Weekend Preview: Chippewa Steel Come to Town

Nov 5, 2021

Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues are looking to get back on track as we host the Chippewa Steel for a two-game series this weekend at The Nelson Center starting tonight! The Jr. Blues are coming off a series split with the Minnesota Wilderness last weekend and currently sit in 2nd place in the Midwest Division with an 11-5-0-1 record for 23 points.

It’s been almost a month since we last squared off against the Steel. Back on October 8th and 9th the Jr. Blues traveled to Chippewa Falls, WI and swept the home team behind 4-3 and 4-1 victories. The series was a physical battle between two clubs who are both looking to be part of the action come playoff time, but the Jr. Blues were able to overcome the Steel thanks in large part to the six points that Joey Dosan scored that weekend.

Now, however, we’re in November and both teams are looking to stay within striking distance. The Jr. Blues and Fairbanks Ice Dogs haven’t been able to pull away from the pack thus far, but we are sitting in a prime position in the standings with our next Alaska trip looming around the corner. The two games this weekend will be a litmus test to see how the boys can rebound from a disappointing shootout loss last Saturday.

For the Steel, it’s been an up-and-down season to this point. They currently sit in 6th place in the Midwest Division with a 9-9-0-0 record for 18 points, including a Thursday victory last week over the Wilderness. They currently trail the Anchorage Wolverines, Minnesota Magicians, and the Wilderness by just one point in the standings and this weekend could prove to be a stepping stone for the Steel to right the ship.

Behind the Note:

  • Cole Schneider comes into this weekend on a 4-game goal streak as he now has 7 goals and 3 assists on the season and is 5th on the team in scoring. He will be aided up front by forward Leo Bacallao who has 8 goals and 7 assists on the year with 7 of those points (3 goals, 4 assists) coming in the last four games.
  • Ethan Roberts is proving himself as a reliable presence in the crease for the Jr. Blues. In 13 appearances so far he has a 7-4-0-0-1 record with a 2.54 GAA, .917 SV% and 1 shutout. He has appeared in 8 consecutive games, starting 7 of them, and now leads the entire NAHL in minutes played (732) and games played (13) and is T-4th in wins.
  • The Jr. Blues finished the month of October with a 6-4-0-0-1 record and 13 points after wrapping up September with a 5-1-0-0 record for 10 points. We currently sit in 2nd place in the Midwest Division and are 3rd in the league overall behind the Maryland Black Bears and Fairbanks Ice Dogs.

This Weekend’s Games:

The action gets underway with the Steel TONIGHT at 7:05 pm with our pregame happy hour set to start at 6 pm when doors open. On Saturday we host Scout Night at 6:05 pm with doors opening at 5 pm. Grab your tickets in advance by visiting tickets.jrblues.com – save some time (and money) and skip the line on game night!