If you read RealBadRobot's link list yesterday (you did read it, right?) you would notice that the St. Louis Bandits of the North American Hockey League are ceasing operations for 2012-2013. This is the team that was partly owned by Kelly Chase. Three hundred miles to the northeast, the Chicago Hitmen franchise in lovely Geneva, IL folded permanently. The Midwest Division of the NAHL currently stands at three teams in the Coulee Region Chill, Janesville Jets and Springfield Jr. Blues. In the North Division, the Traverse City North Stars folded as the team's owner brought the Soo Eagles of Sault Ste. Marie, MI, into the NAHL fold. The Texas-riffic South Division fields all seven of the same teams it had last year. In a crazy turn of events in the West Division, the Alaska Avalanche are moving the team part and parcel to Johnstown, PA. The team will be renamed (they were initially listed as the Chiefs). The sole Canadian team, the Dawson Creek Rage of Dawson Creek, BC, folded two weeks ago with only a short message on their website. This leaves the West Division with two teams in Alaska, one in California and one in central Washington. The Central Division retains its five teams, with the Alexandria Blizzard moving from its hockey-saturated town in Minnesota to Brookings, South Dakota.

Sure, you could leave the divisions as is, but that would be a mistake. So, just like last year, we're not here to start no trouble, it's time again to do the Realignment Shuffle!

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The St. Louis Bandits won their spot in the NAHL's Robertson Cup Finals last night by beating the Springfield Jr. Blues 5-3. The Jr. Blues won only one game in the best-of-five series, a 1-0 decision in Chesterfield.

State Journal-Register Story here.

The boys played hard all year long. It's tough to come back from a long losing streak, and that has been the hallmark of the past two seasons. Two early-season losing streaks can really disrupt a team's progress. The Jr. Blues have faltered in the season-opening NAHL Showcase twice so far, but each time they've fought back to make a run to the playoffs. There will be a big disruption in the team next season as players age off, new owners take the reins and the coaching situation gets resolved once and for all. I'm not completely convinced that the new owners aren't looking to move the Jr. Blues west after a few years. The new owner has a junior team in San Jose in a league lower than the NAHL, and having a second California team might help the current team in Fresno have a nearby competitor.

This off-season will be big regardless of the Jr. Blues not making it to the playoffs. The Bandits are scheduled to "go dormant" after the season is over, and the Chicago Hitmen have been shut down, maybe permanently. I hope the new owners don't bail as fast as the head coach hired at the beginning of the season. It takes a lot of money to run a junior team these days. The Jr. Blues have survived almost 20 years now in one city, so maybe longevity and stubbornness will keep the team running for a little longer.

Ugh. It was a terrible night for the Jr. Blues last night. What do you expect when the referee allows your opposition to run your goalie all night, though? Well, what you get is a 2-1 deficit at the end of the first that spirals into a 6-1 deficit plus a goalie change by the end of the second. Goaltender Gabe Antoni was slashed, checked into the net, punched, and generally landed on in scrums by St. Louis players. I'm quite surprised I didn't see a flying elbow from the top of the net land on him.

The first period saw the Jr. Blues fighting back from a 2-1 deficit after Bandits players Joseph Birmingham and Patrick Pollock scored early. Chris Sitler fought his way through a pile of Bandits players to sink the first Jr. Blues goal at 17:17.

The second period was dominated by the Bandits, as they scored two goals and piled onto the Jr. Blues goaltender repeatedly. After meeting with the trainer, it was decided to pull Antoni for Tyler Parks. At 13:51, Springfield defenseman Kevin Walters was given a 10-minute misconduct for abuse of officials. That's what happens when you tell the referee who officiated the game last night to pull his head out of his ass. Even with Parks in the net, the Bandits still managed to score two goals. Their aggression towards the goaltender was matched by their forecheck and backcheck. The Jr. Blues were completely unable to set anything up for a scoring chance in the second. The second period ended with the Bandits leading 6-1.

