Saturday,
September
30
League
vs. Motor City Chiefs
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Chris Saracino continues his strong play, leading all
defensemen in scoring and second in overall scoring for the CSHL.
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Jr. Blues Winning Streak Stops
at 47
The Jr. Blues finally lost a regular season game Saturday
night. The amazing streak of 47 regular season games was
halted in their 3-2 loss to the Motor City Chiefs. The
Jr. Blues last loss was 364 days ago on October 1, 2005 to the
Grand Rapids Jr. Owls.
After a listless and scoreless first period the Chiefs scored
the first goal of the game midway though the second period on
the power play. Chris Saracino tied
it up about one minute later on the power play with Scott
Keeven and Tim Jost assisting.
Just two minutes later Bill McMillen fired a
shot from center ice that beat the Chiefs goaltender giving
the Jr. Blues the lead. But that would be all the
scoring for the home team as the Chiefs tied it up just one
minute later and then won the game with :32 seconds remaining.
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Sunday,
September
24
League
vs. Grand Rapids Jr. Owls
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Chuck Avery scored once and added 3 assists in come
from behind win.
Andrew Kurnlandski and J.J. McAtee score their first
CSHL goals.
Jarrod Mermis notches 5 points.
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Jr. Blues Rally for 10-5 Win!
The Grand Rapids Jr. Owls showed early they had plenty of fight
in them as they scored the game's first goal. Chris
Saracino quickly answered the challenge as he converted
a goal mouth scramble with Jarrod Mermis and Charles
Avery assisting. Phil Blackwood then
poked home a Jarrod Mermis shot to give the Jr.
Blues the lead. Mike Levin also assisted on
the play. Mermis then converted his own
rebound to give the Jr. Blues a 3-1 first period lead. Avery
and Saracino assisted on the goal.
The second period was one the Jr. Blues would like to forget.
The Jr. Owls scored three, 5 on 3 power play goals along with a
breakaway even strength goal to take the lead 5 - 3.
After the intermission, the Jr. Blues seemed motivated to make a
come-back. Tim Jost started it with a power
play goal just 50 seconds into the period. Saracino
and Andrew Kurlandski assisted on the goal.
Kurlandski then scored his first CSHL goal with an
amazing goal. Kurlandski first undressed the
Jr. Owls defenseman then made a quick backhander to beat the
goaltender and tie the score. Tim Jost
assisted on the goal. Less than a minute later, JJ McAtee
scored his first CSHL goal off a pretty feed from CJ
Chappell to give the Jr. Blues the lead once again.
Jarrod Mermis scored moments later with Charles
Avery and Phil Blackwood assisting.
That line would strike again with Avery scoring a
breakaway goal as Mermis and Blackwood
assisted. The assist gave the young Mermis 5
points for the game. The Jr. Blues were not finished
as they added a power play goal from CJ Jung with Chappell
and Matt Sieb assisting and a shorted handed goal
by Ryan Armstrong as time expired. Stuart
Scott replaced Ian Frenzel and made 12
saves on 12 shots and recorded the win.
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Saturday,
September
23
League
vs. Grand Rapids Jr. Owls
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Ryan Divito notches 2 goals and 2 assists in win over
Grand Rapids.
CJ Jung scores his first CSHL goal.
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Divito Leads Jr. Blues Past
Jr. Owls!
Ryan Divito scored his first CSHL goal depositing
a rebound of a Scott Keeven shot. Cory
Spradling also assisted on the goal. Tim
Jost then made it 2-0 off a Divito pass with
Keeven also assisting. Chris
Saracino finished the period with a power
play goal off a pretty give and go play with JJ
McAtee. Conor Nunnally also
assisted on the goal.
Early in the second period, Divito scored his
second goal off a pretty pass from Tim Jost.
Cory Spradling sent the two in on a quick break
also assisted. After Grand Rapids scored, the Jr. Blues
responded with their 4th power play goal of the game. CJ
Jung scored his first CSHL goal as he converted a
rebound in the slot with Chris Saracino and Andrew
Kurlandski assisting. Tim Jost put some
icing to the cake in the third period as he was set up
alone with a pretty pass from Divito. Spradling
also assisted on the goal. Divito
ended the night with the Gordy Howe hat-trick as he scrapped
with a Jr. Owls defenseman. Divito
scored 2 goals, 2 assists and one fight on the night. Stuart
Scott was strong making 10 saves on 11 shots for his
4th win of the year.
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Sunday,
September
17
League
vs. Flint Jr. Generals
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Scott Keeven scored once and added 3 assists in St.
Louis' win.
Ian Frenzel stopped 43 of 44 in win.
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Jr. Blues Power Past Flint 6-1!
In a game that was penalty filled, the special teams play of the
Jr. Blues prevailed. The Jr. Generals scored on a 5 on 3
power play to score the game's first goal. But the Jr.
