Defenseman Mike Keeven scored the game winning goal for the Jr. Blues with a blast from the point.

Jr. Blues Find Third Period Magic to Overcome the Force!

The Jr. Blues started the game with passion firing 17 first period shots.  Tony Jost scored the period's only goal with Michael Davies and Branden Moran assisting.  The second period saw more St. Louis dominance but the Jr. Blues were unable to score on their 14 shots.  The Force scored two goals within 9 seconds late in the period to give Chicago a 2-1 lead.  The Jr. Blues mounted their fourth third period come from behind victory of the year.  Cory Spradling converted a Ken Jacobsmeyer pass as Spradling's quick shot fooled the Chicago netminder.  Then with under 6 minutes to play, Mike Keeven blasted one home on the power play.  The rocket from the point was assisted by Tony Jost and Branden Moran.  Moran then scored an empty netter to finish the scoring.  Goaltender Derek Szesny was spectacular at times to keep the Force at bay. 

Chicago  0-2-0-2
St. Louis 1-0-3-4

Shots:
Chicago  8-12-12-32
St. Louis 17-14-9-40

Scoring:
Branden Moran  1 goal, 2 assists
Tony Jost  1 goal, 1 assist
Cory Spradling  1 goal
Mike Keeven  1 goal
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Michael Davies  1 assist
Ken Jacobsmeyer 1 assist

Derek Szesny made 30 saves on 32 shots.

Joey Vitale leads the Jr. Blues with a hat trick.

The Flint Jr. Generals took a first period lead scoring the only goal of the period.  The Jr. Blues were a bit perturbed and rallied quickly in the second period.  The second period saw seven unanswered Jr. Blues goals.  Joey Vitale led the charge with a coast to coast highlight film goal.  The period was full of highlight film goals with Shawn Gawrys netting a goal just under the crossbar.  The Jr. Blues added more highlight film material in the third as Michael Davies undressed several Jr. Generals for his second goal of the game.  Joey Vitale also completed his hat trick in the stanza as the Jr. Blues finished with nine goals.  Devan McConnell was solid in the first period when the Jr. Blues needed him as he recorded his 10th win of the season.

Flint  1-0-0-1
St. Louis 0-7-2-9

Shots:
Flint   7-6-11-24
St. Louis 7-19-15-41

Scoring:

Shawn Gawrys 1 goal, 3 assists
Joey Vitale  3 goals
Mike Davies 2 goals, 1 assist
Tony Jost  2 assists
Branden Moran  1 goal, 1 assist
Shawn Wring  2 assists
Jim Jost  2 assists
Kyle O'Kane 1 goal

Devan McConnell made 23 saves on 24 shots.

Larry Kopecky scored two goals within 50 seconds early in the second period.

Jr. Blues Sweep in Showcase

The last time the Jr. Blues met the Metro Jets, the two teams tied 2-2.  That game was described by coach Jack Behan as "the worst efforts by a Jr. Blues team in my 6 years."  So the Jr. Blues certainly had some retribution in mind for Sunday's game at the CSHL Showcase.  The first period was a bit lack luster with no scoring.  Then Larry Kopecky ignited the powerful Jr. Blues offense.  Kopecky scored a shorthanded goal early in the period.  Less than a minute later he scored a 4 on 4 goal off a deflection.  Later in the period, Michael Davies blasted a power play goal off a Pete Wildhaber set-up.  Tony Jost completed the scoring in the period as line mates Davies and Branden Moran assisting.  Moran scored a third period power play goal, and Derek Janssen scored a short handed goal to finish the St. Louis scoring.  Metro foiled Devan McConnell's shutout bid late in the third period on a power play.