The Jr. Blues were pretty much finished by the third, but there was a matter of pride that brought them back into the game. After a seventh goal by the Bandits (a powerplay goal that was caused by Coaches Dibble & Power getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty) the Jr. Blues fought back. The Jr. Blues sank to their opponents' level when Kyle Cook landed roughly on Bandits goaltender Spencer Viele. In one of the odder moments of the night, Viele was given a penalty for roughing at 9:26. This gave Springfield a little hope. Guan Wang, Ethan Nauman and Kyle Cook scored goals in a two-minute span at 11:03,12:33 and 12:52 respectively. Nauman's goal was short-handed, thanks to yet another call by the eagle-eyed referee. At 12:52, Kyle Cook was tripped on a fantastic breakaway, and he was awarded a penalty shot. He sank it past Viele to bring the score to 7-4. The Jr. Blues had their offense smother for the rest of the game. At 16:57 former Jr. Blue Taylor Wolfe scored from the blue line to give the Bandits and 8-4 lead. They held on to win with that score.

Yeah, I'm a little pissed off at the officials. The referee seemed to turn a blind eye to Bandits penalties in the second, and didn't do much in the third, either. He missed a lot of the Bandits' elbows, checks to the head, hooks and trips. I'm also beginning to wonder if his borrowing a Bandits warm-up jacket during his pre-game warmup laps wasn't a sign of things to come.

Regardless of this lousy result, the Jr. Blues are still in the playoffs. They have two more regular season games at Janesville to close out the season on the 30th and 31st. I'll be attending the game on the 31st. It should be fun.

The next home game for the Jr. Blues is Friday April 13. It's a playoff game, so the cost for tickets is $10. The boys will have already played their first two playoff games in Janesville, so this is the third in a five-game series. The puck drops at 7pm.


State Journal-Register recap

Jr. Blues website recap

The Springfield Jr. Blues have really turned a corner this year in terms of team quality. Last season the Jr. Blues had a hell of a time against the Bandits. The season series is 4-6-0 in favor of the Bandits. Tonight the Jr. Blues managed to beat the Bandits and bring the season series to 5-6-0.

The first period was played very tightly. Both teams kept up their aggression levels on the forecheck and backcheck, but the Bandits would end the first period outshooting the Jr. Blues 17-7. Neither team could take advantage of any of the penalties, either. Springfield's penalty kill unit was successful three times and St. Louis' PK worked for their one infraction. The first period ended with no score on either side.

The second period lit up the scoreboard. Josef Pontasch opened up the scoring for the Jr. Blues with his 24th goal of the year at 1:31. It took St. Louis almost ten minutes to respond when Frank Dichiara answered with a goal at 10:31. At 16:49 one of the fourth-line favorites, Tyler Rehm, tipped in a shot for his sixth goal of the season to break the tie and put Springfield up 2-1. Not to be outdone, Kyle Cook capitalized on a penalty by former Jr. Blue Taylor Wolfe at 18:23 to expand the Jr. Blues' lead to 3-1. Cook's power play goal would be the only successful power play of the game, and was Cook's 30th of the season.

Rehm's tip-in was a textbook example of how a team's big man should play around the crease at the junior level. At 6'4" and 223 pounds, Rehm is often found making sure that no one takes advantage of the rest of the team, a duty shared by Springfield's captain, Stewart Bell. It's fun to watch the grinders play their game. Much like the St. Louis Blues, the Jr. Blues fourth line does everything it can to provide checks, wear down the first line and keep the puck in the opponents' defensive zone. Rehm's physical presence provides the muscle for his linemates Bell and Brett Skibba. He also racks up penalty minutes along with Bell as the primary fighters of the team. Fortunately for both teams, no one decided to drop the gloves tonight. Playoffs are just around the corner for both teams, so no one wants to be the guy who missed a scoring opportunity right now.

The third period of the game got off to an auspicious start at 0:37 with Ethan Nauman scoring his 19th goal of the season. The Bandits took less time after that goal to answer when Joe Kalisz scored at 3:28. For the last five minutes of the third period the Bandits spent most of their time with an empty net. Kalisz scored again at 16:38 bringing the Bandits dangerously close to tying the game. For the rest of the game the Bandits stayed with an extra attacker and kept the Jr. Blues from being able to score any empty-net goals.

Springfield goalie Gabe Antoni blocked 46 of 49 shots by St. Louis. In contrast, St. Louis goalie Tyler Green stopped 24 of 28 shots. The Bandits racked up 24 shots on goal in the third period alone. It was a busy night at the net for Antoni, but he held on for the win.

Total attendance for the night was 1,115.

The next game is March 24th at 7pm at the Nelson Center. It's College Commitment Recognition night for the players and also Billet Recognition Night, honoring the families who spend six to eight months of the year with an extra person added to their family. The billet families do great work in ensuring that the boys get the stability they need to keep playing at high levels. Junior hockey would be much tougher without them.

