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2003-04 Results

Sunday, January 30, 2005
League vs. Peoria Mustangs

Jr. Blues goaltender Trey Spiller was spectacular in his first start in a month due to injury.

Jr. Blues Rebound, Defeat Mustangs 3-2!

The Jr. Blues had a lot to prove after getting outworked for much of Saturday's game.  In addition, goaltender Trey Spiller had missed a month of action due to an injury.  In the early going, Spiller showed he was up for the game making two spectacular saves on Mustang power plays.  The game flow seemed in the Jr. Blues favor though, and they quickly capitalized on their only power play of the period.  With only 36 seconds remaining in the period, Cory Spradling blasted a perfect shot past the Peoria goaltender.  Pete Wildhaber and Mike Hewkin assisted on the goal.  Things looked good heading into the second period.

The second period was maybe the biggest test of the season for the Jr. Blues.  The Mustangs showed complete domination for the first 5 minutes of the period.  Scoring 2 goals in the first 2:14 of the period and launching 8 consecutive shots at Spiller.  The shots were 9-1 in favor of Peoria just a few minutes into the period.  The Jr. Blues showed some championship poise and determination the rest of the period.  The home team fired 17 consecutive shots at the Peoria net.  Kyle O'Kane was the only one to score, but the momentum had swung back in St. Louis' favor.  St. Louis outshot Peoria 19-10 in the period.

The game was tied 2-2 and the final 20 minutes would determine the outcome.  The Jr. Blues looked in control, missing a few good opportunities early.  Then Kyle O'Kane and Zach Barron streaked down on a 2 on 1 break.  O'Kane used Barron who was flying to the net as a decoy and then sniped a perfect shot over the goaltender's shoulder.  The Jr. Blues maintained control of the game, limiting scoring opportunities and killing off three penalties. The Jr. Blues held the Mustangs to just 7 shots in the period. 

The victory gave the Jr. Blues the season series with the Mustangs 3-1 and inched the Jr. Blues closer to clinching their fourth consecutive CSHL League Championship.  The  two teams will undoubtedly meet again in the Hurster Cup.  For those who came to see the best rivalry in the CSHL they were not disappointed.  Two great games between two great teams with much more to prove.  Sounds familiar eh?

Peoria 0-2-0-2
St. Louis 1-1-1-3

Shots:
Peoria  11-10-7-28
St. Louis 12-19-10-41

Goals/Power plays
Peoria 0-7
St. Louis 1-4

Scoring: 
Kyle O'Kane 2 goals
Cory Spradling 1 goal
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Mike Hewkin 1 assist

Trey Spiller made 26 saves on 28 shots

Saturday, January 29, 2005
League vs. Peoria Mustangs

Zach Barron's late third period goal was not enough to get the Jr. Blues even with the Mustangs.

Mustangs Beat Jr. Blues 3-2

The two great rivals met once again.  This time, not nearly as much on the line but don't tell the players that.  The first period was very even as the Jr. Blues outshot the Mustangs 10-8.  The Jr. Blues scored the first goal of the game early in the second with Cory Spradling notching a power play goal.  The Jr. Blues seemingly had control but a Mustang shot deflected and then fluttered into the net.  The harmless looking shot handcuffed Jr. Blues goaltender Blake Yanics.  The Mustangs took control of the momentum from the goal and dominated the Jr. Blues for the rest of the period with Yanics keeping the game close.  Late in the second, the Mustangs took the lead on a one time blast from the slot. 

The third period was close in checking and tight hockey.  The Mustangs added to their lead with 6 minutes to go seemingly clinching the game.  But the Jr. Blues battled back.  Shawn Gawrys led a two on one break and Zach Barron finished the perfect Gawrys pass to cut the lead with just 3 minutes to play.  The Jr. Blues then bombarded the Mustangs, missing several chances to tie the game but failed to beat the Mustang goaltender Jake Busch. 
Blake Yanics suffered his first loss in a start this season making 26 saves on 29 shots.

Peoria  0-2-1-3
St. Louis  0-1-1-2

Shots:
Peoria  8-17-4-29
St. Louis 10-12-9-31

Goals/Power plays
Peoria 0-3
St. Louis 1-3

Scoring:
Cory Spradling 1 goal
Zach Barron 1 goal
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Shawn Gawrys 1 assist

Blake Yanics made 26 saves on 29 shots.

Sunday, January 23, 2005
League vs. Flint Jr. Generals

Tom Craig scores 2 in Jr. Blues win.

