Blaine, Minnesota – The Jr. Blues came into Thursday afternoon’s contest riding high after a 7-0 victory over the Jamestown Rebels, and somehow, they were able to find a way to continue their hot streak as they defeated the Odessa Jackalopes 3-1!
We had another stellar performance in the net by a Jr. Blues goaltender as Ethan Robertson – not to be confused with Ethan Roberts – made his NAHL debut and picked up his first win by stopping 20 of 21 shots. Joey Dosan and Connor Smith scored in the 1st and 2nd periods respectively, while Noah Holt scored a highlight reel goal to give the Jr. Blues a cushion in the 3rd period.
For Odessa, Emerson Goode picked up their lone goal while Noah Rupprecht stopped 18 of 21 while picking up the loss. The Jacks will continue their showcase tomorrow when they play the Maryland Black Bears at 4:30 pm.
For the Jr. Blues, we will look to continue moving in the right direction as we face-off with the Aberdeen Wings in a primetime matchup at 7:15 pm. It’ll be a strong test for the boys as the Wings have been participants in the last two Robertson Cup Championship games – winning it all in 2018-19 and finishing runner up this past season.
Aberdeen will have a lot of new faces this season – both on and off the ice. Head Coach Scott Langer moved onto the USHL, while NAHL Goaltender of the Year & MVP and USA Hockey Junior Goaltender of the Year Jake Sibell moved onto the NCAA.
Behind the Note:
- The Jr. Blues currently have 19 players who have already registered a point this season. Leading the way is Jonathan Panisa with 5 while Connor Smith has 4 and four players are tied with 3.
- Seamus Campbell is on the Aberdeen Wings roster this season. Campbell is one of 11 former Jr. Blues players who are currently playing around the NAHL.
- The Jr. Blues and Wings have played just one time in the NAHL – at the 2017 NAHL Showcase which saw the Jr. Blues win 2-1. Jurja Ovecka stopped 42 of 43 shots in that contest while Nikita Kozyrev scored the game-winning goal.
Tonight’s contest begins at 7:15 pm and we will be the “Away Audio” for the game. If you’re unable to watch on HockeyTV, make sure to follow along on our social media pages for live coverage of all the action!
