Puricelli Leads Jr. Blues to Split with Ice Dogs

Mar 4, 2019

Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues had a whirlwind weekend against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, losing Friday night before bouncing back to win on Saturday. The weekend results drop the Jr. Blues to 4th place in the Division as we currently have a 26-20-3-1 for 56 points.

While the Jr. Blues were flying high from their previous series against the Brown Bears, the Ice Dogs came into town and won convincingly 7-2 on Friday evening. Fairbanks scored first and often as Springfield would be unable to keep pace with them throughout the evening. Brandon Puricelli and Reed Stark each scored for the Jr. Blues while Jack Williams took his 12th loss of the season.

In front of a packed house on Saturday the Jr. Blues looked to make up for a disappointing series opener. Puricelli tallied three points (1 goal, 2 assists) while Kozyrev had two goals himself to lead the Jr. Blues to a 4-1 victory. A complete turn around from the night before, the Jr. Blues scored first and led all night long as the Ice Dogs were unable to complete the sweep or garner any traction against the Jr. Blues. Williams picked up his 17th win of the season as he stopped 38 of 39 shots in the contest.

With 56 points Springfield is one point behind Janesville for 3rd place in the NAHL Midwest Division. The next eight games for Springfield will be against Chippewa, four at home and four away, and could have major implications on the standings.