The St. Louis Jr. Blues beat the Chicago Junior Bulldogs, 3-1, in a contest where the winning goal was scored in the first period but the game remained close throughout.
St. Louis took over the lead for good with a goal by Alex Klaesner at 28 seconds in the first period. Tommy Heinzman picked up the assist.
The Jr. Blues were led by goalie William Hindle, who finished with 42 saves while allowing one goal. Despite the solid performance, Hindle will actually see his goals against average rise, as it stood at 1.0 entering the contest.
St. Louis was paced by Daniel Dunaway, who racked up one goal. Dunaway scored 2:25 into the second period to make the score 2-0 St. Louis. Andrew Wingbermuehle assisted on the tally.
Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 18:31 into the first period. Eight fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.
The Jr. Blues\’ penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on four Chicago power plays. Chicago was unable to stop St. Louis from sending pucks towards the net, and the Jr. Blues eventually piled up 32 shots on goal. St. Louis was hit hard by penalties in the contest, and totaled five minors and two majors for 50 minutes in penalty time.
St. Louis additionally got points from Heinzman, who also registered one goal and one assist and Klaesner, who also tallied one goal and one assist. In addition, St. Louis received assists from Zane OBryan, who had one.
The Junior Bulldogs\’ penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled 11 minors and two majors for 62 minutes in penalty time. Chicago had been averaging 40.0 minutes in penalties per game. The Junior Bulldogs put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Jr. Blues to score on any of their 10 power plays. Chicago forced St. Louis goalie Hindle to work between the pipes, taking 43 shots.
The Junior Bulldogs were led by Even Mitchell, who scored the team\’s only goal. Mitchell scored 4:19 into the third period to make the score 2-1 St. Louis. Taylor Hamilton picked up the assist.
The Jr. Blues ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Franky Melton was ejected from the game. Chicago\’s Troy Pierce stopped 29 shots out of the 32 that he faced. Team\’s Mitchell and Henry Hearon were slapped with misconducts and ejected from the game.