Chris Hausel records his first CSHL Victory!

Jr. Blues Defeat Jr. Generals 7-2!

The Jr. Blues win their Sunday game in convincing fashion.  Goaltender Chris Hausel recorded his first win making 13 solid saves on 15 shots.  The Jr. Blues scored 3 goals in the first period as Brandon Bollig, Shawn Gawrys and Tim Jost each scored.  The Jr. Generals came back and scored two goals as the Jr. Blues found themselves clinging to a 3-2 lead early in the second period.  Tom Craig then turned the game as he netted his first of the game.  Cory Spradling added another as St. Louis led 5-2 after two.  Brandon Bollig and Tom Craig each scored their second goals of the game giving the Jr. Blues their final margin. 

St. Louis 3-2-2-7
Flint 1-1-0-2

Shots:
St. Louis 14-13-18-45
Flint 7-5-3-15

Goals/Power Plays
St. Louis 0/4
Flint  0/5

Scoring:
Brandon Bollig 2 goals, 1 assist
Shawn Gawrys 1 goal, 2 assists
Tony Jost 3 assists
Tom Craig 2 goals
Tim Jost 1 goal
Cory Spradling 1 goal
Danny Brown 1 assist
Bret Morrell 1 assist
Chris Hausel made 13 saves on 15 shots.

Saturday, January 22, 2005
League vs. Motor City Chiefs

Blake Yanics stood tall making 29 saves and winning his 21st game of the season.

Jr. Blues Beat the Storm and the Chiefs!

The day just was not going to be easy an easy one for the Jr. Blues.  Six in the morning was the arrival time for most at Lambert St. Louis Airport for a 7:15 AM departure to Detroit.  Assistant coach Doc Runco's alarm clock refused to work and that was just the start of the adventurous day.  After getting a wake-up call from head coach Jack Behan, Doc made it to the airport in record time to make the flight.  The flight to Detroit took off as scheduled.  Upon arriving in Detroit, the raging snow storm had closed the runways.  The Jr. Blues circled above the Motor City for more than an hour before the plane headed in another direction.  Nashville, TN is where the Jr. Blues found themselves.  Music City is a great place but Motor City are where the games were to be played so the Jr. Blues were getting a bit nervous.  The swift work of the airlines placed the Jr. Blues on yet another flight to Detroit.  This time, all seemed to be on their side.  On final approach, the pilot turned the airplane back towards the heavens.  This time weather was not the cause as the Control Tower at Detroit Metro Airport had to be evacuated because of a chemical leak.   Now the Jr. Blues were back in their familiar circling pattern above Detroit.  45 minutes later, it was time to try it again.  The storm was still dumping snow and after a skillful landing the Jr. Blues applauded the arrival.  Of course, this day, delays were still the order.  The aircraft waited another 30 minutes for the snow plows to clear the way to a gate.  After much delay the team finally arrived at their hotel.  The time was about 4:45 PM, and the Jr. Blues needed just a little down time before their game.   Unfortunately, the hotel had only 2 rooms available and the Jr. Blues found themselves once again on the bad side of luck on this day. 

Finally the Jr. Blues made it to the Canfield Arena fighting the foot of new snow.  The Jr. Blues started quickly though as Chris Stock scored on a quick shot from the point.  Blake Yanics then showed no signs of travel weariness as he made 15 saves in the period.  With less than a minute remaining in the first, Brandon Bollig scored on a breakaway.  The Jr. Blues scored the only goal of the second as Eddie Effinger converted a perfect pass from Tony Jost on the power play. 

With a 3-0 lead heading into the third period, one would think the Jr. Blues had the game under control.  Well, not on this day.  Motor City scored twice to cut the lead to 3-2.  Cory Spradling then answered the challenge sniping a great shot with 6 minutes to go.  Kyle O'Kane added an empty net goal to make the final 5-2.  After 10 hours of flying and airport occupying the Jr. Blues got their two points and headed to the hotel exhausted. 

St. Louis 3-1-2-5
Motor City 0-0-2-2

Shots:
St. Louis 14-14-8-36
Motor City 15-8-8-31

Goals/Power plays
St. Louis 1/3
Motor City 1/3

Scoring:
Cory Spradling 1 goal, 1 assist
Brandon Bollig 1 goal, 1 assist
Tony Jost 2 assists
Eddie Effinger 1 goal
Kyle O'Kane 1 goal
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Ryan Kretzer 1 assist
Tom Craig 1 assist
Blake Yanics made 29 saves on 31 shots.

