By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The 2024 USPHL Jersey HItmen Classic is in the books, and the result of all the Atlantic and New England Division teams playing either two or three games in the event led to a little bit of shuffling in those divisions’ standings. Fourteen of the 15 teams that took part in the Hitmen Classic earned a win, so nearly everybody gained a little bit of ground between Thursday and Sunday.
Even with that shuffling, South Shore and Jersey Hitmen remain in first place in their respective divisions. No real surprise, as the Kings haven’t lost in nine games and the Hitmen are undefeated in regulation through their first 11 games. There are plenty of hot teams beyond them: Mercer Chiefs, Ogden Mustangs, Pueblo Bulls, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders all stand with point streaks of five games or more.
We’ll take a closer look at all the teams that put up at least as many points as games played.
Mercer Chiefs Go 3-0 At Classic, On Seven-Game Winning Streak
The Chiefs are undefeated in October, and the Oct. 17-19 period was particularly special as they brought the beat outside of the Atlantic Division. The Chiefs started out with a defeat of the Thunder Hockey Club, 4-1, before doing the same on Saturday against the Worcester Railers Junior Hockey Club. The Chiefs finished by defeating the Islanders Hockey Club by a 4-3 overtime victory.
- Entering the Hitmen Classic, the Chiefs’ 4-0 run was already tied for their best streak. Now, they are enjoying a best-ever winning streak of 7-0.
- Defenseman Jake Stevens (‘05/Newton, N.J.) doubled his points on the season from before the Hitmen Classic by moving from four to eight points, and from a top 20 spot to fourth league-wide now. He is also fourth in assists with seven.
Rockets Hockey Club Blasts Through Classic With Three Wins
The Rockets pulled to .500 after picking up three straight wins at the Hitmen Classic, giving them a 5-5-1-0 record. They began with a 6-4 victory over the Boston Jr. Rangers and a 3-1 win against the Seacoast Spartans, facing both new teams for the first time ever. They finished on Saturday with a 4-1 defeat of the Thunder Hockey Club, a New England Division team they also defeated twice in 2023-24.
- One hundred percent of the three goals scored by Dylan Margel (‘05/Potomac, Md.) has come on the power play, ranking him first in power play goals by a defenseman.
- A six-point weekend by Jared Rothman (‘06/Chappaqua, N.Y.) launched him from nine to 15 points, and into a tie for second place overall in the league scoring race. Rothman’s still-active 10-game scoring streak is also the longest and most productive in the league this year at 5-10-15.
Jersey Hitmen Come Away With Five Points, Remain Undefeated In Regulation
The Hitmen have still not lost in 60 minutes of hockey. They held an early lead in the third period of their Thursday opener against the previously winless Seacoast Spartans, but the Spartans tied it up and sent it to OT, where they earned their first-ever NCDC win, 4-3. The HItmen came right back the next day and defeated the Utica Jr. Comets, 6-2. The Hitmen also closed with a win over the Islanders, 4-3, in their 25th all-time NCDC meeting.
- The Hitmen remain the most potent team offensively, averaging 4.45 goals per game, the only team averaging more than four.
- With his win on Nov. 19 against the Islanders Hockey Club, Nick Bunch (‘05/Canton, Mich.) moved into second overall in wins in the league with five. He is 5-0 overall.
P.A.L. Jr. Islanders Take Five Points From Showcase, Stand Unbeaten In Regulation In Five
The Jr. Islanders have not lost in regulation since Oct. 4, and what they showed at the Hitmen Classic is they have no intention of going quietly, standing with a 4-0-1-0 active point streak. They started with a 3-0 shutout against the Thunder Hockey Club, followed the next day by a 5-4 regulation victory against the Northern Cyclones and, in the end, a 3-2 overtime loss on Oct. 19 against the Utica Jr. Comets.
- Aiden Holland (‘05/Topsfield, Mass.) scored his fourth goal of the season on Oct. 18 against the Cyclones and that was enough to put him where he stands as the top goal-scoring defenseman overall in the NCDC. Carson Nickulas (‘04/Barnstable, Mass.) is tied for second with three.
- Don’t let the Jr. Islanders score on you early. Once they get their teeth in, they don’t often let go. Out of their six wins, they held a first period lead in five of those, tied for most in the league – but no one else is 5-0 with a first period lead.
Utah Outliers Earn Five Points Over Three-Game Weekend
The Outliers came out on the positive side, if not perfect, from a three-game weekend set against the Rock Springs Grizzlies and Casper Warbirds. They kicked off with a 4-0 shutout win over the Grizzlies, followed by a 3-2 overtime loss against Rock Springs on Saturday. Sunday saw them defeat the Casper Warbirds, 2-1.
- Garrett Joss (‘04/Whitby, Ont.) already entered the season as the NCDC Outliers’ top scorer from their first season, and he has grown his all-time lead to 10 points off of eight points this season (5-3-8) in 10 games.
- American International College recruit Marcus Ouellet (‘04/Toronto, Ont.) remains one of just four goalies in the league undefeated in either regulation or overtime, as he stands with a 4-0-0-2 record. His 1.62 GAA and .945 save percentage both rank in the top 10 league-wide as well.
