Jr. Blues Battle to 4-2 Win over Quad City!

 

Danny Weiss scored the only goal of the first  period on the power play as Eddie Effinger hit him in the slot with Ryan Kretzer also picking up an assist on the goal.  Robby Moss was injured 15 minutes into the game and Trey Spiller went in the nets.  Moss had been spectacular again in the early going.  

 

The Express tied the score in the second period.  Then late in the period, Eddie Effinger scored a huge goal on a two on one play.  Effinger's passing lane to Larkowski was blocked so he made a quick shot off a move to give St. Louis the lead.

 

The third period was a battle.  Ryan Kretzer gave the Jr. Blues a 3-1 lead just 19 seconds into the period.  Effinger and Larkowski assisted on the goal.  Then one minute later, the Express answered with a goal to narrow the lead to 3-2.  The Jr. Blues successfully killed 3 penalties and played flawless defense the rest of the way.  Effinger finished the scoring on an empty net in the game's last minute.  Kretzer and Larkowski assisted on the insurance goal.  Rob Moss made 10 saves on 10 shots and Trey Spiller made 17 saves on 19 shots to record the win.

 

St. Louis 1-1-2-4

Quad City 0-1-1-2

 

Shots:

St. Louis 16-10-7-33

Quad City 12-10-7-29

 

Goals/Power Plays

St. Louis 1/5

Quad City 0/7

 

Scoring:

Eddie Effinger 2 goals, 2 assists

Ryan Kretzer 1 goal, 3 assists

Danny Weiss 1 goal, 1 assist

Chad Larkowski 2 assists

Jr. Blues Stop Express 10-0!

 

The very first shift of the game was an omen of things to come for the Jr. Blues.  Danny Weiss made a return pass to Eddie Effinger in the corner who then hit Chad Larkowski who made a quick shot just 21 seconds into the game to give the Jr. Blues the only goal they needed.  Just two minutes later, Ryan Kretzer walked in front on the power play to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead.  Effinger and Joe Combs assisted on the goal.  Chad Larkowski finished up a good job of penalty killing on a full length of the ice rush.  Larkowski's quick shot from the slot made it 3-0.  Then Larkowski found Kyle Gouge behind the defense as Gouge made no mistake and scored a short handed goal to give the Jr. Blues a 4-0 first period lead.  

 

Bret Morrell hit Brendan Sheehan with a pass sending him on a 2 on 1 shot.  Sheehan shot and Grant Everett was there to poke home the rebound making it 5-0.  Kyle Gouge then showed his sniping ability again with a perfect short side shot.  Everett and Joe Combs assisted.  Chris Saracino, on the power play, scored his first ever CSHL goal as he came into the slot and got a good pass from Eddie Effinger.  Saracino made a perfect shot off the pipe on the power play.  Joe Combs started the pretty passing play.  Dan Weiss sent Tim Jost on a two-on-one break.  Jost made the perfect pass to Ryan Loach who banged home the goalmouth pass.  

 

The third period was all St. Louis too.  Tim Gardner made a shot from near the boards that found the net after being set up by CJ Chappell.  Then Chad Larkowski finished his hat-trick, as he tallied a power play goal assisted by Ryan Kretzer and Eddie Effinger.   Robby Moss continued his spectacular play between the pipes making 27 saves for his first CSHL shutout.  Moss made the closely played contest a blowout with his stellar goaltending. 

 

St. Louis 4-4-2-10

Quad City 0-0-0-0

 

Shots:

St. Louis 16-8-8-32

Quad City 12-9-6-27

 

Goals/Power Plays

St. Louis 3/6

Quad City 0/6

 

Scoring:

Chad Larkowski 3 goals, 1 assist

Joe Combs 4 assists

Eddie Effinger 4 assists

Dan Weiss 3 assists

Kyle Gouge 2 goals

Ryan Kretzer 1 goal, 1 assist

Grant Everett 1 goal, 1 assist

Tim Jost 2 assists

Ryan Loach 1 goal

Tim Gardner 1 goal

Chris Saracino 1 goal

Brendan Sheehan 1 assist

Bret Morrell 1 assist

CJ Chappell 1 assist

Robby Moss made 27 saves to record the shutout.

Jr. Blues Take Second Game in
Cincinnati!

