Defenseman Pat Dolan added to the offensive fun scoring in the second period to help the Jr. Blues defeat the Cobras.

Jr. Blues Cruise by Cincinnati

The Jr. Blues looked a little sluggish after the week layoff in the first period.  Branden Moran scored the only goal of the period for the home team.  The second period looked more like the high-flying Jr. Blues fans have become accustomed to seeing.  The Jr. Blues pelted Cincy with 20 shots and scored 5 goals in the period. Kyle O'Kane scored twice with Mike Davies, Larry Kopecky and Pat Dolan each adding a tally.  Davies goal was a power play goal, a pretty one-timer off a perfect Tony Jost feed.  Both of Kyle O'Kane's goals were the result of relentless cycling with line mates Kyle Kraemer and Shawn Gawrys.  Larry Kopecky finished a perfect 3-on-2 rush as Jim Jost sent him in all alone.  Pat Dolan scored his on a quick snap shot shot from the point off of a Derek Janssen face-off win. 

Cincinnati   0-1-1-2
St. Louis   1-5-0-6

Shots:
Cincinnati  4-7-4-15
St. Louis  15-20-10-45

Scoring:
Kyle O'Kane  2 goals
Branden Moran 1 goal, 1 assist
Mike Davies  1 goal, 1 assist
Tony Jost 2 assists
Kyle Kraemer 2 assists
Shawn Gawrys  2 assists
Larry Kopecky 1 goal
Pat Dolan 1 goal
Jim Jost 1 assist
Derek Janssen 1 assist
Kyle Rickermann 1 assist

Devan McConnell made 13 saves on 15 shots.

February 29th VS. Cincinnati Cobras

Shawn Gawrys scored a goal and added 3 assists to lead the Jr. Blues over Cincy.

Jr. Blues Shutout Cobras -
Inch Closer to Title

The Jr. Blues inched a little closer to the CSHL League Championship with a 7-0 win over Cincinnati.  The Jr. Blues maintain a slim two point lead over second place Peoria with four games to go.  The Jr. Blues need seven points in their last four games to clinch the league title.  The Peoria Mustangs continue to win, keeping the pressure on the Jr. Blues.  

The Jr. Blues made quick work of the Cobras on Sunday scoring four-first period goals.  Team Captain Jim Jost started the scoring with a quick shot from the slot off a Larry Kopecky feed.  The next two goals were vintage Jr. Blues transitions as the home team beautifully converted two, 3-on-2 rushes.  On the first rush, Shawn Gawrys set up Kyle Kraemer in the slot.  Kraemer quickly found Kyle O'Kane who tapped the puck in the empty net on the back door.  Moments later it was Mike Davies who used his speed to gain the zone.  After driving deep into the zone, Davies hit Branden Moran in the slot who one-timed a pass to Tony Jost who deposited the puck into the empty net on the back door again.  The passing circus was not finished, as the Jr. Blues converted a late power play in the period.  This time, Pete Wildhaber hit Shawn Gawrys with a cross ice pass.  Gawrys then one-timed passed the puck to Kyle Kraemer who was cutting hard to the net for the back door feed.  Kraemer deposited the puck into an empty net once again to complete the first period scoring. 
The second period was more St. Louis offense.  Kyle Kraemer scored the snipe of the week as he beat two defensemen and a back checker, then cut back into the slot and beat the Cincy goaltender just under the crossbar.  Mike Davies finished a great cycling play as line mates Branden Moran and Tony Jost assisted.  Shawn Gawrys finished the scoring on a cycling play with Kyle O'Kane getting the assist.  Derek Szesny recorded his 6th shutout of the season making 17 saves.  Szesny leads the CSHL in wins (21), save percentage (.941), goals against average (1.41) and shutouts (6).

Cincinnati 0-0-0-0
St. Louis 4-3-0-7

Shots:
Cincinnati 5-8-4-17
St. Louis 15-18-10-43

Scoring:
Shawn Gawrys 1 goal, 3 assists
Kyle Kraemer 2 goals, 1 assist
Mike Davies 1 goal, 1 assist
Tony Jost 1 goal, 1 assist
Branden Moran 2 assists
Jim Jost 1 goal
Larry Kopecky 1 assist
Joey Vitale 1 assist
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist

Derek Szesny made 17 saves for the shutout.

Michael Davies lights up the Jr. Generals.

Davies Nets Five as Jr. Blues
Continue to Roll!

