Jr. Blues stay hot with 5-3 win over Soo Eagles in series opener

(**Photo Credits go to Samie Nichols**)

As both teams entered the Nelson Center on a roll on this beautiful Friday evening, the Springfield Jr. Blues continued to stay hot as they defeated the Soo Eagles 5-to-3 in the two-game series opener in a North American Hockey League regular season contest.

Nate Chasteen scored two goals, starting goalie Matt Leon put together his fifth straight win in a row between the pipes, and the Jr. Blues rolled to their fifth straight victory in a row.

Following the Eagles getting off to a 1-0 lead with a powerplay goal from Eric Rivard, Springfield finished the opening period with two goals of their own off the sticks of Ryan Atkinson and Chasteen. Atkinson scored his goal at 13:18 of the period on an assist from Mitch Rogge, and Chasteen followed it up with one of his own at 16:45 with the assists coming from both Brett Skibba and Mike Fazio.

The second period was a role reversal though. With the Jr. Blues leading 2-1 entering the second, Dante Suffredeni and Chris Waterstreet both scored power play goals of their own to put the Eagles back up 3-to-2. Suffredini scored at the five minute mark with Jared VanWormer and Michael Lant both credited with the assists—and Waterstreet tacked his on at the 9:19 mark with passes from both Denver Pierce and Cody Von Rueden.

James McGing added in a goal ten seconds later on an assist from Ryan Atkinson and made the game tied up at three each heading into the third and final intermission on the night.

Springfield came out of the intermission fired up though, and responded to adversity once again. Jack Sloan put the Jr. Blues up 4-to-3 and respectively scored the game-winning goal as Trevor Stone made a nasty pass for the assist just 2:16 into the period, and the defense finished the game thriving to get that fifth win in a row over. Chasteen scored his second goal on the power play with Skibba and Fazio in with the assists at the 15:02 mark and made the final score 5-3 to end it.

The Eagles, who are the second place team in the North division, finished the night off 3-for-6 on the one-man advantage. The Jr. Blues were 1-for-3 on the power play themselves as Chasteen scored the games’ final goal with less than five minutes left with an Eagle in the box.

Matt Leon won his fifth straight start in a row between the pipes as he successfully saved 17-of-20 Soo shots. The win improved his overall record on the season to 6-3-2 and he now has allowed just 29 goals with 343 saves.

Tyler Marble, the Eagles starting goalie, entered the game tonight with an overall record between the pipes of 9-1-2 and had put together three shutouts in a row. In the Nellie though, Marble allowed a season-high five goals on 35 Jr. Blues shots and lost for just the second time all season in regulation.

Springfield improved their record to 9-8-2 (20 points) for the season with the win, while the Soo Eagles fell to 12-5-3 (27 points). The Jr. Blues tied themselves up with Johnstown for fifth in the North division while the Eagles continued to stay in second place. The same two teams will be at it tomorrow night at the same time inside the Nellie for the second and final game of the weekend series. The Jr. Blues will be looking for their sixth straight win and third consecutive weekend series sweep.

Official Scoring Summary

First Period (SOO) Eric Rivard (PP) (unassisted) 11:57; (SPR) Ryan Atkinson (Mitch Rogge) 13:18; (SPR) Nate Chasteen (Brett Skibba, Mike Fazio) 16:45

Second Period (SOO) Dante Suffredini (PP) (Jared VanWormer, Michael Lant) 5:00; (SOO) Chris Waterstreet (PP) (Denver Pierce, Cody Von Rueden) 9:19; (SPR) James McGing (Ryan Atkinson) 9:29

Third Period (SPR) Jack Sloan (Trevor Stone) 2:16; (SPR) Nate Chasteen (PP) (Brett Skibba, Mike Fazio) 15:02

Three Stars of the Game (official from the stadium)

1. Nate Chasteen (Springfield)

2. Jack Sloan (Springfield)

3. Ryan Atkinson (Springfield)

For photos from this game, click here. (photo credits go to Samie Nichols)