Estero, Fla.— The Florida Jr. Blades travelled to Raleigh, North Carolina to compete in their first showcase of the season. The three-day event saw the Jr. Blades play four games: one against the East Coast Eagles and the Potomac Patriots and two against the Atlanta Jr. Knights. The Jr. Blades took home all eight available points.

The Jr. Blades opened the series with an early morning game against the Atlanta Jr. Knights. Matus Spodniak opened the scoring for the Blades at 7:51 of the first. Less than two minutes later Atlanta tied the game with an even strength marker. At that point the Jr. Blades rolled, scoring five unanswered goals (Austin Resseguie, Matty Cuce, Eddie Kawczak (2), Spodniak).

There second game of the day was against the top ranked East Coast Eagles. While the closest of the weekend matchups the Jr. Blades prevailed 3-2 on the back of strong goaltending and a multipoint performance by Josh Koepplinger (2g.). Matty Cuce scored the additional goal.

Trevor Macey made his Jr. Blades debut in net for the second match up with the Atlanta Jr. Knights. Macey allowed one goal on 25 shots while multiple Jr. Blades offered goal support (David Wong, Cuce (2) and Koepplinger).

Jake Carter was back in net for the Jr. Blades as they took on the Potomac Patriots. Carter earned his fifth win of the season with a shutout performance.

“Jake shut down the Patriots and it was lights out,” said head coach Todd Pococke. “He’s been playing terrifically for us in net and averaged a single goal per game this weekend.”

The 9-0 win saw several multipoint efforts: Kawczak (5a), Wong (1g, 2a), Hunter Whitlock (1g, 1a), Colin Bailey (2a), Anthony Eichhorn (1g, 1a), Spodniak (2a) and Chris Emma (2g). Paul Michura, Kamden Benedict, Brett Yochum and Cuce each contributed a point.

A potent offense and a strong presence in their own end led the Jr. Blades to a comfortable 22-4 goals for vs. against for the weekend. The team will welcome the Palm Beach Hawks on October 26, 2014 for their annual “Pink in the Rink” game. For more information visit: www.floridajrblades.com

Big thank you to Kim Kawczak for taking photos throughout the weekend