Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues, proud members of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), are pleased to release more information on how YOU can be part of our 30th Anniversary Season! From Season & Individual Game Tickets to a breakdown of our home schedule, we got everything you need in our 2022-23 Season Preview!
30 Years of Jr. Blues Hockey:
The Springfield Jr. Blues are the longest tenured franchise in the NAHL, two-time Robertson Cup Champions and have successfully moved over 400 players to the NCAA and professional hockey! Among those alumni have been four players who made it all the way to the NHL – Gregg Naumenko, Greg Rallo, Mike McKenna, and Nikolai Knyzhov. Additionally, we’ve also seen alumni succeed at the NCAA level – most recently Dryden McKay, Tommy Nappier, Devin Cooley, Pat Curry, and Ross Olsson.
We have made the postseason 17 times, including three consecutive appearances dating back to 2017-18 (Postseason canceled in 2020, Dormant season in 2021). In addition to our success on the ice, we’ve also made strides off the ice as well. The NAHL named the Jr. Blues the Midwest Division Organization of the Year during the 2018-19 season; in the Illinois Times Readers Poll the Jr. Blues were named the Best Local Sports Team in 2020; and our representative for the Real Men Wear PInk Campaign in 2019 was the overall top fundraiser in Springfield.
Season Breakdown:
This year we will be looking to celebrate our storied history as we welcome in a new generation of hockey players to the Capital City. We will host 28 games at the Nelson Center this season with two additional home games being played at the 2022 Showcase. All in all we will play a 60-game schedule that begins in September and runs all the way to April – with postseason extending into May.
This upcoming season we will have an eerily similar schedule to this past year with a few distinctive changes. For starters, we will once again have two trips up to Alaska: one in November (Fairbanks & Kenai River) and one in March (Fairbanks & Anchorage).
Another repeat for this year will be our lone out-of-division series against the North Iowa Bulls. Our friends from Mason City will host us for Halloween and then make their way down to Springfield to open up our December portion of our schedule. Last season we went 1-2-1-0 against the Bulls in our first matchup against a team from North Iowa since 2009.
Unlike the 2021-22 season, we will not be starting our season before the Showcase. Instead we will host the Shreveport Mudbugs for preseason games the weekend of September 10th and then kick off the season the following week in Blaine, MN at the Greatest Show on Ice. For more information on our opponents at the Showcase, check out our preview article here.
The home portion of the schedule is slow to start the season (just five home weekends between September and December) but picks up quickly following the Christmas break. The Jr. Blues will play half of their regular season home games between January 6th and March 11th, 15 total games between six different teams including the first look for our fans of the newly arrived Wisconsin Windigo.
The hardest stretch of the season will be in the final month: a four week block that includes two weeks in Alaska, a weekend trip to Eagle River, WI, and our final battle with Chippewa. It’s our longest spell away from Springfield, one weekend longer than the stretch in October where we will visit Chippewa, Cloquet, and Mason City.
Here’s a breakdown by opponent of our 2022-23 schedule:
Fairbanks Ice Dogs –
Away: 11/18, 11/19, 3/17, 3/18
Kenai River Brown Bears –
Away: 11/11, 11/12, 11/13
Anchorage Wolverines –
Away: 3/24, 3/25, 3/26
Chippewa Steel –
Away: 10/14, 10/15, 2/10, 2/11
Janesville Jets –
Away: 1/13, 1/14, 4/7, 4/8
Wisconsin Windigo –
Away: 12/9, 12/10, 3/31, 4/1
Minnesota Wilderness –
Home: 12/16, 12/17, 1/27, 1/28
Away: 10/21, 10/22, 2/24, 2/25
North Iowa Bulls –
Away: 10/28, 10/29
2022-23 Ticketing:
Once again we have partnered up with Igniter Ticketing to provide the easiest and smoothest way for our fans to purchase tickets in advance through either a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Adult tickets will be $10 in advance (by website, phone, or in person) and $12 at the door. Children 12 & Under will be $6 in advance and $8 at the door. Children under the age of 2 do not need a ticket for entry.
Season Tickets are now on sale and will be $224 this year – a savings of over $100 when compared to how much it would cost to buy a ticket at the door for each individual game! Season ticket holders will get several perks for this upcoming season that we will release information on as the regular season approaches.
Last season we were pleased to host several birthday parties, work outings, and family celebrations and we are very excited to be a part of your night out this season! We have two Birthday Packages (Gilly’s Fun Pack $120 & Gilly’s VIP Pack $300) that offers a wide variety of options to cater perfectly to your child’s wants and needs.
The VIP Box isn’t only for Birthday Parties, however, you can reserve your seats in either our North End Box (seats approx. 20) or our South End Box (seats approx. 15) for $75. We enjoy working with groups of all sizes to ensure their outing is as enjoyable as possible. Make sure to call our office or send us an email to get a quote for your group!
Community Ticketing Programs:
We are proud to announce that our Classroom of the Game & Youth Sports Team of the Game programs will be back for the 2022-23 season! Both programs operate under the nomination process – once a team or class has been selected we provide complimentary tickets to each student/player and coach/teacher! We then honor them at the game during either a media timeout or intermission game.
Over the last three season, we have been lucky to host over 50 classes and nearly 30 sports teams! This has allowed us to help spread our love for hockey to kids in the local community and expose them to a sport they might not normally have access to. For more information about either of these programs, please email or call our office!
The 2022-23 season is just over ONE MONTH away from kicking off and we want YOU to be a part of our historic 30th Anniversary! Grab your tickets, reserve your spot, and be a part of Jr. Blues Hockey!