 

After a nail biter of a game Saturday night, the Jr. Blues offense took all the suspense out of the Sunday game early on.   Tommy Lange scored on a tremendous shot to give the Jr. Blues the lead.  Joe Combs took a pass from defense partner Chris Saracino in the defensive zone.  Combs then hit a streaking Lange who used his speed to set up the goal.  Eddie Effinger knocked in a power play goal to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead.  The play was made when Saracino kept the puck in the zone on a great play and made a quick shot on the net.  Then Ryan Kretzer dished the rebound over to Effinger for the goal.  Tommy Lange scored his second goal of the period as line mates Ryan Loach and Tim Jost assisted on the cycling play.  Not having done enough damage, Tim Jost swatted a puck out of mid-air to give the Jr. Blues a 4-0 first period lead.  Pat Dolan had riffled a shot at the net and the rebound went straight up in the air as Jost calmly waited for the puck to come back down on the goal. 

 

In the second period, Tim Gardner playing his first CSHL weekend after missing the entire start of the season with an injury, scored a power play goal.  Scott Keeven and CJ Chappell assisted on the goal.  Then Ryan Loach added another power play goal as he walked the goal line and fooled the goaltender.  Danny Weiss and Bret Morrell set up the goal.  Goaltender Cal Heeter was steady in nets making 15 saves on 16 shots for his second CSHL win.

 

St. Louis 4-2-0-6

Cincinnati 0-1-0-1

 

Shots:

St. Louis 11-10-12-33

Cincinnati 4-6-6-16

 

Goals/Power plays

St. Louis 3/6

Cincinnati 0/4

 

Scoring:

Tommy Lange 2 goals

Tim Jost 1 goal, 1 assist

Ryan Loach 1 goal, 1 assist

Chris Saracino 2 assists

Eddie Effinger 1 goal

Tim Gardner 1 goal

Ryan Kretzer 1 assist

Joe Combs 1 assist

Pat Dolan 1 assist

Scotty Keeven 1 assist

CJ Chappell 1 assist

Danny Weiss 1 assist

Bret Morrell 1 assist

Cal Heeter made 15 saves on 16 shots.

Jr. Blues Squeak By the Cyclones!

Ryan Loach scored an early first period goal to give the Jr. Blues a quick lead.  The goal was assisted by Bill McMillen.   From that point on, the two teams skated for over 30 minutes without scoring.  With both goaltenders playing extremely well it appeared another goal might not be in the cards.  But the Cyclones tied the game on a goal in the final minute of the second period.  

The Jr. Blues took the challenge of being tied and started the third period strong.  Several chances didn't find the mark and then suddenly Cincinnati applied some pressure.  Robby Moss made two big saves and then the Jr. Blues created a 3 on 2 rush.  Eddie Effinger hit Ryan Kretzer perfectly in the slot and Kretzer sniped a perfect shot to give the Jr. Blues the lead.  The Jr. Blues shut down the Cyclones the rest of the way and took the 2-1 win.

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

Shots:
St. Louis 12-12-9-33
Cincinnati 11-9-4-24

Goals/Power Plays
St. Louis 0/3
Cincinnati 0/2

Scoring:
Ryan Loach 1 goal
Ryan Kretzer 1 goal
Bill McMillen 1 assist
Eddie Effinger 1 assist
Chad Larkowski 1 assist
Robby Moss made 23 saves on 24 shots.

Jr. Blues Sweep Cherokee!

 

In what was supposed to be a first place showdown, became a first place dominance.  The Jr. Blues dominated the Cherokee in all aspects of the game Sunday pounding them 8-2 to knock the Cherokee 9 points behind the streaking first place Jr. Blues.

 

Just 19 seconds into the game, Eddie Effinger scored to set the tone.  Effinger walked a defenseman and slammed home his own rebound after being set up by line mates Chad Larkowski and Ryan Kretzer.  The Cherokee tied the score just 23 seconds later on a 2 on 1.  But there was no let up in the Jr. Blues.  Bret Morrell gave the Jr. Blues the lead for good on the power play.  Kyle Gouge won the draw and Danny Weiss passed to defense partner Morrell.  Morrell calmly waited for Gouge to make it to the front of the net then sniped a shot past the screened goaltender.  Speaking of snipes, Tommy Lange scored the next goal just one minute later on a dandy shot beating the goaltender cleanly from 30 feet.  Ryan Loach got the helper on the play.  The Jr. Blues power play then started to roll.  Ryan Gouge scored from the slot off a feed from Grant Everett and Brendan Sheehan.  That gave the Jr. Blues a 4-1 lead after one period.

 

The second period found the Jr. Blues still in a battle as the Cherokee wouldn't go away.  But Kyle Gouge scored the first goal of the period half way through.  This power play goal was another dandy passing play with Brendan Sheehan setting up Gouge.  Grant Everett originated the play also assisted.  Then Gouge won a battle on the boards in the neutral zone and sent Everett and Sheehan on a 2 on 1.  The two made two quick passes before Everett set up Sheehan all alone in front.  The Cherokee scored once in the period, but the game was still all St. Louis. 