Head Coach Jack Behan couldn't remember ever seeing it before in his six seasons at the helm of the Jr. Blues.  Assistant Coach Frank "Doc" Runco couldn't remember ever seeing it before in his 13 seasons behind the bench with the Jr. Blues.  But all who were at the Affton Ice Rink this Saturday will remember this for a long time.  Michael Davies scored an amazing FIVE goals in the contest.  The crafty forward probably jumped into the lead of the CSHL scoring race with his historic performance.  Davies netted two power play goals in the first period.  He then added two goals in the second period.  The sniper netted his 5th in the third.  Line mates Branden Moran (4 assists) and Tony Jost (2 assists) were on a mission in the third before Davies netted his 5th.  The Jr. Blues flew by the Jr. Generals 10-1 with the lead from Davies.  Recent addition, Kyle Rickermann, scored his first CSHL goal in the third period on the power play.  Devan McConnell was a bounce away from a shutout when a fluke bounce off the boards ended up on the stick of a Jr. General in front of an open net.  He made 17 saves on 18 shots to pick up the win. 

Flint  1-0-0-1
St. Louis 4-2-4-10

Shots:
Flint  8-8-2-18
St. Louis  22-15-15-52

Scoring:
Michael Davies  5 goals
Branden Moran 4 assists
Kyle Rickermann 1 goal and 1 assist
Larry Kopecky 1 goal, 1 assist
Kyle Kraemer 1 goal,  1 assist
Pete Wildhaber 2 assists
Jim Jost 2 assists
Tony Jost  2 assists
Cory Spradling 1 goal
Zach Barron 1 goal
Danny Brown 1 assist
Shawn Gawrys 1 assist
Mike Hewkin 1 assist
Joey Vitale 1 assist

Devan McConnell made 17 saves on 18 shots.

Joey Vitale's two goals and an assist leads the Jr. Blues over the Jr. Generals.

St. Louis Win Inches the Jr. Blues Closer!

With the Peoria Mustangs hot on the tail of the Jr. Blues leaves no margin for error.  Peoria, winning their two games in Toledo, continue to keep the pressure on the Jr. Blues.  But the home team responded with a convincing 8-0 victory over the Jr. Generals.  Joey Vitale started the scoring for the Jr. Blues off of a Larry Kopecky feed.  Mike Keeven also assisted on the goal.  Then the Vitale, Kopecky, Jim Jost line put on an offensive cycling clinic.  The threesome cycled the puck for over 50 seconds before Kopecky netted the second goal of the game.  Jost and Vitale assisted.  Branden Moran scored later in the period with line mates Michael Davies and Tony Jost assisting.  The second period was more of the same as Derek Janssen converted an odd man rush with Zach Barron and Chris Koenen assisting.  Michael Davies scored on what should be described as a relentless play by he and line mates Jost and Moran as the three swarmed the Jr. Generals net.  Kyle Kraemer scored the snipe of the weekend on a quick shot that netted the top corner to make it 6-0 after two periods.  Defensemen Pat Dolan and Chris Koenen assisted on the goal.  Tony Jost and Joey Vitale finished the scoring in the third period.  Derek Szesny, who saw little action throughout the game, made the save of the game late in the third period to record his 5th shutout this season. 

The Jr. Blues have six games remaining on their schedule.  The finish line is close but the players are focused on their next game in two weeks against the Cincinnati Cobras at Affton. 

Flint  0-0-0-0
St. Louis 3-3-2-8

Shots: 
Flint 5-3-4-12
St. Louis  23-19-12-54

Scoring:
Joey Vitale 2 goals, 1 assist
Larry Kopecky 1 goal, 2 assists
Tony Jost  1 goal, 2 assists
Branden Moran 1 goal, 2 assists
Michael Davies 1 goal, 1 assist
Jim Jost 2 assists
Chris Koenen 2 assists
Derek Janssen 1 goal
Kyle Kraemer 1 goal
Kyle Rickermann 1 assist
Pat Dolan 1 assist
Zach Barron 1 assist
Mike Keeven 1 assist

Derek Szesny made 12 saves for the shutout. 

February 7th vs. Columbus Stars

Tony Jost's goal and three assists lead Jr. Blues to big win.

Jr. Blues Blowout Columbus

The Columbus Stars had weather problems in Ohio and arrived in St. Louis just in time to play the Jr. Blues.  The Jr. Blues were skating at their top speed and were too much for the bus legged Stars.  Pete Wildhaber scored the only goal in the first period on a blast from the point.  In the second, Michael Davies scored two, Zach Barron, Kyle Kraemer, and Branden Moran each added a goal.  Joey Vitale, Cory Spradling and Tony Jost rounded out the scoring in the third period.  Derek Szesny made 12 saves for the shutout.  The Jr. Blues were 4 for 5 on the power play and hit 5 goal posts in the dominant performance.   Eight different Jr. Blues scored as thirteen different Jr. Blue recorded at least one point. 

