The two teams meet a total of eight times througout this season, but enter this weekend with the series evened up at one game a piece. Springfield won the first meeting 2-0 on October 19th -- then Topeka followed it up the next night with a 1-0 win of their own. The opening series was inside the Kansas Expo.
Topeka enters the two game set as the second place team in the South division, as they are 14-4-2 overall on the season. Even more impressive for the Roadrunners though, is their ability to win away from the Kansas Expo. They are 8-1-1 on the road so far this season, but they did lose their previous road game to the Amarillo Bulls -- which was their first loss in regulation during this seasons campaign.
The Jr. Blues enter as the sixth place team in the North division, as they own an overall record of 9-9-2 and are currently 6-5-1 at home inside the Nellie.
Special teams could certainly play a vital role this weekend for both teams. Topeka is currently the third best team on the power-play as they score 22.1 percent of the time on the man-advantage -- while the Jr. Blues are ranked ninth at 18.5 percent. Springfield is currently 15th in the penalty kill department with an 82.5 percent success rate -- and the Roadrunners are seventh themselves with a 85.4 percent success rate.
The Jr. Blues are led by a dynamic set of forwards as Brett Skibba, Nate Chasteen, and Mike Fazio are all guys that can light up the lamp any time they have the puck in their possession. Skibba leads the team in goals with eleven; while Chasteen has scored eight and Fazio has scored five.
The Roadrunners are led by two of the best in the North American Hockey League. Sean Gaffney leads the team in points with 30 as he has scored 14 goals and assisted 16 more. He is complimented very well by Kyle Sharkley as well as he is second on the team in points with 26 with 13 goals of his own and also assisted 13 more. Even more impressive with the two of them is their plus-minus numbers for the season as Gaffney is +15 on the ice and Sharkley is +8. Defenseman Michal Pastor is an impressive +10 on the ice for the team as well.
Matt Leon, who will be starting the series opener for the Jr. Blues on Friday night, has won five straight starts in a row in net and owns an overall record of 6-3-2 on the season. In his only start this season against Topeka, Leon shut the Roadrunners out in Springfield's 2-0 win on October 19th.
Spencer Viele, who is one of the leagues best goalies, is 10-1-0 in 11 starts this season. Viele has won six straight starts in a row in between the pipes and hasn't loss a game since October 5th when the team lost 3-2 to Odessa. In his only start this season against the Jr. Blues, Viele shut them out as he successfully saved all 22 shots Springfield's offensive attack could fire at him.
This weekend's series features two good teams with a couple of very impressive streaks on the line. Both teams are coming off losses and will be looking to get revenge and take a season series lead. Both Friday and Saturday nights will have the puck dropping at 7:05 pm Central Time inside the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois.
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