ST. LOUIS JR. BLUES WEEKEND PREVIEW: MARCH 8 AND 10/11

Mar 8, 2018

St. Louis Jr. Blues (32-8-0, 64 pts) vs Evansville Jr. Thunderbolts (8-37-1, 17 pts) and Wisconsin Whalers (18-25-2, 38 pts)

VENUE: Affton Ice Rink, St. Louis, Mo.

GAME TIMES: March 8 at 6:30 pm, March 10 at 7 pm, March 11 at 1 pm (all times Central)

WHERE TO FOLLOW: All Jr. Blues games are streamed live on HockeyTV.com (subscription required). On Twitter, follow @JrBluesGameday for live updates.

A QUICK RECAP: The Jr. Blues split their final road trip of the season at Atlanta, winning on Friday 6-3 only to fall late 5-4 on Saturday.

BE A BUDDY: Saturday’s fixture is the Jr. Blues’ annual game in support of Brendan’s Buddies, which supports young children and their families dealing with life-threatening diseases in the St. Louis area. This charity was founded in support of Brendan Staub, son of Jr. Blues goalie coach Mark Staub, and a constant presence at anything Jr. Blues related. The Jr. Blues will wear commemorative jerseys that evening, a select number of which will be auctioned off after the game.

COMMITMENT ALERT: The Jr. Blues are proud to announce that forward Jack Hatton has committed to play NCAA Division III hockey with Saint Mary’s (MN): you can read more about it here.

SCOUTING THE BOLTS: Evansville will be making their first-ever appearance in the playoffs this year, but will be looking to do so on the right foot: they have yet to win a game since defeating Roc City in their final contest at the NA3HL Showcase back in December. Brandon Rozema, fresh off an impressive performance as the club’s representative at Top Prospects, leads the way for the ‘Bolts with 43 points (20 G, 23 A).

SCOUTING THE WHALERS: Wisconsin already knows their Central Division playoff opponent—Dairyland rivals La Crosse—and come into St. Louis off a sweep of Wausau. With 30 goals and 38 assists, Nick Rogers is a major threat as an almost two points-per-game player, while Carter Grobstick has more than doubled his goal-scoring totals in his second year with the club, leading them with 32 goals. In addition, this will mark a return to St. Louis for forward Andrew Ether, who played for the Jr. Blues in 2014-15.

JUNIOR NOTES: As the Midwest Division regular-season champions this year, St. Louis earned a first-round bye for the 2018 NA3HL Playoffs and will face the winner of next week’s Evansville/Peoria series for the right to go to the Fraser Cup Finals. Playoff game times and dates are yet to be determined: check stljrblues.org as well as our social media channels for further announcements.