The Jr. Blues have been turning up the heat over the last couple of weeks as they had swept two weekend series in a row; almost doing it for a third time in a row before they were defeated in the second game against Soo. Topeka enters the Nellie for the two game series this weekend as one of the North American Hockey League's best teams away from their own home ice -- while Springfield has been winning here on a consistent basis.
How will first year head coach Tony Zaowski and his Jr. Blues respond after having seen their longest win streak of the season come to an end in their previous game? This is what facing adversity is all about; seeing how you respond after a different result, especially against a team that is as good as just about any team in the North American Hockey League.
The RoadRunners are 8-1-1 away from Topeka this season, but Friday night will be their first visit to the Nelson Center out of four times total for the 2012-2013 regular season. These two teams met earlier this season as they split (2-0 Jr. Blues in game one; 1-0 Topeka in game two) the first two game series inside the Kansas Expo on October 19th and 20th.
This past weekend, as Springfield and Soo split their series, the RoadRunners did the same thing in their series against Amarillo. Topeka won 5-2 on Friday night, then the Bulls forced a split with a 4-2 win on Saturday in Kansas. The one bright side for Springfield entering the upcoming weekend though, is that the RoadRunners lost their last road game they played in which was against Amarillo as the two teams played a home-and-home series back to back weekends. The Bulls defeated Topeka 4-3 on November 3rd, giving them their only loss on the road in regulation all season long.
Springfield will be starting Matt Leon in between the pipes in the first game, which has to have the team feeling confident against anybody they face. Leon enters the contest with five straight wins and an overall record of 6-3-2 for the season. In his first start against Topeka, the 20 year old phenom shut them out as the Jr. Blues won the game 2-0. Ryan Kellenberger, who lost the game on Saturday night, will start the second game and will be looking to get revenge on Topeka as he lost his first start which was the night after Leon's shutout performance. The RoadRunners shutout Springfield in his start, 1 to 0. Despite getting the loss, it may have been the best start from Kellenberger so far this season through his nine starts.
Locking down forward Sean Gaffney will be a major factor this weekend for the home team to come away with a win or two. Gaffney, who is one of the most feared and athletic players in this league, has scored fourteen goals and assisted sixteen more as he leads his team in points with 30. Team captain Mike Fazio and company will need some role players to step up and play above their averages to make this a successful weekend inside Illinois' state capital.
Also, Topeka is third overall in the league on the man-advantage. They have scored 22.1 percent of the time on the power-play, while Springfield is sixteenth in the league short-handed at 82.5 percent.
Coach Zasowski and his Jr. Blues will have their hands full this weekend, but with an amped up Nellie crowd behind them, defeating another top tier team at home is very possible. Adversity will be starring them in the eye balls all weekend long; how is this young, enthused team going to handle it?
Topeka RoadRunners 14 wins, 4 losses, 2 OT losses -- 30 points
(Second Place in South division -- 1 point behind Texas)
Springfield Jr. Blues 9 wins, 9 losses, 2 OT losses -- 20 points
(Sixth Place in North division -- 12 points behind Jamestown)
Season Series between Springfield and Topeka is tied 1-1
Eight head-to-head meetings in 2012-2013
Four games in Springfield -- Four games in Topeka
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