By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
Out west, we have some great storylines, including the sudden success of the first-year Iron County Yeti, down in Enoch, Utah. After the 3-0 run this past weekend, the Yeti have improved to 4-4-0-0 overall. That was a great boost for the first-year Yeti, while elsewhere in Utah, the Vernal Oilers have improved to 8-0-0-0 out of the gate.
The Pacific-leading Lake Tahoe Lakers are tied in points and wins with the Oilers, and the Bakersfield Roughnecks are enjoying a three-game winning streak. The Dells Ducks are turning heads by starting out undefeated through four, while the Metro Jets are enjoying a hot start with the same record.
Let’s take a closer look at the teams that earned at least as many points as games played between Oct. 4-10:
Northwest Division
Iron County Yeti Earn First-Ever Weekend Sweep
The first-year Iron County Yeti were proud winners of three in a row over the past weekend, defeating the similarly new Bremerton Sockeyes by scores of 5-3, 5-2 and 6-1 between last Friday and Saturday. The Yeti will face the Colorado Fighting Elk in Enoch, Utah, this weekend as part of a month-long home stand.
- Among the brand new teams in the USPHL Premier, the Yeti’s 16 goals over their most recent three games are tied for second in a three-game stretch. The Boston Jr. Rangers and West Chester Wolves have also scored 16, while Universel Sherbrooke leads the way with the 19 they scored in their first three games.
- Defenseman Marek Mraz (‘06/Kolin, Czechia) put up a 3-3-6 line in the series against Bremerton to stand as the team’s leading scorer, one of only two blueliners leading their teams league-wide. The other is Nathan Chung, of the Kingston Wranglers.
Vernal Oilers Remain Undefeated Through Eight Games
The Vernal Oilers find themselves just one point out of first place overall after tearing through their first eight games. The Oilers enjoy a good rivalry with the Seattle Totems, but it was all Oilers in Vernal, Utah, over the past weekend. Most recently, the Oilers won 10-5, 5-2 and 7-4. Vernal faces the Yeti on Friday before the Yeti’s series with the Fighting Elk.
- The Oilers are undefeated in regulation through all 15 of their regular season matchups against the Totems.
- Third-year Premier veteran Dominik Griessmer (‘04/Great Falls, Mont.) is tied for fourth in league scoring with a 10-10-20 line. Goaltender Levente Hegedus (‘04/Székesfehérvár, Hungary) leads the league in wins with seven – three more than any other Premier goalie has.
Bellingham Blazers Enjoy 2-1-0-0 Trip To Colorado
The Blazers made the long 1,200-mile trip to face the Colorado Fighting Elk for the first time ever (and these teams’ only match-ups for this season). It worked out mostly well, with wins of 6-4 and 3-1 ahead of a tough 8-1 loss to wrap up the three-game set. The Blazers are at 3-5-0-0 and are off this weekend before facing the Bremerton Sockeyes Oct. 18-19.
- NCDC and Premier veteran Ethan Fischer (‘04/North Easton, Mass.) has played in six of the Blazers’ eight games and leads the team with a 4-9-13 line out of the gate.
- Owen Cross’ nine goals on the season are tied for second most in the Premier. The third-year USPHL junior veteran and ‘05 Bellingham native already has a Premier career-best of 16 points just eight games from the start of the season.
Pacific Division
Lake Tahoe Lakers Remain Dominant At 8-1-0-0, Tied For Second In League
The Lakers are looking like they’ve been shot out of a cannon, starting out at 8-1-0-0 through their first nine games. They’re coming off a three-game road sweep of the Rogue Valley Royals, a better result than when the Royals went 2-1 against the Lakers in 2023-24. This past weekend, they beat the Royals, 9-2, 5-3, and 11-4. The Lakers host the Fresno Monsters Friday through Sunday this weekend.
- This is the Lakers’ second best start in their four-year history, as they went 9-0-0-0 out of the gate in their inaugural season of 2021-22.
- The Lakers have two players tied in the top five overall of scoring, as Jose-Jasmir Guseff (‘04/Nokia, Finland) and fellow Finn Brian Erte (‘05) each have 20 points to rank in a tie for fourth.
