Ouch
Published on December 18, 2010 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Springfield Jr. Blues News Release
The Jr. Blues have been on a roll of late, and a real test of that roll comes to town this weekend. The St. Louis Bandits, Top Dogs of the Northern Division come to town for a two game series right before the Christmas break. Wouldn't it be nice to take two games from our arch rival Oh yeah, you know it would be a super Christmas present from the good guys to their fans.
Tonight we'll see just how good this talented group of players are as they take on one of the premier teams in the NAHL year after year, and our most bitter rivalry. The Jr. Blues are 1 - 3 against the Bandits this year, but haven't played since the early morning game in the middle of the week in Bandit land. That was right before they got back on the bus and ended up hitting the wall and giving Port Huron their first and only win of the year. These still are the same guys, but the team is different. The talent that we knew was there during the rough early season has come around and the future of this team looks extremely bright. Let's go Good Guys!
I went across the way to get a bottle of water before the game starts when the Blues came out for pre-game warm ups. The guys are loose and hyped for the game. They are a confident bunch of guys, but not overly so. It looks like they are ready for this series and ready to take it to the Bandits. This will be a real barn burner this weekend, and the Nellie exudes the same confidence of the team.
Caleb Neal started in goal tonight and the first period turned sour for the Blues in a hurry. St. Louis came out and scored twice in the first minute of the game. The Blues put themselves in a hole and it just got worse as a third goal was scored against Neal before the half way point of the period. Andrew Martin relieved Neal at the 10:30 mark, but the Bandits weren't finished scoring as they added another marker before the horn sounded. Gavin Tufte knocked a rebound into the net for the Blues before the period ended to make the score 1 - 4 after twenty minutes.
Remember how the Blues have played lately. They won't quit and I expect better things in the next two periods. One thing sure they won't quit, and I betcha they make a game of this before the final horn sounds. We'll see.
Period two and it's more of the same. The guys just don't look like the same team. I made up my mind to be positive with my articles this year, but I gotta say it's doggone difficult tonight. It just looks like everyone on the team is having a bad game at the same time. And the crowd is more like the crowds in St. Louis (nearly nonexistent). Maybe if we give away more tickets Maybe tomorrow will be better. It can't be much worse. The guys are playing like somebody pricked their balloon and all of the air is gone.
Final score: 1 - 6. The streak has ended, now it's time to start another one.
North American Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2010
- Wild Sweeps Rage: Vandercook Records Hat Trick - Wenatchee Wild
- Tornado Snap Skid with Thrilling 4-3 Win Over IceRays - Texas Tornado
- 2010 Ends on Sour Note for Corpus Christi, 4-3 - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Bulls Raise Money for Amarillo Youth Hockey - Amarillo Bulls
- Bulls Beat Texas 1-0 - Amarillo Bulls
- Ouch - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Late Goal Lifts 'Runners - Topeka Pilots
- TC falls to Motor City - Traverse City North Stars
- Bobcats Rally to Edge Express - Bismarck Bobcats
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