Tickets are available at the box office next to the front entrance of the Nelson Center. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors.

ALSO: Playoff tickets are available for the Jr. Blues' first playoff home game on Friday, April 13. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors. They'll have already played two playoff games in Janesville, so let's hope the boys representing Springfield can make their first home game the one that sweeps the Jets out of contention.

I almost arrived late at this game, and would have missed a great opening to the first period of the game. This was the largest Sunday afternoon crowd I have ever seen at Nelson Center. 768 paid to get in for a 4pm game. The promotion today was a salute to the grade school kids who raised funds for the Jump Rope for Heart program. The concession crew got swamped. Fortunately the stand is right at center ice so you can just turn around to see the game as it plays. Gabe Antoni started the previous two games, so Tyler Parks got some precious ice time.

Jr. Blues Captain Stewart Bell dropped the gloves with Janesville's Pijus Rulevicius at 0:02. Rulevicius is a brawler and had it not been Bell, Bell's linemate Tyler Rehm would have gladly fought him as well. Rulevicius got the win in close fight, and he would continue to goad the Jr. Blues for the rest of the game. Sadly for him, they decided the best revenge for the fight would be a shutout.

Mike Williams opened up the scoring at 5:39 in the first period with a power play goal assisted by his d-men Kevin Walters and Cody Dixon. Despite trading penalties in the first, neither team could capitalize on their advantage in the first period. Janesville outshot Springfield 16 to 5.

The second period started with the Jr. Blues killing a penalty carried over from the first period. A hooking penalty at 8:48 on Janesville gave Chris Sitler a wonderful little tap in from Walters and Sitler's longtime linemate Josef Pontasch. Pontasch caught his own rebound off of Tony Kujava and passed it to Sitler. The Jr. Blues would go 2 for 3 on power plays. The shot difference was less in the second, going 12 to 8 in favor of Janesville.

Janesville's attempt to fluster Parks with heavy close-in shooting failed in the first two periods, but the Jets continued to hope the Jr. Blues goalie would make a mistake. Their hope was for nothing. Radim Matus scored unassisted at 2:18 to drive a further nail in Janesville's coffin, and Josef Pontasch joined in the scoring at 10:04 from linemates Chris Sitler and Kyle Cook.

Remember how I mentioned the shutout? Yeah, Parks got a shutout. The Jr. Blues use very aggressive forechecking and backchecking to keep opponents off their rhythm. It works well as most of the shots against Parks were weak or unsure. Springfield swept the second-place Jets and got two shutouts in a row on them. Springfield's record goes to 29-25-2 and Janesville goes to 36-18-4.

During the third period the three scratches of the Jr. Blues came out to the stands to sign autographs for some of the kids. Ben Kramer was limping a bit from last night's incident where a Janesville player landed on his leg, but seemed to be a bit upset at not being in the lineup. Bit of a rink rat, that kid. Guan Wang and Gareth Williams were also out recovering from a few minor lingering injuries.

The next games are March 23 and 24 at Nelson Center. They'll be playing the St. Louis Bandits, the Midwest Division's first place team. The Jr. Blues will need to dig deep to keep the Bandits from clinching the division title at Nelson Center. Game time is 7pm on both nights, and tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for kids, military personnel and seniors. Friday's game will be the last in their player trading card/ refrigerator magnet giveaway and Saturday's game will be the College Commitment and Billet Family Recognition game.

While I can't give out any discounts or anything, I'd love to see some more SLGT presence at the games. If you can make the drive to Springfield for a game please consider it. The boys do better with a packed house.

State Journal-Register recap

Jr. Blues website recap

Last night's game was a nail-biter wondering if the Springfield Jr. Blues would be able to answer each of the goals scored by the Janesville Jets. Tonight's game was a nail-biter wondering how the Jets would answer the Jr. Blues' goals and if defenseman Ben Kramer would be able to skate again after a Janesville player fell on his ankle.

The first goal scored by Springfield tonight was popped in by Gavin Tufte in the second period. The goal judge saw the puck cross the line and lit the red lamp. Unlike most NHL events where you've got a goal judge sitting behind a bank of video monitors to watch the puck, the Jr. Blues still rely on a goal judge sitting in a booth behind the net. (If anyone would like to donate an array of of NHL-grade cameras and monitors to assist our goal judges, please contact the Springfield Park District.) The Janesville players immediately protested to the referee, as he was watching from a vantage point by the blue line. The referee called no goal at first, then consulted with the goal judge and confirmed the goal judge's call. All was well.