 

The Jr. Blues finished the game strong with a good third period.  Tim Jost scored a power play goal off a Chris Saracino feed to the side of the net.  Jost calmly faked the goaltender down and deposited the puck.  Ryan Loach also assisted on the goal.  Then Kyle Gouge completed his hat trick with his 3rd power play goal of the game.  Gouge sniped a perfect shot from the slot with Chris Saracino and Grant Everett assisting.  The assist was Everett's 4th of the game.  Trey Spiller saw some tough action and played well making 25 saves on 27 shots. 

 

Toledo 1-1-0-2

St. Louis 4-2-2-8

 

Shots:

Toledo 9-9-9-7

St. Louis 17-14-14-45

 

Goals/Power plays

Toledo 0/9

St. Louis 5/12

 

Scoring:

Kyle Gouge 3 goals, 2 assists

Grant Everett 4 assists

Brendan Sheehan 1 goal, 2 assists

Tom Lange 1 goal

Bret Morrell 1 goal

Eddie Effinger 1 goal

Tim Jost 1 goal

Ryan Loach 2 assists

Chris Saracino 2 assists

Ryan Kretzer 1 assist

Chad Larkowski 1 assist

Trey Spiller made 25 saves on 27 shots.

Jr. Blues Explode in Second Period to Defeat Toledo!

 

For over a decade these two storied franchises have been playing significant games against each other with much on the line.  This weekend was no different as the first place Jr. Blues face the second place Toledo Cherokee.  The first period was a good period of hockey.  The Cherokee scored the only goal of the period on the power play to give them a 1-0 lead.

 

The second period was an all out blitz by the Jr. Blues.  Tommy Lange got sent in on a 2 on 1 by Chris Saracino.  Lange then used Ryan Loach as a decoy and faked the goalie with a smooth move to tie the game.  Moments later, Bret Morrell made a great pass to Eddie Effinger to send him in on a 2 on 1 with C.J. Chappell.  Effinger made a nifty move to avoid the sliding defenseman and hit Chappell driving the net.  Chappell made no mistake and gave St. Louis the lead.  Ryan Loach then scored on the power play as he converted a Tommy Lange pass.  Joe Combs also assisted on the play.  C.J. Chappell then completed a workmanlike shift on a cycling play.  Chappell walked the puck out of the corner and roofed a perfect shot over the goaltender's glove.  Ryan Holzum and Bill McMillen assisted on the goal.  The Jr. Blues added a power play goal with only 11 seconds remaining in the period to put an explanation point on the stanza.  Chad Larkowski started the play giving it to Ryan Gouge who drove the net from the half boards.  Gouge hit Effinger with a perfect pass as he one timed it past the helpless goaltender. 

 

The third period was more of the same.  Tim Jost scored on a power play as Joe Combs found him back door.  Tommy Lange also assisted on the goal.  The Cherokee scored a late goal to make the final 6-2.  Cal Heeter played in his first CSHL game and looked poised and effective making 20 saves on 22 shots.

 

Toledo 1-0-1-2

St. Louis 0-5-1-6

 

Shots:

Toledo 10-5-7-22

St. Louis 15-13-10-38

 

Goals/Power plays:

Toledo 1/5

St. Louis 3/9

 

Scoring:

Tommy Lange 1 goal, 2 assists

CJ Chappell 2 goals

Eddie Effinger 1 goal, 1 assist

Joe Combs 2 assists

Ryan Loach 1 goal

Tim Jost 1 goal

Bret Morrell  1 assist

Chad Larkowski 1 assist

Bill McMillen 1 assist

Kyle Gouge 1 assist

Chris Saracino 1 assist

Ryan Holzum  1 assist

Cal Heeter made 20 saves on 22 shots.

Five Special Teams Goals Lead the

Jr. Blues Over Flint!

 

After a scoreless first period  the Jr. Blues got it rolling in the second.  Ryan Loach scored on a rebound off a Chris Saracino shot that was deflected by Tim Jost.   Then Chad Larkowski scored a power play goal with Danny Weiss and Ryan Kretzer assisting.  Kyle Gouge scored late in the period off a backhander.  Gouge picked up the puck after Grant Everett won a battle on the wall. 

