St. Louis Jr. Blues vs Coulee Region Chill
VENUE: Affton Ice Rink, Affton, Missouri
GAME TIMES: September 20 at 8:20 pm, September 21 at 7 pm, September 22 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 got three out of a possible four points last weekend at Milwaukee, winning 5-0 on Saturday night before falling 3-2 in a shootout Sunday afternoon. Trevor Smith picked up his first shutout with the Jr. Blues, stopping 30 Power shots on Saturday, while Mike Ivory scored his first junior hockey goal Sunday while impressing with his high-energy style
DON’T HASSLE THE HOF: Forward Sean Hofstetter continued his excellent start to the 2019-20 season last weekend with a four-point haul (1 G, 4 A) and a +3 rating. He currently sits third in the NA3HL scoring race with eight points, while leading the league with six goals.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Next weekend is the Jr. Blues’ first specialty jersey game of the year, as First Responders Night returns against Peoria. This year the team will be supporting the family of Mike Langsdorf, a former Affton Americans youth player and North County Police Cooperative officer who was killed in the line of duty earlier this summer. Click here to read about his story, as well as the festivities the Jr. Blues have planned for the game.
SCOUTING THE CHILL: Coulee Region enters the season looking to build on their successful 2018-19 campaign, where the men from La Crosse, Wisconsin won the regular-season Central Division title but were swept by the Jr. Blues in the playoffs. The Chill return a strong contingent from last year’s club, including goalies Mike Janke and Devin Naidow and forwards Marco Escobar and Flavien Fondadouze. These will be their first games on the season, as well as their first game under new leadership: former Mid-Cities Jr. Stars head coach Don Babineau replaces Jon Valliancourt behind the bench, as Valliancourt was hired as head coach of the NAHL’s Minnesota Wilderness during the off-season.
JUNIOR NOTES: After next weekend’s series against Peoria, the Jr. Blues will be flying to Providence, Rhode Island for the inaugraul NA3HL East Showcase, held just over the state line at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The Jr. Blues will play four games at the NESV as they take on the New England Knights, New England Stars, the host Northeast Generals and the Atlanta Capitals. We’ll have a full preview of this event, and be sure to follow @JrBluesGameday on Twitter as he’ll have exclusive behind the scenes content.