Ben Kramer, one of the fastest defensemen I've ever seen on the ice got a nasty surprise when one of Janesville's players landed on the back of his leg in the second period. Kramer limped over to the bench and stayed there for most of the period, but skated a shift very gingerly to end the second. He was still feeling the effects in the third but slowly got himself back up to speed.

The second period also had the only fight of the night: Mike Williams and Janesville's William Preston dropped the gloves at 14:07 near the Janesville goal. Preston said something Williams didn't like and found himself on the losing end of the fight. Well, it wasn't much of one. Williams did most of the punching and Preston did most of the falling over. Still, Big Mike knows how to deal with problem opponents.

Highlight of the night: Mike Williams' parents were in town tonight, and they finally got to see one of the fans in the front row. A little boy who is probably around three or four years of age has a Jr. Blues kids' jersey from last season. His mom got Williams' name and number added to the back of the boy's jersey. Mike knows about it, as he's signed the jersey on the numbers. His parents finally got to see it and were able to take a picture. You can't tell me that won't make a parent proud of their kid to have such a dedicated young fan.

Springfield goes to 28-25-2 and Janesville's record is now 36-17-4. There are now five games left for the Jr. Blues: one home game vs. Janesville on March 18, two home games against the St. Louis Bandits on March 23 & 24, and the last season series will be March 30 & 31 against Janesville at Janesville's arena in Wisconsin.

Attendance tonight was 801. It was also Fan Appreciation night, with $1 beer and food items.

The next game is March 18 at 4pm at the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois. It's $8 for adults, $5 for the kids, military personnel and seniors.

State Journal-Register recap

The Springfield Jr. Blues took on the second-place Janesville Jets last night at Nelson Center in Springfield. An overtime power play goal by Ben Kramer sealed the win for the Jr. Blues. Since the first of the year the Jr. Blues were on a tear through the league, but it was only barely enough to overcome their early-season woes and back themselves into the NAHL Playoffs. The boys have worked really hard this year.

Kramer's overtime goal was a thing of beauty. Kyle Cook drove the puck into Janesville's zone surrounded by all three of the Jets' players. Pijus Rulevicius was sent to the penalty box at 4:15 of overtime for cross-checking, givng the Jr. Blues enough space to do their thing. Cook set up for a drop pass to Josef Pontasch and Pontasch dragged the puck to goalie Tony Kujava's left. Kujava followed the puck and and Pontasch fired the puck... right over to defenseman Ben Kramer who fired into a wide-open net. Janesville fell for it hook, line, and sinker and the Jr. Blues notched another win over .500.

The boys have a big homestand ahead of them: two more games against Janesville and two games against the first-place St. Louis Bandits next weekend. Their regular season ends where it began, at the Chesterfield IcePlex against the Bandits on the 30th & 31st.

Attendance for last night was a measly 402. Four straight weekends of away games really kills the enthusiasm of fans and often leads the casual fans to forget. Hopefully tonight will be better.

State Journal-Register recap

Tonight's game is once again at Nelson Center. Tickets are $8 for adults, $4 for kids and it's Fan Appreciation Night, so food and beer should be cheap. The game starts at 7pm.

Last night's game against the Topeka Roadrunners helped the Springfield Jr. Blues maintain hopes of a playoffs spot. They beat the Roadrunners five to two and improved their record to 20-21-2.

Official recap is here.

The box score can be found here.

The Recap in the State Journal-Register can be found here.

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Link to Jr. Blues recap here.

Link to box score here.

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The Springfield Jr. Blues beat the Michigan Warriors 3 to 1 tonight at Nelson Center in a well-paced and balanced match.

The State Journal-Register writeup is here.

The box score is located here.

The top half of the Blues' defensive zone was dangerous tonight not because of the play but because of the ice. Three players and the referee each tripped around the same spot during the game. Play continued without any inspection of the ice, so they must have accepted the rut as part of the surface and continued.

