By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com
The USPHL Elite, just like the USPHL Premier, saw plenty of action over the past week, with much of it coming in the first two USPHL Showcase Series events – the BJB Shootout (Sept. 27-29) and the USPHL Southeast Showcase (Sept. 27-30). The Hampton Roads Whalers emerged from the Southeast Showcase, which they also hosted at Chilled Ponds Ice Sports Complex in Chesapeake, Va., with a 6-2-0-0 record to lead the league – by one point. Also playing at that showcase were the Charlotte Rush (5-2-0-1) and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights (5-0). Elsewhere, the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders continue to put together a strong start, going 5-0 in September.
We’ll take a closer look here at all the teams that earned as many points as games played in the games between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3.
Atlantic Division
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights Only Team To Come Out Clean From Showcase
The Knights went to Virginia and came back eight points richer. They survived a close contest in Game 1 on Saturday – defeating the Tampa Bay Juniors, 2-1. That was the closest that anyone could come against WBS, however. Sunday saw wins of 4-2 against the Potomac Patriots and 7-1 against the Florida Jr. Blades, while Monday’s outstanding finale against the first-place Whalers saw a 4-2 Knights victory.
- This marked the first time since the 2023 South Shore Kings Presidents Day Showcase (Feb. 17-19, 2023) that the Knights swept a four-game event.
- The Knights’ Ilya Baldin (‘08/Voronezh, Russia) is tied for second in league scoring with a 3-8-11 line in five games.
P.A.L. Enjoys Sweep Weekend To Remain In Top Four Of Points Race
The Jr. Islanders went 2-0 against the Elmira Impact, winning 5-1 in both games. After a pair of 6-2 wins against the Hershey Cubs, P.A.L. is on a four-game winning streak enjoying identical scores against common opponents for two straight weekends.
- P.A.L. is the only team with two players in the Top five of overall scoring, with Dante Scibelli (‘06/Farmingdale, N.Y.) standing with a 2-9-11 line, and Harold Stauffer (‘07/Lake Grove, N.Y.) putting up a 5-5-10 line. Scibelli also leads the Elite in assists entering Friday.
- Aiden Ortiz (‘08/College Point, N.Y.) is tied for the league lead in power play goals with three apiece.
Hershey Cubs Earn Second Straight Win To Complete Sweep
On Sept. 27, the Cubs finished off a two-game sweep they started one day earlier (covered in last week’s edition), beating the Jersey Hitmen, 8-3. That win evened out their record at 2-2-0-0 for their first season.
- Serres Sadler (‘06/Canmore, Alb.) was a late addition for the Cubs, making his debut on Sept. 26. In just the two games against the Hitmen, he is the offensive leader with a 4-2-6 line.
- Egor Chernyshov and Alex Rachael each have one of the Cubs’ first two wins out of the gate.
Jersey Hitmen Rebound From Hershey Series With Home Win
The Jersey Hitmen exited their pair of losses to the Cubs and went right back to work two days later and defeated the Connecticut Jr. Rangers in a strong defensive showing, winning 1-0.
- Brian Sisti (‘07/Kinnelon, N.J.) earned the Hitmen’s first shutout of the season, making 31 saves. On the other end, Connecticut’s Brendan Heppler (‘05/Northwood, N.H.) was outstanding as well, stopping 61 of 62 shots.
- Of the nine goals scored for the Hitmen this year, leading scorer Anders Jenkins (‘07/Montclair, N.J.) has been in on five, scoring 2-3-5 to lead the team.
Southeast Division
Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Enjoy 3-1-0-0 Run In Chesapeake
The Hurricanes improved from 1-1 to 4-2-0-0 after the Southeast Showcase, enjoying three big wins to keep pace in an extremely tough division. They started with a 2-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Juniors, then enjoyed a productive Saturday with a 5-1 win over the Florida Jr. Blades and a 4-0 victory against the Bold City Battalion. They closed against the Whalers, falling 4-1. Carolina faces the Hampton Roads Whalers this weekend.
- In four out of their six games so far, the Jr. Hurricanes have been outshot. No problem, as they are a league-best 3-1-0-0 when being outshot.
- It’s been scoring by committee early on for the Jr. Hurricanes, who have 17 players with at least a point through the first six games. Leading the way is Kester Stadler, an ‘05 from Switzerland playing in his first North American season. He has a line of 4-3-7 in six games.
