Period one was almost De Javu all over again as the Blues scored on a goal by Chris Sitler at the 1:18 mark with an assist by Cody Kohn. Once again, Gabe Antoni kept the Bandits scoreless through the first making some more spectacular saves on point blank shots. The Blues continue to play with the consistency that has been so often lacking during the first half of the season. Birmingham of the Bandits was assessed a double minor and game ejection for a check from behind late in the period so the Blues will have a man advantage for two minutes to start the second period.
With a couple of interruptions the second period seemed to drag, but the Blues are still in control. A puck was sent airborne and knocked a big pile of rust from the girder to the ice which needed not only squeegee and shovel clean up, but also a mid-period visit by the Zamboni. We had a moment of concern when Gabe Antoni took a puck between his chest protector and neck protector and was laid out on the ice for several minutes. He finally got to his feet and was able to continue, but Blues fans were worried for a few moments. The period saw Stew Bell score a short-handed goal on an assist by Ethan Nauman to make the score 2 – 0 at 4:58 of the period. Then, as time wound down toward the final seconds of the stanza, Chris Sitler scored his second goal of the game with another assist by Ethan Nauman and Josef Pontasch. The Blue and Gold took a 3 – 0 lead into the locker room for the second intermission.
The third period saw the Bandits score their first goal of the game to cut the Blues lead to 3 – 1, but 4 ½ minutes later Mitch Rogge scored with an assist by Cody Kohn (his second assist in the game). Final score in another well-played game by the Blues was 4 – 1.
Next week is an off-week for the league’s Prospect’s Tourney in Michigan, and the Blues host the Topeka Roadrunners at home in two weeks. This was a great weekend for the guys and we congratulate them on a job well done.