Columbus 0-0-0-0
St. Louis  1-5-3-9

Shots:
Columbus 4-2-6-12
St. Louis 9-21-10-40

Scoring:
Tony Jost 1 goal, 3 assists
Branden Moran 1 goal, 3 assists
Mike Davies  2 goals, 1 assist
Pete Wildhaber 1 goal,  1 assist
Cory Spradling 1 goal, 1 assist
Shawn Gawrys 2 assists
Mike Hewkin 2 assists
Kyle O'Kane 2 assists
Ken Jacobsmeyer 2 assists
Zach Barron 1 goal
Kyle Kraemer 1 goal
Joey Vitale 1 goal
Larry Kopecky 1 assist

Derek Szesny - 12 saves for the shutout.

February 8th vs. Toledo Cherokee

Shawn Gawrys scored a goal and assist to keep the Jr. Blues on pace.

Jr. Blues Keep Winning: 5-1 Over the Stars

The Jr. Blues are heading down the home stretch with a slim lead over the Peoria Mustangs for first place in the CSHL.  Each game gets bigger and bigger for the home team.  Shawn Gawrys started the scoring off of a Kyle O'Kane face-off win for the only tally of the first period.  The second period, Mike Davies scored on a back door pass from Branden Moran.  Cory Spradling, broke the hearts of the Stars with a goal in the last 17 seconds of the period.  The Jr. Blues allowed their only goal of the weekend early in the third period.  But Pete Wildhaber blasted home a power play goal to keep the game in the Jr. Blues favor.  Kyle Kraemer added another goal as the Jr. Blues keep putting wins under their belt.  Derek Szesny got the second start of the weekend as Devan McConnell was ill.  Szesny made 20 saves on 21 shots.

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

Shots:
Columbus  6-7-8-21
St. Louis 21-14-18-53

Scoring:
Mike Davies 1 goal, 1 assist
Shawn Gawrys 1 goal, 1 assist
Branden Moran 2 assists
Kyle O'Kane 2 assists
Pete Wildhaber 1 goal
Cory Spradling  1 goal
Kyle Kraemer 1 goal

February 1st vs. Toledo Cherokee

Devan McConnell made 24 saves to shutout the Cherokee.

Jr. Blues Sweep Cherokee

With the season winding down, and first place at stake, the Jr. Blues were motivated to sweep the Cherokee.  The first period was a Jr. Blues clinic on cycling and puck control.  The Jr. Blues outshot the Cherokee 15-5 but were unable to score.  The second period was not as strong as the Jr. Blues were forced to kill some penalties.  Devan McConnell was up to the challenge as he made 10 saves in the period.  With a 0-0 score heading into the third period, the Jr. Blues slim 2 point hold on first place was in jeopardy.  Early in the period, the Cherokee took a 5 minute major.  The Jr. Blues were went almost 4 min. into the power play without a goal when Shawn Gawrys scored the games first goal.  Gawrys was set up by Kyle O'Kane all alone in front after Kyle Kraemer cycled the puck to O'Kane.  Just 17 seconds later, Joey Vitale made the Cherokee pay again as he made a power move from the corner and sniped a perfect shot to give the Jr. Blues a two goal lead.   Larry Kopecky assisted on the play.  The Jr. Blues then spent the next 7 min. short handed because of two penalties.  The second penalty was a 5 minute major.  But the Jr. Blues were able to convert for a shorthanded goal when Ken Jacobsmeyer intercepted a pass and fed Kyle Kraemer for a breakaway.  Kraemer made no mistake as he gave the Jr. Blues a 3-0 lead.  The rest was up to goaltender Devan McConnell who turned away 9 Cherokee shots in the third period.  McConnell recorded his third shutout and the Jr. Blues maintained their slim 2 point lead on the Peoria Mustangs.  The Jr. Blues held the third place Toledo Cherokee to only one goal in the two game weekend in Toledo.  The Cherokee had only lost one home game all season prior to this weekend.  A huge accomplishment for the Jr. Blues who now set their sites on a six game home stand.

St. Louis  0-0-3-3
Toledo  0-0-0-0

Shots:
St. Louis 15-6-11-32
Toledo  5-10-9-24

Scoring:
Kyle Kraemer 1 goal, 1 assist
Joey Vitale   1 goal
Shawn Gawrys  1 goal
Kyle O'Kane 1 goal
Larry Kopecky 1 assist
Ken Jacobsmeyer 1 assist

Devan McConnell made 24 saves for the shutout.

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