St. Louis AAA Blues Advance to the 15O Finals
St. Louis AAA Blues Punch Ticket to 15O Championship Final with Victory Over Florida Alliance
BLAINE, MN – St. Louis AAA Blues are headed to the 15O Championship Final after a 4-2 victory over Florida Alliance in a thrilling Semi-Final on February 16 at NSC Rink 2. A strong third-period push sealed the win, setting up a championship showdown against Dallas Stars Elite for the title.
First Period – Blues Strike First
St. Louis set the tone early, opening the scoring at 3:53 (13:07 elapsed time) when Charlie Mineman (#19) found the back of the net, assisted by Cayden Jackman (#38) to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.
Florida Alliance generated solid scoring opportunities, outshooting St. Louis 9-7 in the first frame, but goaltender Bobby Barber (#30) kept them off the board, sending the Blues into intermission with the lead.
Second Period – Florida Battles Back
St. Louis extended their lead at 13:25 (3:35 elapsed time) when Charlie Barnes (#26) finished a setup from Luke Karcher (#17) to put the Blues up 2-0.
Florida responded quickly, cutting the deficit to 2-1 at 12:24 (4:36 elapsed time) as Logan Anderson (#27) capitalized on a pass from Grady Shaw (#43).
Later in the period, Florida tied the game at 3:04 (13:56 elapsed time) when Philip Veneziano (#18) found the back of the net off an assist from Christian Suh (#23), making it 2-2 heading into the third period.
Third Period – Blues Take Over
With the game up for grabs, Ryder Neff (#9) delivered the go-ahead goal at 1:30 (15:30 elapsed time) with assists from Colton Hrubes (#16) and Justus Templeton (#45), giving St. Louis a 3-2 advantage.
Florida pulled their goaltender in a last-ditch effort to equalize, but Barnes (#26) sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 00:16 (16:44 elapsed time), securing the 4-2 win for St. Louis.
Key Takeaways
St. Louis executed a strong third-period finish, led by Neff’s clutch game-winner and Barnes’ two-goal performance. Barber’s goaltending was instrumental, turning away key chances to preserve the lead.
Florida fought hard, rallying from a two-goal deficit, but couldn’t hold off the Blues’ final push.
With this Semi-Final win, St. Louis AAA Blues will now face Dallas Stars Elite in the 15O Championship Final, with the Tier 1 Elite League title on the line.
