Jr. Blues Wrap Up the Weekend with a Victory Over the Willmar Warhawks
The Jr. Blues bounced back from Friday’s loss to wrap up the weekend with a win on Satruday.
Saturday, September 28 – Willmar 6 @ St. Louis 3 – A hat trick from forward Mason Wanka elevated the Willmar WarHawks (2-1) to a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Jr. Blues (2-2-1) on Friday at the Affton Ice Rink. The WarHawks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, contributed by forward Gabriel Adams with two goals and Wanka — his first of the night. The Blues brought the game back within reach later in the second period with goals from forwards Brayden Davis and Joseph LoPiccolo, each their first of the season. The two teams traded goals in the third until Mason Wanka would put the game away. The score, 4-3, Willmar leading with five and a half minutes left in the game. Wanka then pushed the puck across off of a ricochet in front of St.Louis’ goal, his second goal of the game. Wanka’s third came 13 seconds later, making the score 6-3. With the win, Willmar now ranks 4th in the West division, and the loss places St. Louis tied for third in the Central division with the Rochester Grizzlies (2-1-1).
Friday, September 27 – Willmar 1 @ St. Louis 4 – St. Louis defeated Willmar 4-1 last night in a game where goaltender Brooks Barofsky and forward Joseph LoPiccolo stole the show. Both goaltenders were locked in for the game’s first 20 minutes as the teams entered the first intermission scoreless. The Jr. Blues broke the ice just under three minutes into the second period. LoPiccolo netted his second goal of the year and first of the night at 2:49. Later in the frame, LoPiccolo found the back of the net for a second time. St. Louis was not done there. Kyle Settles pushed the Jr. Blue advantage to 3-0 with his third goal of the year with under three minutes to play in the second period. Willmar finally spoiled Barofsky’s shutout bid with 4:12 remaining in the game as Carson Wendorff got the WarHawks on the scoresheet. St. Louis’ Jack Reuss added the final tally of the game at 17:11 of the third period to push the tilt to its 4-1 final. Barofsky stopped 26 of 27 shots he faced in the win while Willmar’s Josh Mack made 25 saves.
Upcoming
The Jr. Blues are at home next weekend vs. the Rochester Grizzlies starting on Friday night (10/4) at 7:50pm and Saturday (10/5) at 5:00pm. Both games are at Affton Ice Rink. $5.00 Cash Admission.
