Jr. Blues Knock Off League-Leader Topeka With New Coach
February 7, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Springfield Jr. Blues News Release
The Springfield Jr. Blues dominated the NAHL league-leading Topeka Roadrunners with a 4-0 win, giving new head coach Andy Maher his first win and goaltender C.J. Groh his first junior hockey shutout.
"The kids in this locker room have the talent to win a championship", stated Maher. " We have made some simple, but important, changes that needed to happen for us to change direction", he added.
The Blues took a first period lead of 2-0 with goals from Jon Gaffney(Zack Kamrass, Rob Dungara) and Brandon Bahnemann(Mike Shaber, Kyle Verbeek). The second period was scoreless. In the 3rd, Shaber scored just 44 seconds into the period with assists by Verbeek and Austin Coldwell. A little over four minutes later, Trent Fry hit the back of the net after a pass from Zack Kamrass. The team played very good positional hockey and kept the Roadrunners on their heels most of the night. While the Blues still can't seem to score on the powerplay, they did move the puck wee and got several good opportunities in the eight chances they had. Groh came up with big saves when the Roadrunners seemed to get thier legs back. The game was an important one as this was the first time the Blues have beat the Roadrunners all season. The coaching change may have provided the spark that the team needed to turn the obvious talent they have into wins. The two teams will go at i! t again tonight at the Nelson Center. Game time is 7:30 - DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!!
North American Hockey League Stories from February 7, 2009
- Stars claim OT triumph - Traverse City North Stars
- Phantoms' Rally Spoiled in Overtime - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Jr. Blues Knock Off League-Leader Topeka With New Coach - Springfield Jr. Blues
- U.S. National Under-17 Team Upends Host Slovakia, 7-1 - U.S. National Team
- U.S. National Under-18 Team Downs Finland, 3-2 - U.S. National Team
- Shootout Win For The Bobcats - Bismarck Bobcats
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