Whalers Enjoy Home Cooking With 3-1 Record In Chesapeake
Hampton Roads is enjoying a terrific start to their 2024-25 campaign, and are coming off a run of 3-1-0-0 at the USPHL Southeast Showcase, which they proudly and expertly hosted. The Whalers kicked off their run on Friday with a 2-1 victory against the Florida Jr. Blades. Saturday saw a 7-1 win against the Atlanta MadHatters, then a 4-1 win against the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes (their opponent for the coming weekend). The only team to take any points from the Whalers were the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights, 4-2.
- Deja vu: The Whalers entered October with a 6-2-0-0 record, the same exact record they held after eight games (in September and October) last year.
- Second-year defenseman Zachary Alberico (‘05/Collinsville, Ill.) is leading the Elite Conference in power play assists with four.
Charlotte Rush Go 2-1-0-1 At USPHL Southeast Showcase
The Rush did enough to remain among the power-brokers in the Elite Conference, but would have liked more than five points from their time in Chesapeake. The Rush entered the event at 3-1 overall, and remain in second in the league with 11 points. The Rush started with a 4-3 regulation loss to the Florida Jr. Blades, but rebounded nicely on Saturday with a 4-1 win over the bold City Battalion. The Tampa Bay Juniors won 2-1 in a shootout in the Rush’s only Sunday game, and then the Rush again defeated the Battalion, 5-1.
- Tampa and Charlotte have had a good rivalry building, as they split last season at 1-1, including a one-goal Charlotte win. Charlotte won the 2022-23 series 3-0.
- Viktor Pettersson (‘05/Sundsvall, Sweden) has a 4-7-11 line to lead the Rush in scoring and rank second overall in the Elite.
Potomac Patriots Come Out Even From Chesapeake
All four Southeast Division teams finished at least even at the Southeast Showcase. For the Patriots, that meant going 2-2-0-0. The Atlanta MadHatters defeated the Patriots, 3-0, to start the event for the Patriots. They came back the next day, however, and defeated Atlanta, 5-2. On Sunday, the Patriots played twice, falling to the WBS Knights, 4-2, and defeating the Bold City Battalion, 5-0. The Patriots, currently at 3-4-0-1, will be facing the Charlotte Rush this weekend.
- The Patriots have done a good job getting the scoring started, as no team has more first goals of games than their six through eight games. They are 3-2-0-1 in that situation.
- Braylen Cox (‘05/Nashville, Tenn.) has started out with a line of 9-4-13 in eight games. That point total represents almost half of his career total of 28 in 42 games.
Florida Division
Tampa Bay Juniors Put Together A Five-Point Showing In Chesapeake
Tampa Bay had some strong showings, even if they didn’t come out the 4-0 that they would have hoped for. Tampa went in on Friday and played two games off the bat. They fell 2-0 to the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes, and then earned a shutout win of their own later that day, 3-0 over the Atlanta MadHatters. The rest of the way, Tampa fell 2-1 to the WBS Knights on Sunday in overtime, and won 2-1 in an epic shootout against the Charlotte Rush.
- The Juniors were one point better than their trip to last year’s USPHL Southeast Showcase (2-2-0-0), and is in fact this 2024 event was their best Southeast Showcase showing.
- Shane Passaro (‘04/Palm Springs, Calif.) was the only goaltender with two shutout victories entering Friday’s league action.
New England Division
The Boston Jr. Bulldogs, who went 1-1-0-1, were the only Elite team to come out of the BJB Shootout with at least as many points as games played. The teams in the division faced tough competition from the North American Prep Hockey League, featuring development teams of members of the Canada Division. The Bulldogs, the Elite team associated with both the Boston Jr. Rangers and Worcester Railers JHC, defeated College Universel Gatineau, 8-1, lost to Le Sommet Faucons, 8-2, and fell 5-4 in a shootout against the Montreal Black Vees.
- Firsts for the Jr. Bulldogs included the first goal by Zack Baker (’06/Grafton, Mass.), the first GWG by Carter Adams (’06/Las Vegas, Nev.) and the first goalie win by Andrew Libby (’05/Essex Junction, Vt.), who made 26 saves on 27 shots.