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The Springfield Jr. Blues are playing a two-game series against the Michigan Warriors at the Nelson Center in Springfield, IL. The games start at 7pm with each night being a slightly different promotion night. Friday night, local NASCAR driver Justin Allgaier will be in attendance as the Jr. Blues have their annual Polar Party. While I've never been much for partying outside in the winter, hey, it's an excuse to drink. (Note to CrossCheckRaise: 16-ounce cans of Stag will be available.) The party starts at 5pm. Tickets to the game are $8 for adults, and $5 for kids, seniors and military personnel.

Saturday night's game is Firefighter's Night. Firefighters and their families will receive reduced ticket prices to $4 each. Regular prices are $8 for adults and $5 for kids, seniors and military personnel.

Please note that I have no formal connection to the Springfield Jr. Blues organization except as a fan. I'm providing this information because I know people here like hockey. I also love seeing the team play in front of a packed house. The kids seem to play even harder in front of a good-sized crowd.

Here's the link to the Jr. Blues website. Further details are provided there. Come on in if you can make it and cheer on some kids who are playing to get a foot in the door of pro hockey.

"A good time was had by all" is a frighteningly cliched statement. Last night, it was true for the Springfield Jr. Blues fans who showed up to watch the home team face the St. Louis Bandits. The series between the two teams hasn't been much of a rivalry, but a rivalry is indeed there. The two teams are only a little more than 100 miles apart from each other, compared to the 200+ miles to the other teams in the Midwest Division. In the 2010-2011 season, St. Louis handily beat the Jr. Blues in all but two games. This season, the current record vs. St. Louis for Springfield is at 3 wins, 6 losses with three games left to play.

With that said, let's jump into the game reviews:

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The Springfield Jr. Blues returned to the Nelson Center to start 2012 against a non-divisional opponent, the North Division's Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings. This is Kalamazoo's first season back in the NAHL after a long absence. They last fielded an NAHL team (the Jr. Wings, now in Aberdeen, SD) in the 1993-94 season, which also happens to be the Springfield Jr. Blues' inaugural season. The 12-20-2 Jr. Blues were left reeling from last week's losses to Topeka, while the 18-12-1 Jr. K-Wings were coming off of an 8-2 win against the Michigan Warriors. The home team managed to not only come back from a 0-2 deficit after two periods, but also managed to beat the pesky Jr. K-Wings in a six-round shootout.

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Apparently one cannot expect wins on a consistent basis when one is facing the best team in the division. The Springfield Jr. Blues were swept in this weekend's best of three series against the St. Louis Bandits. Tyler Green had a great show again, stopping 28 of 30 shots for the Bandits, and Conor Girard stopped 35 of 38 for the Jr. Blues. St. Louis goes to 24-6-2 and Springfield drops to 12-18-1 for season records. It's gonna be a long year.

Here's the actual decent recap at the State Journal-Register for what has to be the third time in as many games. I have to tip my cap to Kevin Tremain, he's really been doing a good job at getting the Jr. Blues mentioned in the paper where someone might actually read about the team and think "Eh, their season can't always be this bad, so why not go to a few games?" Sunday's game was well-attended at 283. Any Sunday game that's closer to 300 than 200 is a well-attended game.

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There's a reason why the St. Louis Bandits are in first place. They know how to keep momentum on their side. As last night's score shows, the Jr.Blues got stomped. The game was an array of almost-ins for the Jr. Blues as goalie Tyler Green stopped 28 of 29 shots. Imperial, MO, native Tyler Parks stayed in goal for the Jr. Blues for most of the game, but was pulled in order to get some ice time for Conor Girard in the 3rd period. The one goal for Springfield came from the team's most productive line, the Sitler-Pontasch-Cook line. Chris Sitler potted a nice little goal while Green was looking in the wrong direction. The majority of the scoring, though was on St. Louis' side. Springfield thankfully didn't give up, matching the Bandits with shots and possession.

The game was also postponed with 1:57 left in the 2nd period after a fan decided to rattle the glass in front of him and broke it instead. The teams went to the locker rooms and resumed the 2nd period, then started the 3rd period after a 30-second time out. Again, it wasn't a great game for the Jr. Blues and the 630 fans who showed up tonight.

