By Karlee Thompson
Lamp Staff
SPRINGFIELD — Sitting at 10-34, last in the division, the Kenai River Brown Bears didn’t stand a chance in Springfield. The Jr. Blues (22-21) easily defeated them on Feb. 17 and 18.
The Jr. Blues currently sit at third in the division, with hopes of improving and moving onto playoffs.
Feb. 17 at the Nelson Center, the Jr. Blues won 6-1. On Feb. 18, the Brown Bears suffered a loss of 10-2.
Joseph “Joey” Sardina, a center for the Jr. Blues, had an excellent weekend racking up 4 points after only being with the team for two weeks. Sardina is a former Brown Bear himself and says that it feels good to sweep his old team.
“I was confident going into the weekend because I knew the coaching and playing style since I was on the team last year,” Sardina said.
The games were both very one sided, in the favor of the the Jr. Blues. However, both games were very physical and a scene for some action.
“It’s a good feeling to sweep, especially when beating a team with a differential of that many goals,” said Alex Peck, right wing and student at Lincoln Land.
Stars of the game Feb. 17 included Forwards Brennan Blaszczak (3 goals, 1 assist) and Zachary Tyson (1 goal, 3 assists). Goalie Mike Robinson, a San Jose Shark’s prospect and University of New Hampshire commit, also was a star with a total of 29 saves Friday and 35 on Saturday.
The Jr. Blues have just 15 more regular season games and are in hopes of securing a playoff spot in the road to the Robertson Cup Championship that will take place May 11 to 14 in Duluth, Minn.
“I think we have a good run,” Sardina said. “We are in third place. We have to try and finish highest as we can during the regular season.”
“We are only 8 points back from 2nd with a few games left, it will be a tight race,” Peck said.
Amy Cunningham, host mom to Sardina and Peck, said that she looks forward to the rest of the season and hopes the boys make playoffs.
“It’s never easy when they have to leave, so I hope they get to playoffs and finish strong,” she said.
Karlee Thompson can be reached at [email protected]