Ogden Mustangs Keep Extend Shutout Streak To Three Games
For the second time in two seasons, a team has pushed a shutout streak over the 200-minute mark, as the Ogden Mustangs have not let in a goal since the 9:35 mark of the second period in their Oct. 11 game. Most recently, the Mustangs defeated the Casper Warbirds, 1-0, on Oct. 18, and also beat the Warbirds, 3-0, on Oct. 19.
- The all-time record for team shutout minutes in the NCDC is 259:42 set by the 2023-24 Islanders Hockey Club. Goaltenders Frank Murphy and Mike Salvatore were in the net for three straight shutouts, as well as parts of two other games between Nov. 12 and Dec. 1, 2023. The Mustangs’ current streak of 210:25 is third, as the Jersey Hitmen went 221:59 without letting in a goal at the start of the 2020-21 season, with Damon Beaver in net for each of those games.
- Rookie Hunter Bauer (06/Bristow, Va.) now leads the league in shutouts with three, and Dilans Birkans (‘06/Ilskile, Latvia) is tied for second with two. Birkans leads all goalies with a .973 save percentage and Bauer is third at .966.
Pueblo Bulls Extend Winning Streak To Five With Second Straight Weekend Sweep
The Bulls put together their best-ever winning streak, and they hope to keep extending it, as they moved to five straight wins for the first time in their two NCDC seasons. Recently, they defeated the Idaho Falls Spud Kings with identical wins of 4-2 on Friday and Saturday.
- With their eight goals scored this past weekend – and scoring no less than four goals in each game over their five-game winning streak – the Bulls moved from eighth in goals for on Oct. 16 to fifth today with a 3.22 average per game.
- Matsvei Marshchanok (‘05/Minsk, Belarus) continues to lead his team in scoring with 11 points in nine games. Matsvei and his twin brother Siamion (eight points) were both All-Stars in the USPHL Premier prior to this season, and are great examples of USPHL Advancement In Action. With his Saturday win in net, Devin Peck (‘05/Colorado Springs, Colo.) registered his third win on Oct. 19 and remains undefeated at 3-0.
South Shore Kings Win Both Games At Hitmen Classic, Remain On 9-0 Run
The Kings made their annual trip to Wayne, N.J., and came away four points richer and extended their winning streak to nine games. They have not lost a game since their Sept. 19 season opener. On Oct. 18, they defeated the West Chester Wolves, 3-2, in their first-ever meeting with that team. They also beat the Connecticut Jr. Rangers, 5-2.
- The Kings set a new winning streak record with their Oct. 19 5-2 win over the Jr. Rangers, as they passed their prior record of eight games set between Oct. 28 and Nov. 11, 2017, during the inaugural season of the NCDC.
- The five assists posted by defenseman Jason Zaccari (‘05/Santa Ana, Calif.) at the showcase – plus three more in the two games prior for a four-game, eight-assist streak – put him into second on the league assists leaderboard with 11, both overall and among blueliners.
Utica Jr. Comets Earn Four Of A Possible Six Points In New Jersey
The Jr. Comets started off on the right foot with a 4-1 victory against Connecticut to kick off the Hitmen Classic, but then the Hitmen spoiled the party a bit the next day. The Hitmen defeated the Jr. Comets, 6-2, before Utica rebounded on Saturday against the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders, 3-2.
- Both of the Jr. Comets wins saw them either tied or down entering the third period.
- Jr. Comets veteran Daniel Urban (‘04/Orchard Park, N.Y.) scored the GWG against Connecticut and added four more assists to push into the top spot in team scoring with eight points in nine games.
Northern Cyclones Go 2-1 To Stand In Second Place In New England Division
The Cyclones went 1-1 during their Hitmen Classic stand in New Jersey, and then also picked up a second win on the week in a Wednesday 5-3 victory against the Seacoast Spartans. In Wayne, they kicked off on Oct. 17 with a 6-1 win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights and took a 5-4 loss to the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders. Their 6-2-0-2 puts them at second in New England with 14 points, four behind the division-leading Kings.
- Three-year NCDC veteran forward Ian Duffy (‘04/Chester Springs, Pa.) registered his 10th assist of the season after posting four in the past three games, putting him into a tie for third in that category in the scoring leaderboard.
- With his outstanding run of giving up just four goals in five appearances – and never more than one in any time in net – Paul Dalessio (‘05/Burlington, Mass.) has tied for first in NCDC save percentage at .973, with Ogden’s Dilan Birkans.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights Go 2-1 At Hitmen Classic
The Knights started out on a rough foot at the Hitmen Classic, falling 6-1, before rebounding to defeat two new members the Boston Jr. Rangers (4-3) and Seacoast Spartans (3-2 in OT). The back-to-back wins helped the Knights get over .500 overall at 6-5-0-0 at this point in the season.
- Second-year NCDC veteran Christian Day (‘04/Barre, Vt.) – a recent Skidmore College commit – has put together five points over each of his last five games to move into a tie for fifth overall in league scoring with 13 points in 11 games.
- Emmanuel Pepin (‘05/St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.) got his fifth win on Oct. 19, putting him into a tie for goaltending victories in the NCDC.
Rock Springs Grizzlies Go. 500 Over Weekend
The Grizzlies earned their second victory of the season as they got past the Utah Outliers, 3-2, on Oct. 19, one night after being shut out by the same Outliers, 4-0.