Bakersfield Roughnecks Win Two To Extend Win Streak To Three
The Bakersfield Roughnecks Enjoyed a productive trip to Long Beach, coming away with wins of 6-2 and 6-4 against the first-year Bombers. The Roughnecks will see a lot of this team, as they are set for a Friday through Sunday home stand against the Bombers between Oct. 11-13. After that series, the two teams don’t see each other again until a one-off Feb. 8, 2025 matchup.
- First-year junior Christopher Larochelle (‘06/Montreal, Que.) is off to a strong start with a 4-6-10 line in four games. All four of his goals are power play goals, putting him in a four-way tie for the league lead in PPG’s.
- Bakersfield native Jakob Barcelona (‘05) remains undefeated at 3-0, and he also stopped all shots he faced in a relief effort. He holds a .944 save percentage, and his three wins are tied with many others for ninth in the league.
Ontario Jr Reign Finish 2-1-0-0 Record For The Weekend
The Jr. Reign enjoyed two shutout victories (3-0 and 1-0), before the host Henderson Force took the 5-3 win in Game 3 of the first October weekend. The Jr. Reign have a single Saturday night game against the San Diego Sabers for this weekend.
- Five different Jr. Reign players have scored shorthanded goals already this season, and the Jr. Reign are tied for second in SHG’s.
- Goaltender Domenik McInenly (‘07/Red Deer, Alb.) is ranked in a tie for second in goals against average among goaltenders with multiple games played with a 0.50 GAA.
Sabers, Monsters Take .500 Records Out Of First October Weekend
The Fresno Monsters and San Diego Sabers played a pair against each other in the Sabers’ home at Carlsbad, Calif., and finished with an even split. The Monsters defeated the Sabers, 7-2, on Friday, and the Sabers came back to win 4-2 on Saturday. The win for the Sabers was their first against Fresno since Oct. 8, 2022.
North Division
Dells Ducks Remain 4-0 Overall On Season
The Dells Ducks are officially enjoying their best start, with four straight wins out of the gate heading into their third weekend of action. Most recently, they got the weekend sweep against the Steele County Blades, winning 5-4 and 4-1. The Ducks host the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings Friday, then they’re on the road for two against Isanti Saturday and Sunday.
- The Ducks and Blades have had close series in recent seasons. The Ducks won last year’s season series at 3-2-0-0, and they were 2-1-1-0 against the Blades in 2022-23.
- Premier veterans Jonathan Jakshoj (‘05/Kobenhavn, Denmark), Liam Norton (‘04/Simpsonville, S.C.) and Angelo Massaro (‘04/Palatine, Ill.) are all tied for the team lead in scoring. Together, this trio has 172 combined regular season games of experience in USPHL conferences.
Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings Enjoy Sweep And Improve To 3-0-1-0
The Riverkings are on a roll. Following a season-opening OT loss to the Minnesota Mullets, the Riverkings have earned three wins in a row. Most recently, they defeated the Isanti Outlaws, 7-2 and 6-2. After visiting the Dells Ducks Friday, the Riverkings take on their newest Badger State-mates the Northwest Express in Spooner on Saturday.
- The seven points earned through their first four games represent the Riverkings’ second best USPHL Premier start in their eight-year history. They went 4-0 out of the gate at the same milepost in 2022-23, 20-21 and 2017-18.
- Emil Obstfelder (‘06/Oslo, Norway) and Olivier Bolduc (‘06/St. Ephfrem de Beauce, Que.) both had six points out of the gate for the Riverkings. Deaken Shaw (‘06/West Valley City, Utah) has stopped 50 of 55 shots to earn two of the Riverkings’ three wins.
Minnesota Mullets Enjoy Single Win To Stand In First Place
The Mullets just had one game on their opening October weekend schedule, and they took care of business with a 4-2 victory against the Minnesota Blue Ox. The Mullets will work to hold on to their North Division lead when they host the Northwest Express tonight and the Steele County Blades on Sunday.