Blues quickly responded. Cory Spradling
scored a 5 on 3 power play goal himself to tie the game with Chris
Saracino and Scotty Keeven assisting.
Spradling then gave the Jr. Blues the lead on the
power play with Phil Blackwood and Scotty
Keeven assisting. Late in the first period, Tim
Jost scored on the power play with Chris Saracino
and Cory Spradling assisting. Scotty
Keeven scored the only goal of the second period while
on the power play, blasting a shot from the point with Tim
Jost and Chris Saracino assisting. Tim
Jost then scored on a quick shot on a 3 on 2 break.
The power play goal was assisted by Cory Spradling
and Ryan Armstrong. Tim Jost finished
the scoring on a 5 on 3 power play as Phil Blackwood
hit him with a perfect back door pass. Scotty Keeven
also assisted on the goal. Ian Frenzel was
terrific in nets making 43 saves on 44 shots.
GAME
SCORE RECAP
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Saturday,
September
16
League
vs. Michigan Ice Dogs
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Stuart
Scott stops 36 of 39 in win.
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Jr. Blues Squeak By Ice Dogs!
The young Michigan Ice Dogs squad gave the Jr. Blues a tough
test for their first road game of the season. The Ice
Dogs scored first on a 5 on 3 power play. Chris
Saracino scored at the first period buzzer on the
power play to tie the game. Cory Spradling
and Ryan Divito assisted on the goal. CJ
Chappell scored the only goal of the second period
converting a pretty 2 on 1 pass from Bill McMillen
with CJ Jung also assisting.
The third period started good for the Jr. Blues as Scotty
Keeven scored a power play goal. The goal was
set up by CJ Chappell as Keeven
drove the net on a rush and was hit with a perfect pass.
Chris Saracino also assisted on the goal. Tim
Jost made it 4-1 converting a Grant Boyd
rebound as Ryan Divito also assisted. Stuart
Scott made numerous big saves as the Ice Dogs had two
5 on 3 power plays. The Ice Dogs didn't quit and made a
game of it with a goal at the 2 minute mark and a goal with 5
seconds remaining. Scott made 36 saves on
39 shots.
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Sunday,
September
10
League
vs. Dubuque Thunderbirds
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 Cory
Spradling's 10 points puts him at the top of the scoring list.
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Jr. Blues HUGE Comeback Stuns
Thunderbirds!
Being a first year team in the CSHL, the Dubuque Thunderbirds
may not have heard about the tradition of the Jr. Blues and
their never say die attitude they have displayed through the
years. But after Sunday's game, they will most likely not
forget the amazing come from behind St. Louis victory.
The Jr. Blues scored first as Scotty Keeven
blasted a shot from the point on the power play. Chuck
Avery and Jarrod Mermis assisted.
Dubuque quickly tied the score and the game was tied 1-1 after a
period. With the Jr. Blues on a 5 minute power play,
Dubuque shocked the Jr. Blues with a shorthanded goal to take
the lead 2-1. Phil Blackwood tied the score
midway through the period on a power play off a perfect feed
from Chuck Avery. Mermis also
assisted on the goal. The Thunderbirds struck right back
as they converted an odd man rush to take a 3-2 lead after two
periods.
The third period will be remembered for a long time. The
Thunderbirds struck with two goals early in the period to gain a
5-2 lead. With the game seemingly over, the Jr. Blues
continued to pressure. With less than 8 minutes remaining
in the game it seemed to be a certain Dubuque victory . On
the power play, Jarrod Mermis scored his first
CSHL goal to cut the lead to 5-3. Chris Saracino
and Phil Blackwood assisted. Then just 23
seconds later Paul Puglisi noticed the Dubuque
defenseman had committed too close and he banked a perfect pass
off the boards to Cory Spradling who was
flying down the win. Spradling sniped one
off the crossbar and suddenly we now had ourselves a real
barnburner. Just 40 seconds later, Mike Levin
blasted a shot from just inside the red line as the shot
appeared to fool the goaltender as it deflected off his stick
into the net to tie the score. Puglisi also
assisted on the goal. The Jr. Blues had a big
penalty kill late in regulation that kept the game
tied at 5. Sudden death overtime was up next. And it
didn't take long as Cory Spradling hit Chris
Saracino streaking down the left wing. Saracino
put a move on the defenseman and powered in on goal. Taking
a quick snapshot over the goaltender's blocker on the short side
and the Jr. Blues amazingly turned certain defeat into victory.
The team mugged Saracino as the Thunderbirds
looked on in disbelief. The season may only be two
weeks old, but it appears the Jr. Blues have found a new rival
and are off to another exciting season.
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Saturday,
September
9
League
vs. Dubuque Thunderbirds
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Tim Jost
notches one goal and one assist in return to the Jr. Blues.
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Jr. Blues Win 5-1 Over Dubuque!
