St. Louis Jr. Blues vs North Iowa Bulls
VENUE: Affton Ice Rink, Affton, Missouri
GAME TIMES: October 19 at 7 pm, October 20 at 1 pm (all times Central)
WHERE TO FOLLOW: All Jr. Blues home games are streamed live and in high definition on HockeyTV.com (subscription required). On Twitter, follow @JrBluesHockey and follow @stljrblues on Instagram for live updates, and search “St. Louis Jr. Blues” on Youtube for highlights.
A QUICK RECAP: The Jr. Blues swept the Wausau Riverwolves last weekend to get back on the winning path and stretch their lead atop the Central Division to seven points. Saturday night saw a 7-1 win with 13 different Jr. Blues players recording a point, while on Sunday the hosts fought back from a 3-2 deficit in the 3rd to score four goals without reply and win 6-4.
HE HOLDS THE ‘CCARDS: Defenseman Joey Boccardi picked up the Bauer/NA3HL Star of the Week honors for the Central Division on Thursday, after posting five points (2 G, 3 A) against Wausau. The St. Louis native lies eighth amongst all NA3HL blue-liners in overall scoring, with 13 total points (5 G, 8 A) in 10 game.
COMINGS AND GOINGS: Alongside Mark Capkovic, who made his return to the Jr. Blues at home last weekend, the Jr. Blues welcomed three new additions to the roster this week. Goaltender Will Oliver and forward Evan Ross are local products—Oliver, a former De Smet Jesuit star, returns to St. Louis after a year playing on the East Coast and will wear number 50, while Ross joins the team from AAA hockey and has been assigned number 27. Finally, Pavel Kopytin joins from the famed Spartak Moscow youth setup: the Russian will provide an added boost of size to the Jr. Blues forwards and has taken number 20. The Jr. Blues also made a trade, sending defenseman Dylan Dent to the Coulee Region Chill.
SCOUTING THE BULLS: As usual, the men from Mason City, Iowa have started the year on a tear, entering the weekend with a 9-1-0 record and a six-point lead over Granite City atop the West Division. Familiar faces like Jordan Roo, Cam Fagerlee, Matt Dahlseide and Dysen Skinner have all been major contributors for Todd Sanden’s side, but Japanese import Sota Isogai is a big new addition to the Bulls, with five goals and four assists in just six games. Last year, the Bulls won the season series against St. Louis 3-1-0.
JUNIOR NOTES: As this is the last Jr. Blues home game until December, the club wants to have the best possible atmosphere for this weekend’s games. As such, any child wearing a Missouri Hockey member club jersey will be admitted free of charge to either game, and we are encouraging fans to bring noisemakers, horns, and other great items to support your Jr. Notes.