Metro  0-0-1-1
St. Louis 0-4-2-6

Shots:
Metro  10-7-7-24
St. Louis 16-11-9-36

Scoring:

Larry Kopecky  2 goals
Branden Moran 1 goal, 1 assist
Tony Jost 1 goal, 1 assist
Mike Davies  1 goal, 1 assist
Derek Janssen 1 goal
Joey Vitale 1 assist
Mike Keeven 1 assist
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Shawn Wring  1 assist
Cory Spradling  1 assist

Devan McConnell made 23 saves on 24 shots recording his 11th win of the season. 

Tony Jost scored the lone Jr. Blues goal in their Saturday night loss.

First Place Showdown Starts Slow

The hype was over, it was time to see who gets the bragging rights and first place in the CSHL.  The Peoria Mustangs started the game quickly.  A quick shot from the point off of a Jr. Blues turnover started the scoring just five minutes into the contest.  Late in the first period, the Mustangs capitalized on the power play on a mad scramble in front of the Jr. Blues net.  The stanza ended 2-0 in favor of the Mustangs. 

The second period provided the home crowd with what they came to see.  Tony Jost scored 38 seconds into the period on a great feed from Branden Moran.  The Jr. Blues played great hockey, hitting a crossbar and a goalpost but were unable to score the rest of the period while Peoria's goaltender, Tony Olson, made several big saves. 

The third period started with a Jr. Blues power play.  Seconds after the Jr. Blues hit their second crossbar of the game, the Jr. Blues took a penalty to take themselves off the power play.  The penalty was unfortunate as the puck was cleared over the glass by goaltender Derek Szesny.  The Mustangs took full advantage of the break and scored their second power play goal of the game.  Just two minutes later the Mustangs shot from the point deflected off a St. Louis stick into the net to close the scoring for the game.  The 4-1 Peoria Mustang victory put them in sole possession of first place in the CSHL after the Saturday contest.

Peoria  2-0-2-4
St. Louis 0-1-0-1

Shots:
Peoria  11-6-9-26
St. Louis  11-9-8-28

Scoring:
Tony Jost 1 goal
Branden Moran 1 assist
Michael Davies 1 assist

Derek Szesny was defeated for the first time all season as he made 22 saves on 26 shots.

December 14th vs. Peoria Mustangs

Branden Moran's 2 goals helped ignite the Jr. Blues offense.

Jr. Blues BIG Comeback Shocks Stangs!

The first period started much the same as the Saturday contest.  Peoria scored the first goal at the 5:00 mark on a quick shot that deflected off the foot of a St. Louis defenseman.  Kyle O'Kane converted a perfect give and go pass to tie the score on a power play.  But the Mustangs countered quickly and scored an unassisted goal to regain the lead.  Late in the period, the Mustangs dominated the Jr. Blues and scored a third goal with just 29 seconds remaining.

The Jr. Blues bounced back in the second as Joey Vitale scored a power play goal redirecting a Mike Keeven pass to close the score to 3-2 Peoria.  Once again, the Mustangs countered, this time with a power play goal.  The Jr. Blues protested the goal which apparently was directed with a high stick.  Peoria held a commanding 4-2 lead after two periods.

The third period was one that Jr. Blues fans will not soon forget.  The Jr. Blues fought through the tough Peoria defense and applied relentless pressure.  Branden Moran converted a rebound to pull the Jr. Blues within one goal with 11 minutes remaining.  The Jr. Blues skated with even more resolve but the Peoria goaltender, Tony Olson, made spectacular save after spectacular save.  With 4 minutes remaining, the Jr. Blues tied the score on a Larry Kopecky power play goal.  Kopecky circled out of the corner and blasted a shot from the top of the circle to tie the game and electrify the crowd.  The Jr. Blues were not finished. Devan McConnell made the save of the game as a Peoria dump in made a crazy deflection as McConnell dove back to the net to make a midair blocker save.  Then moments later Branden Moran converted a two on one break with 2:42 remaining in the game as he sniped a perfect shot.  The Jr. Blues held the Mustangs without a chance and converted an empty net goal from Joey Vitale to finish the scoring.  The win pulled the Jr. Blues and the Peoria Mustangs back into a first place deadlock.  The inspirational third period comeback was considered by many to be one the top, big game performances they have witnessed this storied franchise achieve. 