In a one-sided game like this, there isn't much to say, so I'll take a look at two of the players who stood out to me: Taylor Wolfe for the Bandits and Chris Sitler for the Jr. Blues. Taylor Wolfe, a former Jr. Blue traded to St. Louis last year managed to fire a nice goal off during the game. Sitler and Wolfe are the kind of guys who have the talent to go further in their hockey careers, but I don't know if they'll make it past this stage. Wolfe came to Springfield last season from the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints, and he's able to show flashes of skill and physicality. The team got him so he could have more playing time, and he scored well. He's got an attitude problem that shows up when his team is doing poorly, though. I think he was traded more out of sympathy than anything, as Springfield coach Joe Dibble wanted Wolfe's talent to show up in the Bandits' playoff run. Sitler only has one problem that would leave him at the AHL or ECHL levels. He's short, 5'6". I think he could develop into a pro player, but he's not Martin St. Louis. That's unfortunate, too, because he's not afraid to check people taller and heavier than he is.

The next game for the Bandits and Jr. Blues is tonight at 7pm. It's being held at the Hardee's IcePlex in Chesterfield, MO. The next Jr. Blues home game will be December 18 at 4pm for a Sunday matinee game. Tickets are $8 at the door.

The original theory about Ken Hitchcock was shamelessly lifted from Anne Elk's "theory about dinosaurs" so I went with something else. Yes, he's very small at the beginning, much larger in the middle and back to small at the end, but that's not the point!

I think Ken Hitchcock might be Santa Claus in disguise. Let me use the magic of "compare and contrast" to determine this theory.

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I may have missed last night's live game and their 500th win, but I am pleased to say that I was at the Nelson Center for the Springfield Jr. Blues' 501st win. A weekend that started with an unexpected loss turned into a series win as the Springfield Jr. Blues beat the Chicago Hitmen 7 to 4. Last night had goals and fights galore. The Jr. Blues decided to keep the party going on a lazy December afternoon. Oh, while it might not have been a natural hat trick, Josef Pontasch got three goals in his hat trick this evening. It was quite the beauty.

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I picked the wrong night to watch the St. Louis Blues instead of the Springfield Jr. Blues. Thanks to the replay on Fasthockey.com, I did manage to see one hell of a game. Holy crap did I pick the wrong night to watch the NHL...

"What do you mean, Ninja?" you ask. "How could junior hockey beat the NHL?"

Two things: insane scoring and bloody bare-knuckle brawling. This recap does not do it justice. This box score also does not do it justice. The Jr. Blues tore the Chicago Hitmen a new one in front of 1,217 fans, many of whom stayed over from the 3rd Annual Guns & Hoses charity hockey match between police and firefighter teams. It also featured the appearance of Barry, the new Rivermen mascot. A mascot who bears (no pun intended) a strong resemblance to a certain pantsless blue rat we all know and love.

The first period saw the Jr. Blues open up the scoring when defenseman Ben Kramer made the first goal at 1:26 with a beauty of a shot off the blue line. Gavin Tufte scored at 7:38 and the Jr. Blues went to the first intermission with a 2-0 lead. The only penalties of note was the fight between Stewart Bell and Alex Murphy at 0:09 followed by roughing double minors handed out to Springfield's Tyler Rehm and Chicago's Brent Formosa at 7:41. Bell won the fight, Rehm drew.

The second period exploded first with goals and then exploded with blood. The Jr. Blues realized that in order to beat your opponent, you must score way more goals than he does. Kyle Cook understood this and netted a powerplay goal at 9:30 for the first goal of the second, following it up with another goal at 11:41. Garrett Williams snuck a goal in at 10:42. Chris Sitler potted goals at 14:24 on the power play and then at 17:56. Chicago got its lone goal of the period at 15:58.

Remember when I said exploding blood? That happened at 18:46. Ruslan Pedan and Cody Dixon, the d-men at the time, tore into Chicago as a line brawl broke out. Pedan fought Chicago's Tommy Dowell and was given an instigator penalty and a game misconduct for the fight. Dixon lit into his opponent, Vince Lacek, taking him to the ice and pounding on him, bloodying the Chicago player's nose and nearly flattening the referee in the process with a wild swing. Lacek made his protest known with an obscene gesture, earning a game misconduct and likely suspension. Dixon managed to not get any extra time other than the fighting penalty, returning to the ice to help Garrett Williams off the ice after an injury. Lacek was sent to the locker room to recuperate. He managed to cover the face-off dot with the blood from his nose and left a bit of a trail that the officials couldn't get out completely. Mike Williams from Springfield also got a roughing penalty as he, Pedan and Dixon went to the box. Lacek went off as his teammates Dowell and Zach Mudge took their own places in the box. The bad blood spilled over when Springfield's Kevin Walters and Chicago's Josh Nardella scrapped a little, each earning a Delay of Game penalty at 19:08. Springfield led 7-1 at the end of the second.

