franklin P. Nelson Center (better known as the "Nellie"). For the second year in a row the good guys have stumbled and struggled out of the gate. After leading the team to a season ending 16 -5, Interim Head Coach Joe Dibble is back at the helm. Tonight, in his first game at the helm, it would be an excellent time to start a big ol' winning streak. The Jr. Blues welcome the Coulee Region Chill to the Nellie for the first time. With the realignment and creation of the new Midwest Division of the North American Hockey League, Coulee Region (located near La Crosse, Wisconsin) joins the Blues, St. Louis, Janesville, and Chicago in the divisional battle.
Things have been jumping this week as the Blues try and right the ship, and a win tonight and tomorrow night would go a long way in doing just that.
We are expecting quit a few of the player's parents in house tonight. Most of them we know well, but a few we haven't met as yet, and I'm looking forward to meeting them. They are only strangers here in the Blues family once. Once we meet, well, they're just family like the rest of us. Game time is on the way.
The first period was a series of intercepted passes and another Stew "Boom-Boom" Bell taking it on the chin for the team. Nobody was able to score until Connor Girard was screened on a shot from the right wing at the 19:46.5 mark. Both teams headed for the locker room to regroup with the score 1 - 0 in favor of the visitors. The Blues need to do a better job taking care of the puck and getting it out of the defensive zone. We'll see how they do in period two. It is up next. Let's get it done Blues!
The second period was the most exciting Jr. Blues period of the year. The Blues tied the game on a top shelf goal by Chris Sitler at 2:52. The Good Guys took the lead on a penalty shot by Mike Williams at the 4:42 mark, as his patented wrister was never seen by the Chill Goalie. The Blues just kept coming in domination of the period when Brett "the Rifle" Skibba added to the tally at 8:15 and Stew Bell put a shot between the pipes at 9:21 of the period. Coulee Region added their second goal at 10:54 to round out the scoring. When the dust settled and the second period ended there had been six goals scored, but more importantly five of them had been scored by our guys. The score after two was Jr. Blues 5, and Coulee Region 2, and the crowd loved it. Period three on the way.
The Springfield Jr. Blues win a big one in the home opener by a final score of 6 - 2. The scoring in the third was rounded out by Blues newcomer Dominic Valencia, and a welcome addition he is. The coaches have some difficult decisions to make over the weekend as the team has to be down to 23 players by Monday. All in all, tonight anyway, the Jr. Blues are back! Congratulations to Coaches Dibble and Powers in their debut on the bench, and congrats too, to the Good Guys! Wow! 6 - 2 final score, and headed in the right direction.
North American Hockey League Stories from September 30, 2011
- Odessa Wins Home Opener 5-3 - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Kalamazoo Falls to Midwest Division Leaders - Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
- Faust, Hellebuyck Lead Way In 5-3 Win - Odessa Jackalopes
- A Fine Win - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Warriors Hand Jamestown 4-1 Defeat - Michigan Warriors
- Monsters Hit the Road this Weekend - Fresno Monsters
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