Springfield Jr. Blues

Springfield Jr. Blues
City	Springfield, Illinois
League	NAHL
Division	Midwest
Founded	1993
Home arena	Nelson Center
Colors	Navy, Gold
Owner(s)	Dan Ferguson
General manager	Todd Pococke
Head coach	Todd Pococke
Media	Hockey TV
Franchise history
1993–present	Springfield Jr. Blues
Championships
Regular season titles	3: 1996, 1997, 1998
Robertson Cups	2: 1996, 1997

The Springfield Jr. Blues are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division. ^[1] The team plays their home games at the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois. ^[2]

History

Founded by John D. O'Laughlin and Al Jennings, the franchise joined the North American Hockey League for the 1993–94 season. ^[3] Springfield had previously been home to multiple semi-pro teams the Springfield Kings and Springfield Capitols. The team has made numerous appearances in the NAHL playoffs and were back-to-back Robertson Cup National Championships in 1996 and 1997.

Springfield logo (2017–2023)

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that curtailed the 2019–20 season, the Jr. Blues suspended operations for the 2020–21 season. ^{[4] [5]}

Season-by-season records

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	Finish	Postseason
1993–94	46	13	26	5	2	–	31	171	215	5th of 5, Western 10th of 10, NAHL	Information missing
1994–95	44	32	8	2	2	–	68	275	148	2nd of 9, NAHL	Information missing
1995–96	46	34	7	4	1	–	74	270	147	1st of 8, NAHL	Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Dearborn Heights Nationals) Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Soo Indians) Won Robertson Cup Championship series, 2–1 (Detroit Compuware Ambassadors)
1996–97	46	35	10	–	1	–	71	230	144	1st of 8, NAHL	Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (St. Louis Sting) Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Danville Wings) Won Robertson Cup Championship series, 2–1 (Detroit Compuware Ambassadors)
1997–98	56	42	12	–	2	–	86	274	175	1st of 9, NAHL	Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Gaylord Grizzlies) Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (USNTDP)
1998–99	56	32	20	–	4	–	68	189	178	2nd of 4, South 4th of 9, NAHL	Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Chicago Freeze) Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (St. Louis Sting)
1999–2000	56	28	24	–	4	–	60	190	183	3rd of 5, West 6th of 11, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–2 (Danville Wings)
2000–01	56	19	36	–	1	–	39	164	276	4th of 5, West t-8th of 10, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–2 (Texas Tornado)
2001–02	56	12	38	–	6	–	30	147	266	5th of 5, West 11th of 11, NAHL	Did not qualify
2002–03	56	20	27	–	9	–	49	191	237	4th of 5, West 8th of 11, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–2 (Texas Tornado)
2003–04	56	34	18	–	4	–	72	194	143	2nd of 7, North t-4th of 21, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinal series, 3–2 (Cleveland Jr. Barons) Won Div. Final series, 3–0 (USNTDP) Lost Semifinal series, 5–2 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs), 2–3 (Bismarck Bobcats), 0–1 (Texas Tornado) Won Consolation Game, 3–5 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs)
2004–05	56	30	25	–	1	–	61	207	200	5th of 7, South 10th of 19, NAHL	Did not qualify
2005–06	56	28	26	–	4	–	60	181	208	3rd of 5, South 11th of 20, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Texarkana Bandits)
2006–07	56	26	31	–	5	–	57	188	203	6th of 6, Central 13th of 17, NAHL	Did not qualify
2007–08	58	27	26	–	5	–	59	190	190	4th of 6, Central 11th of 18, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinal series, 3–0 (North Iowa Outlaws) Won Div. Final series, 2–3 (Alexandria Blizzard)
2008–09	58	25	28	–	5	–	55	183	185	4th of 4, South 15th of 19, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinal series, 3–0 (North Iowa Outlaws) Lost Div. Final series, 2–3 (Alexandria Blizzard)
2009–10	58	21	29	–	8	–	50	163	193	4th of 5, South 14th of 19, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Topeka RoadRunners)
2010–11	58	31	24	–	3	–	65	191	170	5th of 8, North 15th of 26, NAHL	Did not qualify
2011–12	60	31	27	–	2	–	64	202	190	3rd of 5, Midwest t-17th of 28, NAHL	Won Div. Semifinal series, 3–2 (Janesville Jets) Lost Div. Final series, 1–3 (St. Louis Bandits)
2012–13	60	26	30	–	4	–	56	159	181	t-6th of 8, North t-16th of 24, NAHL	Lost Div. Play-in series, 0–2 (Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings)
2013–14	60	26	26	–	8	–	60	141	160	5th of 6, North 17th of 24, NAHL	Did not qualify
2014–15	60	23	31	–	6	–	52	126	184	6th of 6, North 20th of 24, NAHL	Did not qualify
2015–16	60	29	25	–	6	–	64	155	164	5th of 6, Midwest 13th of 22, NAHL	Did not qualify
2016–17	60	27	28	–	4	1	59	174	189	5th of 6, Midwest 18th of 24, NAHL	Did not qualify
2017–18	60	33	21	–	5	1	72	169	166	3rd of 6, Midwest t-8th of 23, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Janesville Jets)
2018–19	60	33	22	–	4	1	71	192	177	3rd of 6, Midwest 9th of 24, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Minnesota Magicians)
2019–20	48	14	29	–	2	3	33	116	169	6th of 6, Midwest 10th of 23, NAHL	Postseason cancelled
2020–21	Franchise suspended play due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22	60	36	20	–	2	2	76	211	177	2nd of 8, Midwest 7th of 29, NAHL	Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Anchorage Wolverines)
2022–23	60	26	31	–	1	2	55	147	174	t-7th of 8, Midwest t-25th of 29, NAHL	Did not qualify
2023–24	60	21	29	–	9	1	52	151	218	t-6th of 8, Midwest t-25th of 32, NAHL	Did not qualify
2024–25	59	27	27	–	3	2	59	158	182	6th of 8, Midwest 21st of 35, NAHL	Did not qualify

References

1. "Jr. Blues skate on as Springfield's longest-operating sports franchise". sj-r.com. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
2. "The History of Hockey in Springfield". dexknows.com. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
3. "Junior Blues' finances 'better every year'". sj-r.com. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
4. "Springfield Jr. Blues suspend operations for 2020-21 season". NAHL. September 16, 2020.
5. Mahan, Ryan. "Springfield Jr. Blues cancel 20-21 season". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved December 21, 2020.

External links

• Official site