Columbus Blue Jackets Fall in Prospect Game to Blues

The Columbus Blue Jackets fall in their final game of the round robin tournament to the St. Louis Blues prospects 3-2. They will still play in the Championship game.

The afternoon matchup between the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect team and the St. Louis Blues ended in the team’s only defeat in round robin play. After three games played, the Jackets 2-1 record will be enough to get them into the title game.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored the lone goal for the Jackets in the first period. Following a breakout Calvin Thurkauf drove to the net and put on on the Blues goalie. Dubois took the big rebound and found himself looking at a wide open net and buried it to tie the game at one.

The Blues scored the lone goal of the second period that saw some penalties and long stretches of some ugly hockey. These are prospects though and they have never played together. It’s impossible to mesh together this quickly to put out a solid product.

Calvin Thurkauf and Paul Bittner both continued their impressive tournaments with a goal from Bittner in the third period. The goal came as a product of Thurkauf’s second assist of the game.

Players Who Impressed

Kole Sherwood was impressive and showed off his lightning fast shot. The Central Ohio native sent a flurry of shots on net throughout the game but was unable to find a goal. He even threw in a couple of blocked shots. Cleveland has a lot to look forward to with his shooting ability coming to Northeast Ohio this season.

The aforementioned Thurkauf and Bittner continued to impress. These guys are grown men out on the ice with teenagers. An already competitive training camp just got two more players thrown into the mix that are going to demand attention.

Next: Bittner Impresses in Traverse City

 What’s Next

The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect team will now face the winner of the Howe Division in the Championship game Tuesday. The Jackets will look to win their third Traverse City Tournament in the last four years. 7pm streaming live on Fox Sports Go or on the Columbus Blue Jackets website is where you can find the last of the action for the CBJ before the preseason.