With the pre-season hype the Dubuque Thunderbirds are expected
to contend for the CSHL title this year. The Jr. Blues
might have used that as a little motivation as they had their
best effort of the season. The first period was all St.
Louis as they outshot the Thunderbirds 14-7. Chuck
Avery scored his first CSHL goal deflecting a Scotty
Keeven blast from the point. Andrew
Kurlandski also assisted on the goal. Cory
Spradling kept his scoring streak alive early as he
deposited the second goal of the game. Chris
Saracino blasted a shot that was blocked and went to Spradling
for the tap in goal. Tim Jost, playing his
first game of the season also assisted the goal.
The Thunderbirds scored a power play goal early in the second
period to tighten the score. But Spradling
again showed his goal scoring touch. On a 5 on 3 power
play, Spradling was set up in the slot on a
pretty passing play by Chris Saracino and Scotty
Keeven. Just 27 seconds later, Spradling
hit Tim Jost streaking into the slot as he
sniped a quick shot just inside the post. Mike
Levin started the play and received the second assist.
Scott Keeven scored the only 3rd period goal on
a blast off a Ryan Divito pass. Spradling
also assisted on the goal. Goaltender Ian Frenzel
looked very sharp making 29 saves on 30 shots.
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Sunday,
September
3
League
vs. Quad City Express
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Cory
Spradling's 10 points puts him at the top of the scoring list.
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Jr. Blues Defeat Quad City Express
7-2!
The Jr. Blues got off to a strong start and never looked back on
Sunday's contest. Cory Spradling started the
scoring as he took a Phil Blackwood pass and made
a power move on the defenseman depositing a backhander over the
goaltender. Kris Rodriques started the play
receiving and assist. Conor Nunnally scored
his first CSHL goal off a quick shot from the slot with Ryan
Divito and Matt Sieb assisting. Spradling
then scored on the power play off a Chris Saracino
pass with Phil Blackwood also assisting. The Express
cut the lead to 3-1 late in the period.
The second period started off with a quick goal by the
Express. But the Jr. Blues regained control as Cory
Spradling completed his hat-trick. On the play Jarrod
Mermis sent Spradling in the neutral
zone. Spradling and Paul Puglisi
combined on a perfect give and go on the rush. The
tic-tac-toe passing play had the rink buzzing. It was
only one minute later before the crowd was thrilled again as Spradling
undressed a defender and sniped a perfect shot under the bar.
Chris Saracino assisted on the goal.
The Jr. Blues controlled the third period as Bill McMillen
scored on a quick shot with Spradling and CJ
Jung assisting. Phil Blackwood
completed the scoring with Mermis and Spradling
assisting. Spradling's assist gave him 10
points for the weekend.
The Jr. Blues face the Dubuque Thunderbirds this weekend at
Affton in what should prove to be a huge challenge for the
home team. The Thunderbirds won all 4 of their
Jr. B pre-season contests and lost in a shoot-out against the
Northern Iowa Outlaws of the NAHL. The Thunderbirds
look to be the team to beat in the CSHL with their talented
squad.
GAME
SCORE RECAP
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Saturday,
September
2
League
vs. Quad City Express
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Cory
Spradling scores twice to pace the Jr. Blues.
Chris
Saracino nets two goals in Jr. Blues Win.
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Jr. Blues Win Home Opener!
The Home Opener was a grand evening for the St. Louis Jr.
Blues. The first order of tradition was to honor the
2006 National Champions. Bringing the 2006 National
Champions together one last time to honor them before the home
crowd and to see the new 2006 National Championship Banner
proudly displayed certainly was a worthy tribute. As
each player was announced the warm reception was appreciated. One
final tribute to the 2006 National Champions as they left the
ice and then it was time to start the clock on the new
addition of the St. Louis Jr. Blues.
The first period was not exactly what the home crowd had come
to see as the Quad City Express scored 3 goals and took a 3-1
lead. Chris Saracino scored the Jr. Blues
lone tally with Scott Keeven and Jarrod
Mermis assisting. The second period was looked
more like the teams of the past as the Jr. Blues bombed the
Express with 20 shots while only giving up one shot. Cory
Spradling scored off a Mermis face-off
win to cut the lead to 3-2. Then Chris Saracino
scored on a one-timer bomb from the point on the power play to
tie the score.
Tied 3-3 early in the third period Phil Blackwood
intercepted a pass and went in alone on the goaltender. Blackwood
sniped a perfect shot just under the bar scoring his
first CSHL goal to give the Jr. Blues their first lead. Cory
Spradling was again set up by Jarrod Mermis
as he made a beautiful feed across the crease to Spradling.
The Express scored once again to cut the lead to 4-3 but Phil
Blackwood deposited a Mike Levin rebound
to make the final 6-4.
Out with the old and in with the new was the theme on Saturday
night. With the results a failure scene and another Jr. Blues
victory.
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