Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues were unable to quiet the Janesville Jets over the weekend and were unable to pick up any points in the Midwest Division standings. With the two losses, the Jr. Blues fall to 7-13-2-1 for 17 points and remain in 8th place.
Friday night saw the Jets Visit the Nelson Center for the first time this season, and unfortunately, were able to beat the Jr. Blues 5-1. The Jr. Blues opened the scoring when defensemen Zach Peller riffled a shot pas Jets goaltender Matthew Alberti five minutes into the second period. Noah Gibbs would tie the game for the Jets as he banged home a rebound past Jr. Blues goalie JJ Cataldo at the midway point of the period and the two teams would head to break tied 1-1.
From there, it was all Jets in the final frame, as they scored four goals to secure the 5-1 victory. Goal scorers for the jets in the third were Jake Merens, Max Wagener, Kyle Kudrna, and Brady Engelkes. Matthew Alberti stopped 33 of 34 to get the win in net. JJ Cataldo stopped 33 of 38 in the loss.
Saturday saw the Jets continue right where they left off on Friday, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead on goals by Trey Fechko (2), and Max Wagener. The Jr. Blues would cut the deficit to 2 goals in the second period when Isaac Keller fired a shot past Jets goalie Jan Kasal for his 6th of the season. Janesville would answer just over a minute later as Ryan Williams would score on a shot that deflected off a Jr. Blues player past goaltender Nick Bunch. Jr. Blues forward Jagur McClelland would add one more before the period ended as he beat Kasal on a breakaway to head into the break down 4-2.
The Jr. Blues were unable to put any pressure on the Jets in the final period and the only goal scored was from Janesville’s captain Ethan Begg as he was able to capitalize on a Jets power play and secure a Jets victory, 5-2.
Rookie Nick Bunch got the start in net for the Jr. Blues. He stopped 36 of 41 shots faced. Peller, Simzon Koch, and Andrew Schultz all added one assist each in the loss.
Up Next: The Jr. Blues are off this coming weekend and will head back on the road as they travel to Janesville for a pair of games December 1 & 2. They will return home Friday December 8 for a series against the Kenai River Brown Bears.