- The Mullets’ 4-1-1-0 record gives them their best start through six games in their eight-year Premier history. They’ve started 4-2-0-0 multiple times, but they’ve never racked up nine points in that space.
- Cade Anderson (‘07/Vail, Colo.) co-leads the USPHL Premier in both power play goals – four, tied with four others – and shorthanded goals with two and also tied with four others.
Blue Ox, Squatch, Express All Finish .500 On First October Weekend
The Minnesota Blue Ox had the aforementioned 4-2 loss to the Mullets, but also came back to defeat the Minnesota Squatch by a 2-1 score the next day for their second win of the season. Prior to that loss for the Squatch, they had defeated the Northwest Express by an 8-2 score on Oct. 4. The Express also won 6-2 against the Havoc following their defeat at the hands of the Squatch. Its always anybody’s game in the North Division.
Great Lakes Division
Red River Spartans Earn Weekend Sweep To Sit With Third-Most Points
The Spartans, who are new to Clarksville, Tenn., this season, picked up a pair of victories against new Great Lakes Division opponents the Battle Creek Kernels, winning 3-1 and 6-2. The Spartans are off this weekend from game action before hosting what should be a thrilling three-game set against Toledo Oct. 18-20.
- Brayden Goncalves (‘04/Vancouver, B.C.) stands second in the league in scoring with a 10-15-25 line. His 10 goals are in a three-way tie for first place in the league.
- The Spartans are tied for second in shorthanded goals with five. C.J. Davidson (‘04/Zionsville, Ind.) and Thomas Durrett (‘04/Alpharetta, Ga.) have two apiece to stand in a tie for the league lead in shorties.
Metro Jets Take Clear Victory On Single Game Weekend
The Jets took on the new Fresh Coast Freeze – from the Lake Michigan side of their shared state – and ran away with a one-sided victory. The Jets travel to face the Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones Saturday and then step out of division to host the Midwest’s Chicago Cougars on Sunday.
- The Jets are off to their sixth 4-0 start in their seven seasons. Last year, they started out 3-1-0-0 at the same milepost, but went 4-0 to kick off every year from 2018-19 through 2022-23.
- Goaltender Rostislav Efremov (‘04/Vladivostok, Russia) is tied for second in the league with a 0.50 goals against average.
Columbus Mavericks Go 1-1 Over Weekend
Before the Mavericks’ tough outing against the Fort Wayne Spacemen, they were able to pick their third win this season over the Ohio rival Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones, winning 5-3 on Oct. 4. That win evened their record thus far at 4-4-0-0.
Midwest Division
Fort Wayne Spacemen Earn Decisive Win To Build Division Lead
The Spacemen earned a 9-0 victory against the Columbus Mavericks in cross-divisional play. The Spacemen improved to 3-1-0-0, good enough to lead the Midwest Division with six points – no other team has any more than two points early on. The Spacemen are off from games this weekend and return to action Oct. 18 vs. the Great Lakes Division’s Battle Creek Kernels.
- This is familiar territory for Fort Wayne, who have started 3-1-0-0 in every one of their six seasons in the USPHL Premier.
- Jackson Cothron (‘04/Fort Wayne, Ind.) has busted out of the gates with a line of 5-4-9 in just four games. That 2.25-points-per-game average is well above his 2023-24 pace, over which he scored 29 points in 33 games last year.
Metro Jets Development Program Earns First Win In Midweek Game
The MJDP was able to pick up the Midwest Division team’s first win of the season, defeating fellow Midwest Division Detroit-area rivals the Motor City Gamblers, 4-2, on Oct. 9. They will next play a Monday matinee against the Chicago Cougars at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 14.
- Brandon Consolo (‘04/Ann Arbor, Mich.) has posted a 2-1-3 line in two games to stand as the MJDP’s early offensive leader. He is a second-year Premier veteran with Tier 1 Hockey Federation experience from Tahoe Prep Academy.
- Brendan Dreisbach (‘06/St. Clair Shores, Mich.) earned his first junior win by making 15 saves against the Gamblers on Wednesday.