 

The third period was a bit bizarre.  Tim Jost scored a power play goal on a great passing play from Scotty Keeven and Pat Dolan.  Then late in the period, the Jr. Blues were killing a minor penalty.  What occurred might be one of the most bizarre 2 minutes of hockey seen in a long time.  Tim Jost blocked a shot and went in on a breakaway and scored on a great move.  Then, Chad Larkowski picked the pocket of a Flint defenseman and went in on a breakaway and scored on a sweet move himself.  With the penalty still on against the Jr. Blues, Joe Combs shot a puck out of the zone.  Grant Everett out raced the defense and scored the Jr. Blues third short handed goal in less than two minutes.  Then actually just seconds after the Jr. Blues were back to even strength, Scotty Keeven scored his first CSHL goal on a feed from Ryan Loach and Tim Jost.  Trey Spiller recorded the Jr. Blues first shutout of the season.

 

Flint 0-0-0-0

St. Louis 0-3-5-8

 

Shots:

Flint 4-4-6-14

St. Louis 11-18-12-41

 

Goals/Power Plays

Flint 0/6

St. Louis 2/6

 

Scoring:

Tim Jost 2 goals, 2 assists

Chad Larkowski 2 goals

Scott Keeven 1 goal, 1 assist

Ryan Loach 1 goal, 1 assist

Grant Everett 1 goal, 1 assist

Kyle Gouge 1 goal

Danny Weiss 1 assist

Ryan Kretzer 1 assist

Pat Dolan 1 assist

Joe Combs 1 assist

Chris Saracino 1 assist

Trey Spiller records a shutout with 14 saves.

Jr. Blues Skate Past Jr. Generals 5-1

The Flint Jr. General out played and out worked the Jr. Blues in the first period as they scored the only goal.  The second period was much better for the home team as they dominated the Jr. Generals.  Brendan Sheehan converted a Grant Everett rebound to tie the score early in the period.  Everett on the play took a pass from Bret Morrell and drove the net as Sheehan finished the play.  Eddie Effinger made a nifty move undressing the goaltender as he had a break in on the goaltender to give the Jr. Blues the lead.  Ryan Kretzer and Pat Dolan assisted on the play. 

Jr. Blues Avenge Saturday Loss!

After a long night of realizing the Jr. Blues were simply outworked the night before, the Jr. Blues had something to play for.  Ryan Kretzer started the scoring as Eddie Effinger directed the puck to Kretzer on the forecheck.  Kretzer made no mistake with a quick shot.  Moments later Bret Morrell made a terrific play.  Ryan Loach tipped the puck to Morrell deep in the St. Louis end.  Morrell flew down the ice and created a 2 on 1 with Tommy Lange.  Morrell made the perfect pass to the driving Lange to give the Jr. Blues a 2-0 lead.  After Grand Rapids tightened the score 2-1, Timmy Jost restored the Jr. Blues 2 goal lead.  This time Lange cycled the puck to Ryan Loach.  Loach made a nifty pass from behind the net to Jost all alone who banged it home. 

 

The second period was a dominating period for the Jr. Blues.  They scored the only goal of the period on a spectacular shorthanded goal by Eddie Effinger.  Effinger on a 2 on 1 was looking for the pass to Ryan Kretzer, but the defender dove to block the attempt.  Effinger made a quick move to avoid the diving defenseman and scored on a quick shot. 

 

The third period was just a strong for the Jr. Blues as they continued to dominate the Jr. Owls.  Timmy Jost sent Ryan Loach into the zone.  Loach, made a terrific drop pass to Tommy Lange who blasted his second goal of the game past the Grand Rapids goaltender.  Chad Larkowski finished the scoring off a rebound of a Danny Weiss shot making the final 6-1.  Robby Moss was strong again between the pipes making 20 saves. 

 

St. Louis 3-1-2-6

Grand Rapids 1-0-0-1

 

Shots:

St. Louis 11-18-8-37

Grand Rapids 9-8-4-21

 

Goals/Power Plays

St. Louis 0/5

Grand Rapids 0/4

 

Scoring:

Tommy Lange 2 goals, 1 assist

Eddie Effinger 1 goal, 1 assist

Tim Jost 1 goal, 1 assist

Ryan Kretzer 1 goal, 1 assist

Danny Weiss 2 assists

Ryan Loach 2 assists

Bret Morrell 1 assist

Robby Moss made 20 saves on 21 shots.

Jr. Blues Lose to Grand Rapids

 

The Jr. Blues have had a history of difficulties facing the Grand Rapids Jr. Owls in the Southside Ice Arena.  History repeated itself as the Jr. Owls gave St. Louis their first loss of the season.  Eddie Effinger scored the games first goal on a pretty passing play.  Dan Weiss stopped a Grand Rapids rush and Bret Morrell picked up the loose puck and made quick transition.  Morrell hit Ryan Kretzer streaking in the zone as he made a perfect pass to Effinger driving the net.  The Jr. Owls scored a late goal on a bouncing puck that hit a Jr. Blues player on the mask and bounced in the net.