NAHL Springfield Jr. Blues

Jr. Blues Split with Topeka; Maintain Second Place in Central Division

Published on January 21, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Springfield Jr. Blues News Release


The Springfield Jr. Blues lose Saturday night to the Topeka Roadrunners but come back to split the series Sunday to maintain thier hold on second place in the NAHL Central Division.

In Saturday's game, Chris Gentile ripped a slap shot past Topeka goalie Lyle Rocker(assist Dan Weiss) to cut the first-period deficit to one. Gentile played inspired hockey if front of another huge crowd(1201)at the Nelson Center.

Dan Weiss, scoring twice in the 3rd period, got the Blues within striking distance. The Blues pulled goalie Garret Tinkham to try to even the score, however Topeka scored the empty-net goal to close out the scoring. Weiss's goals were assisted by Darren Rowe, Steve Mohler and Jarod Rickord.

In a rare Sunday afternoon matinee at the Nelson Center, the Blues got revenge when Dan Weiss, the number one star of Saturdays game with two goals, scored in overtime to beat the Roadrunners 2-1. Phil Cook was the number one star though, with several unbelievable saves that kept the Blues in the game.

In what turned out to be a great game of hockey, the Blues trailed 1-0 going into the 3rd period before tying the score with only 8 seconds off the clock. Forward Kyle Greco, who is the teams scoring leader, tied the score off a faceoff in the Topeka end. Cory Patterson and Jon Gaffney assisted on the play.

The Blues, once again, had to battle through penalty problems in both games. "Our penalty killing units are the best in the league", said coach Eric Ballard, who is filling in for the suspended coach Chris Wyler. " They have to be because our guys have been taking alot of dumb, selfish penalties which has been putting our team in a hole. We now have a much-needed 18 day break. The guys can go home and take a break, which we really need. It's nice to send them home with a huge win like this. It will help thier confidence and make us that much more crisp when we come back for the final run towards the playoffs".

Rik Stone, the Blues General Manager, assumed the assistant coaches position during Wylers absence. "This win was very big for us", said Stone. "Topeka is a top team and the boys now know they can compete with the best on any given day".

The Blues play next in Alexandria on February 8th and 9th.

Game Notes... With the game being on a rare Sunday afternoon and given that there were two NFL Championship games on TV, Blues management were extremely happy with the over 600 people who attended the game. It seems that Blues hockey is back on Springfield fan's agenda.

The break will help both forwards Jon Gaffney and Matt Larke, who are nursing injuries. Gafffney has returned to action but is still in a cast on his right wrist. Larke has a slight sholder seperation which cost him to miss both games this past weekend. With both players back in action and the rest of the team healthy, the Blues are going to be even more competitive.

Check out the Springfield Jr. Blues Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from January 21, 2008


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