Sunday, January 9, 2005
League vs. Michigan Ice Dogs

Ken Grasso's shorthanded goal sparks Jr. Blues rally.

Jr. Blues Handle Ice Dogs 8-2!

The Jr. Blues got off to another slow start as the Ice Dogs scored first.  The Jr. Blues countered with a Cory Spradling power play goal.  Ryan Kretzer took a Shawn Gawrys pass in the neutral zone as Kretzer sniped a shot past the goaltender.  The Ice Dogs came right back and tied the game.  With the Jr. Blues killing a penalty late in the first period, Ken Grasso scored a spectacular shorthanded goal.  Grasso powered by one Ice Dog then powered by the second before he sniped a perfect shot over the goaltender shoulder to give the Jr. Blues 3-2 lead.

The second period was all St. Louis as the Jr. Blues swarmed the Ice Dogs.  Tony Jost scored a power play goal with Spradling and Brandon Bollig assisting.  Then Spradling scored with Bollig and Jost assisting.  Ken Grasso showed off his sniping abilities again as he ripped one over the goaltenders glove on a rush. 

The Jr. Blues fans then got to see Chris Hausel make his CSHL debut in nets for St. Louis.  Just seconds into the third period, Hausel made a big save on an Ice Dogs breakaway.  Hausel made easy work of the rest of the period making 7 saves.  Barry Baxter and Eddie Effinger scored power play goals to close out the scoring.  The unruly play of the Ice Dogs afforded the Jr. Blues to use their potent power play as they score 5 times with the Dogs in the box.  Blake Yanics started the game and was solid in the first two periods before giving way to Hausel in the third period.

Michigan 2-0-0-2
St. Louis 3-3-2-8

Shots:
Michigan  12-8-7-27
St. Louis 18-12-17-47

Goals/Power Plays
Michigan 1/7
St. Louis 5/13

Scoring:
Tony Jost 1 goal, 3 assists
Cory Spradling 2 goals, 1 assist
Ryan Kretzer 1 goal, 2 assists
Brandon Bollig 3 assists
Ken Grasso 2 goals
Eddie Effinger 1 goal
Barry Baxter  1 goal
Chris Stock 1 assist
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Paul Puglisi 1 assist
Shawn Gawrys 1 assist
Bret Morrell 1 assist
Kyle O'Kane 1 assist

Blake Yanics made 18 saves on 20 shots in 2 periods
Chris Hausel made 7 saves on 7 shots in 1 period.

Saturday, January 8, 2005
League vs. Michigan Ice Dogs

Brandon Bollig's three goals and assist in the third period sparks remarkable Jr. Blues comeback.

Jr. Blues Big Comeback
Sparked by Bollig!

The game couldn't have started any worse for the Jr. Blues.  Just two minutes into the game the Ice Dogs had scored twice.  The Ice Dogs added a third goal with two minutes remaining in the first period.  But the Jr. Blues kept their composure and fought back.  Shawn Gawrys scored a power play goal off a C.J. Chappell rebound with one minute remaining in the period.  Then a remarkable play by Brenden Sheehan set up Danny Brown with just seconds remaining in the period.  Sheehan used his speed to create a rush, then was hauled down and spun around by a Michigan defender.  Sheehan, from his stomach made a perfect pass to Brown who scored a spectacular goal. 

The second period was more tight checking as neither team could score.  With the Jr. Blues still down 3-2 early in the third period, Brandon Bollig deflected a Mike Hewkin shot from the point to tie the game.  The Ice Dogs took the lead again with 12 minutes to play.  But there was no panic with the Jr. Blues as Bollig answered the challenge again this time with a wrist shot past the goaltender to tie it once again.  Cory Spradling showed why he is one of the most dangerous players in the league with a spectacular goal set up by Bollig to give the Jr. Blues their first lead with 8 minutes to go.  Bollig then completed his natural hat-trick with 5 minutes remaining to seal the huge come from behind Jr. Blues victory.

Michigan 3-0-1-4
St. Louis 2-0-4-6

Shots:
Michigan 8-7-8-23
St. Louis 16-11-17-44

Goals/Power Plays
Michigan 1/4
St. Louis 2/4

Scoring:
Brandon Bollig 3 goals, 1 assist
Cory Spradling 1 goal, 1 assist
Eddie Effinger 2 assists
Mike Hewkin 2 assists
Danny Brown 1 goal
Shawn Gawrys 1 goal
Chris Stock 1 assist
Brendan Sheehan 1 assist
C.J. Chappell 1 assist
Tom Craig 1 assist
Tim Jost 1 assist
Blake Yanics made 19 saves on 23 shots.