Yeah, I missed one hell of a game while watching another tense game.

The third period was a little more subdued. Anthony Annunziato opened scoring at 5:21 and ended it with a power play success at 18:54 with goals for Chicago. Brett Skibba answered the first goal at 9:36 with a beautiful top-shelf shot, chasing Chicago goalie Nick Kohn out of the game. Garrett Williams scored at 10:34 off of new Chicago goalie Joe Olen. The only penalty that occurred was Cody Kohn's tripping penalty at 17:28, allowing the Hitmen a final power play which Annunziato used to score.

Final score: Springfield 9, Chicago 3. Your three stars: 1. Kyle Cook 2. Garrett Williams 3. Chris Sitler

I knew I should have gone to the game. Turns out it was the 500th win by the NAHL team since its 1993 inception. They even posed with Barry, the new Rivermen mascot at the end of the game. A blue bear replacing the large-jawed riverboat captain? I smell ursine nepotism. Either that or my cats decided to use the rug as a pit stop.

The next game is December 11 at 4pm at the Nelson Center in Springfield. Tickets are still $7.00 the last time I checked.

The Springfield Jr. Blues have once again gotten outplayed by their opponents on their home ice. Last night the Jr. Blues gave up a three-goal lead in the third as they were beaten by the Chicago Hitmen 6-4.

The first period opened and ended with no scoring. The Jr. Blues kept the puck in the Hitmen's zone for a majority of the period.

The second period brought hope for the 876 Jr. Blues fans who showed up as defenseman Cody Dixon opened up the scoring at 6:26. Shigenobu Kakudate answered with a Hitmen goal at 9:48 to tie the game. The team's main scoring line of Kyle Cook, Chris Sitler and Josef Pontasch took the lead again on a power play goal with Cook putting the puck in the net at 10:23. The second line of Ethan Nauman, Gavin Tufte and Dominic Valencia was not to be outdone by the first line, as Nauman scored twice for the Jr. Blues at 11:17 and 14:06. Alec DeAngelo was credited for a goal at 18:30 that saw all five Hitmen players crash the net.

The third period saw the Hitmen take charge of the game completely. The Jr. Blues were stymied by Chicago's new-found defense, and they couldn't keep up with Chicago's scoring. Alex Murphy opened up the gates for the Hitmen at 2:03 with his only goal of the night. He would be the first star of the game with one goal and four assists. Zach Mudge potted his first goal of the night at 5:26, tying the game 4-4. The Jr. Blues managed to keep the puck in the Chicago's zone again, but the Hitmen would take the lead at 18:51 with a goal by David Gandara. Jr. Blues goalie Conor Girard was was pulled shortly after that goal, allowing Zach Mudge to fire a chip-shot into the empty net and secure the lead at 19:52.

The Jr. Blues showed way more life than last week's 4-0 loss to St. Louis, which is the best sign of improvement. Springfield's record falls to 10-15-1 and Chicago's rises to 6-18-1 for fourth and fifth place in the Midwest division, respectively.

The next game for the Jr. Blues is December 10 at 7pm. It will follow the 3rd annual Guns & Hoses charity hockey match at 4pm. It may actually get a little crowded there if last year's event was any indication.

"Billy, the Suicidal Octopus Who Loved Hockey"

Once upon a time there was an octopus named Billy. He spent most of his days in the Straits of Juan de Fuca, though every so often he’d find himself drifting to Vancouver up north or Seattle down south. And every time he’d find himself in front of a waterside bar where he could see the patrons watching a hockey game.

The speed! The brilliant tactics thought up on the fly! The most dextrous use of inflexible endoskeletal non-tentacle manipulators to put a puck in a net! Billy watched all these things and became sad. No one in the hockey game would ever want a boneless cephalopod for a teammate. Every night he crept up the side of the dock to watch a game, and every night he floated back to his home with the sad realization that the NHL’s only use for an octopus was in a bizarre sacrificial ritual in the faraway and possibly mythical land of “Detroit.” No one ever said that octopi were any better at geography than most high school students, and Billy wasn’t really much of a map enthusiast. So every night after the he’d just float in his little octopus hovel at the bottom of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and try drinking himself into an early grave with whatever was available. As his tiny liver grew harder and harder, Billy realized that if he couldn’t play hockey, he should just curl up and die.

