Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues are heading to Mason City, IA this weekend for a date with the Central Divisions North Iowa Bulls. The Jr. Blues are coming off a weekend split with the Chippewa Steel but picked up 3 of a possible 4 points losing Friday night 5-4 in OT and winning Saturday 4-3 in OT. The Bulls and Jr. Blues met in Springfield on November 3rd & 4th and the two teams split the weekend with Springfield winning 2-1 and North Iowa winning the second game 4-3 in a shootout.
The Jr. Blues, who currently sit in 7th place in the Midwest Division, have a record of 13-18-3-1 for 30 points and are 6-3-1 in the last ten games. With 2 goals on Saturday, veteran forward Isaac Keller now leads the team in scoring with 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points. Defensemen Jake Peterson is second in scoring with 8 goals and 16 assists for 24 points. 20-year-old goaltender JJ Cataldo continues to carry the load in net for the Jr. Blues. The Stuart, FL native has a record of 12-12-2-1 with 2.93 goals against average and .919 save percentage.
The North Iowa Bulls, who currently sit in 6th place in the Central Division, have a record of 7-25-0-2 for 16 points and are 1-8-0-1 in their last ten games. Forward Jack Seaverson leads the Bulls offensive attack with 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 points. Veteran center Justin Mexico is second in scoring with 7 goals and 5 assists for 12 points in just 17 games played. Goaltender Santo Simmchen has been the go-to goalie for the Bulls and has a record of 2-11-0-1 with 3.18 goals against average and .884 save percentage.
The Jr. Blues and Bulls will faceoff at Mason City Arena Friday and Saturday with both games starting at 7:10 PM. The Jr. Blues will return to the Nelson Center on Friday January 26th when the Janesville Jets come to town for two games.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Forward Hadley Hudak has had the hot hand as of late. The Michigan native has recorded 13 points in the last ten games including 5 goals in the past three games. Hudak is coming off a 2-goal game on Saturday which included the OT winner against Chippewa. Hadley now has 11 goals and 11 assist for 22 points on the season.