Peoria  3-1-0-4
St. Louis 1-1-4-6

Shots:
Peoria  7-12-8-27
St. Louis 9-9-15-33

Scoring:
Joey Vitale  2 goals, 1 assist
Branden Moran  2 goals
Larry Kopecky 1 goal,  1 assist
Kyle O'Kane  1 goal
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Shawn Wring  1 assist
Tony Jost  1 assist
Mike Davies 1 assist
Mike Hewkin  1 assist

Devan McConnell made 23 saves on 27 shots for the win.

Mike Keeven's blast from the point iced the game for the Jr. Blues.

Shorthanded Jr. Blues Play Tough in Cleveland!

The Jr. Blues left St. Louis without their top goal scorer, Michael Davies, who played the with the Heartland Eagles of the USHL.  After arriving, star '87 Shawn Gawrys, was stricken by the flu and spent the weekend in the hotel room.  But missing two top forwards was not all as defensemen Shawn Wring and Chris Koenen were suffering from lingering affects of the flu.  Wring did not play the first game and Koenen saw limited action.  With all of that adversity the veteran line of Joe Vitale, Jim Jost and Larry Kopecky came up big for the Jr. Blues.  Kopecky scored first as he one-timed a Jim Jost pass to give the Jr. Blues the only goal of the period.  In the second period Vitale and Jost each netted a goal with their line mates assisting on the goals.  The three goal lead in the third period was cut to two as the Jr. Lumberjacks scored a power play goal early in the period.  The home team was energized by the goal and applied heavy pressure for the next five minutes.  Derek Szesny was equal to the task making a number of big saves in the flurry.  After a St. Louis time-out, the Jr. Blues regained control of the game.  Mike Keeven scored with 6 minutes remaining on a blast from the point to ice the game.

St. Louis 1-2-1-4
Cleveland 0-0-1-1

Shots: 
St. Louis 9-9-11-29
Cleveland 5-4-12-21

Scoring:
Jim Jost 1 goal, 2 assists
Joe Vitale 1 goal, 2 assists
Larry Kopecky 1 goal, 2 assists
Mike Keeven 1 goal
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist

Derek Szesny made 20 saves on 21 shots.

December 7th vs. Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks

Cory Spradling notched two goals to help the Jr. Blues sweep Cleveland.

Still short-handed from the flu, the Jr. Blues played a gritty, team game on Sunday.  Cory Spradling scored the only goal of a tight checking first period with Jim Jost and Larry Kopecky assisting on the play.  The Jr. Blues came out strong in the second period as Branden Moran netted two goals.  Tony Jost picked up the assist on the first goal and Joe Vitale and Mike Hewkin assisting on the second.  Both plays allowed Moran to face the goaltender all alone as he deposited two backhanders to extend the lead to 3-0 after two periods.  After coming out on their heels in the third period the night before, the Jr. Blues were determined not to let Cleveland back in the game.  Spradling netted his second goal of the game on an early power play.  Finally, Joe Vitale sent Larry Kopecky in on a breakaway as he made no mistake on the fifth and final goal of the game.  Goaltender Devan McConnell made saves on all 13 shots he faced, including several key saves early in the game to record his 2nd shut-out of the season.

The Jr. Blues now prepare for their showdown series with the Peoria Mustangs as they come to Affton to fight it out for the top spot in the CSHL.

St. Louis 1-2-2-5
Cleveland 0-0-0-0

Shots:
St. Louis 7-15-11-33
Cleveland 4-6-3-13

Scoring:
Cory Spradling 2 goals
Branden Moran 2 goals
Larry Kopecky 1 goal, 1 assist
Joe Vitale 2 assists
Tony Jost 1 assist
Jim Jost 1 assist
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist

Devan McConnell made 13 saves on 13 shots.

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