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Remember all that stuff about the two-game home sweep of the Janesville Jets I talked about earlier and how the Springfield Jr. Blues would do well to remember how they managed that?  Yeah, forget that.  There's a reason why the Jets are now 14-4-1 and the Springfield Jr. Blues are 8-12-1.  The Jets know how to stay focused.  That's why they shut the Jr. Blues out 4-0 in the third game of the three-game set, taking two of three wins and making it tougher for the Jr. Blues to get back to the playoffs.

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Tonight's game between the Janesville Jets and Springfield Jr. Blues went to a shootout.  Many of the spectators saw a team quitting against Janesville's attack through part of the third, but I saw something different.  Is it possible for a team to lose its fire for playing, but not quit and come back to tie a game?  I'd have to say yes after watching tonight's game.

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After last week's sweep by the Topeka Roadrunners, the Springfield Jr. Blues fell to 7-11-0 and things started looking a little bleaker than normal.  As they came off of a two-game sweep of division powerhouse Janesville, there seemed to be a little hope that the Jr. Blues could salvage a game.  After the sweep, the chances of a slump were likely.  The Jr. Blues faced the Janesville Jets again last night in the first of a three-game series, and like their previous two meetings managed to put together a win.

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Well, this season is beginning to turn into last season for the Jr. Blues: lots of heart-breaker games.  Last night's was no exception as the Jr. Blues attempted to prevent a sweep on home ice and take a win out from the Roadrunners.  Springfield played aggressively throughout the game and minimized their penalties.  They're still scrambling around the net and collapsing their defensive lines around the net, and at least two Topeka goals capitalized on Springfield defenders being out of position.  So, how bad was it?  Well, it's wasn't great, but it's survivable.

The first period opened up with some solid defense on both sides, but Jake Lynes of the Roadrunners got the first goal of the game at 7:52.  Chris Sitler answered the challenge with a goal of his own at 13:08, assisted by linemates Josef Pontasch and Kyle Cook.  The period ended with no penalties, and 13 shots on goal for each side.

Period number two saw three penalties, none of which factored into goals for either side.  The Jr. Blues had a very aggressive penalty kill strategy going last night which gave them a few good short-handed goal attempts.  A roughing call on resident Muscovite Ruslan Pedan at 3:19 was matched by a tripping call at 5:11 by Topeka's Ryan White.  An aggressive PK turned into an equally-aggressive power play, but nothing came of it for the Jr. Blues.  Gage Hough of the Roadrunners scored at 10:13 to mark the only goal of the second period. I think this goal could have been prevented had the Jr. Blues players been willing to stay near the puck instead of finishing unnecessary checks.  Paul Byrne of the Jr. Blues took two minutes in the box for high-sticking, but the aggressive PK strategy of the Jr. Blues kept shots out of the net.  The Jr. Blues led in shots on goal at the end of the period 9 to 5.

Scoring was the name of the game in the third period, as both teams stayed full-strength throughout the period.  Jake Lynes opened up with an unassisted goal at 2:28 for his second, and Chris Sitler answered again at 11:26 for his second of the night as well.  At 16:37, Gavin Tufte tied it up for the Jr. Blues and the team shifted its momentum into playing for overtime.  This overconfidence cost them the game, as a lack of coverage between goaltender Caleb Neal and a shot by Topeka's Sean Gaffney scored Topeka's fourth and game-winning goal at 18:55.

The crowd of 713 was into it for the entire game, as the Jr. Blues played more aggressively than they did in the Friday night match.  The Jr. Blues also managed to fix some of their timing issues as well, as there were fewer passes being intercepted or missing due to being a stride off.  They will need it as their next opponent is the Janesville Jets.  They're smarting from a loss to the division-leading St. Louis Bandits and would like to pay the Jr. Blues back for their two-game sweep at the Jets' home arena.  Springfield's record falls to 7-11-1.

The next game for the Jr. Blues is Friday, November 11 at Nelson Center.  It's the first of a three-game series against the Janesville Jets.  Puck drops at 7pm, the gate opens at 6.  Friday will also be the jersey auction for the team's Veterans' Day jerseys.  The Jr. Blues will end their November series with two games in Topeka on the 18th and 19th, so hopefully they'll get two back from the Roadrunners in their arena.  I'll be live-tweeting the game again so you can always look for the #bloozocky tag for what's going on.