Sunday, January 2, 2005
League vs. Quad City Express

Brandon Bollig's goal and two assists leads the Jr. Blues to weekend sweep.

Jr. Blues Sweep Express and Sweep Entire 8 Game Road Trip!

Eight games in a row away from home is not easy this time of year but the Jr. Blues were a perfect 8-0 after their 5-1 win over Quad City on Sunday afternoon.  The first period was a strong period for the Jr. Blues.  Brandon Bollig converted a perfect pass from Tony Jost on the power play for the only tally of the first period.  The second period was dominated by the Jr. Blues.  After the Express tied the score on a 5 on 3 power play, the Jr. Blues returned the favor.  Cory Spradling converted a 5 on 3 with a wicked shot from the slot.  Bollig and Mike Keeven assisted on the goal.  League leading scorer Kyle O'Kane showed the Express some of his magic while making a great rush up the ice he was forced wide.  After a big battle in the corner, O'Kane came out with the puck and fired a quick shot on goal, then he won two battles for rebounds in front before he finally deposited the puck for his 34th goal of the season.   The Jr. Blues continued to pressure with a big scramble on the power play.  This time Mike Hewkin alertly came in from the point and scored the Jr. Blues 4th power play goal of the game.  Zach Barron and Kyle O'Kane assisted on the goal.  In the third period, Cory Spradling scored the only goal as he netted his 32nd goal of the season.  Brandon Bollig and Tony Jost assisted as the Jr. Blues swept the Quad City Express.

St. Louis 1-3-1-5
Quad City 0-1-0-1

Shots:
St. Louis 11-19-8-38
Quad City  7-8-4-19

Goals/Power Plays
St. Louis 4/7
Quad City 1/5

Scoring:
Cory Spradling 2 goals, 1 assist
Brandon Bollig 1 goal, 2 assists
Tony Jost 2 assists
Kyle O'Kane 1 goal, 1 assist
Mike Hewkin 1 goal
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Zach Barron 1 assist
Trey Spiller made 18 saves on 19 shots

Saturday, January 1, 2005
League vs. Quad City Express

Jr. Blues defenseman Chris Stock's shorthanded goal sparks Jr. Blues rally.

Jr. Blues Start 2005 With 4-3 Win!

The Jr. Blues started 2005 with a bang.  The early departure from St. Louis to get to Davenport, Iowa was not exactly the way most would celebrate the New Year.  The tough travel might have slowed down the Jr. Blues but in the end they overcame. 

The first period started with a goal by the Express.  The Jr. Blues countered as Barry Baxter netted a goal off a Ryan Kretzer feed with Mike Keeven also assisting on the play.  The Jr. Blues then took the lead as they sustained great pressure.  This time Brandon Bollig scored with Tony Jost and Pete Wildhaber assisting.  The Express scored a power play goal late in the first to tie it 2-2. 

The second period was a roller coaster ride that was entertaining for the several hundred fans in attendance.  The Jr. Blues found themselves 2 men short for over 3 minutes in the period.  With the penalty killers doing a great job, Chris Stock made the play of the game.  The Jr. Blues defenseman broke up an Express scoring chance and streaked down the ice.  After beating the defenseman with a great move, Stock scored a highlight reel goal with a perfect snipe while the Jr. Blues were still shorthanded.  The Express bounced right back very quickly to tie the game.  The action continued up and down the ice for the rest of the period.  With under a minute remaining, Brandon Bollig blew by the Quad City defense.  Because of a bad angle, he came around the net and fired a shot.  Bollig, Tony Jost, and Cory Spradling all battled for the loose puck.  Spradling found the handle and then roofed a shot to give the Jr. Blues the lead. 

The third period, the Jr. Blues were content to protect their slim margin.  Blake Yanics made several impressive saves to preserve the New Year's Day victory. 

St. Louis 2-2-0-4
Quad City  2-1-0-3

Shots:
St. Louis 12-12-4-28
Quad City  12-11-11-34

Goals/Power Plays
St. Louis 0/5
Quad City 1/7

Scoring:
Brandon Bollig 1 goal, 1 assist
Tony Jost 2 assists
Chris Stock 1 goal
Cory Spradling 1 goal
Barry Baxter 1 goal
Ryan Kretzer 1 assist
Mike Keeven 1 assist
Pete Wildhaber 1 assist
Blake Yanics made 31 saves on 34 shots

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