Games of Sept. 26-Oct. 1
By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
With the addition of the Pueblo Bulls playing their first pair of games, every one of the 21 NCDC teams’ seasons have officially begun and they’re all in it to win it right into April. The second weekend saw some teams that enjoyed success in the first weekend extending their strong starts while others hit the win column for the first time. Some great talents are already being shown from the Atlantic Coast to the Rocky Mountains, so we’re going to have some fun digging into great team and individual performances as we do every week from start to finish of the NCDC season.
We’re focusing, as every week, on teams that earned as many points as games played in the period between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2.
Boston Jr. Rangers Celebrate First Two Victories In NCDC
The Jr. Rangers started their first NCDC season with the first overall game of 2024-25, facing another new NCDC team in the Worcester Railers Junior Hockey Club. In Sept. 25, they defeated the Seacoast Spartans for their historic first NCDC win, 5-3. On Sept. 28, they earned their first shootout win, 2-1, against the Northern Cyclones.
- Jeremy Lacroix (‘04/Marlborough, Mass.) scored the Jr. Rangers’ first-ever GWG. Lacroix’s history with the league goes back to 2019, when he was with the Boston Junior Bruins’ USPHL 16U (now THF 16U) team. He has come up through the USPHL Advancement development path from 16U to 18U to the USPHL Premier and he is currently in his third NCDC season.
- Cade Chapman (‘04/Rogers, Minn.) earned the NCDC Jr. Rangers’ first win, making 33 saves on 36 shots. He joined the Jr. Rangers from the Eastern Hockey League.
- Mason Jones (‘05/Auburn, N.Y.) earned the other victory of the past week, stopping 33 of 34 shots in 65 minutes, and then sending away all three Northern Cyclones shootout attempts. The first Jr. Rangers’ shootout game-winner was scored by Jake Russell (‘04/Arlington, Mass.), who joined the NCDC Jr. Rangers from their former EHL team.
Casper Warbirds Improve To 3-0 After First-Ever Two-Game Weekend Sweep
The Warbirds will enter this week’s NCDC Frozen Futures showcase at 3-0 overall, coming off wins of 4-1 and 4-2.
- The Warbirds are the first new team (not counting the 2017-18 inaugural season) to go 3-0 since the former Provo Predators last years. The Warbirds’ ownership bought the former Predators franchise.
- After defeating the Rock Springs Grizzlies in OT in their opener, the Warbirds celebrated their first sweep of a common opponent in back-to-back games.
- USPHL Advancement In Action: The Warbirds’ leading scorer, Owen Cross (‘04/Hampden, Maine) was a standout forward for last year’s Charlotte Rush in the USPHL Premier. He has a 2-2-4 line in three games.
Idaho Falls Improves To 4-0 For Best Start
The Spud Kings played their second home-and-home series so far and won 3-2 in OT and 7-1 against the Rock Springs Grizzlies.
- The Spud Kings have left their 2-2 start of 2023-24 in the dust.
- Friday’s OT game in Rock Springs was their earliest, after not going past regulation in their first five games of last year’s inaugural season.
- Returning Spud King forward Andrew Schmidt (‘05/Chicago, Ill.) has two of the first four game-winners for the Spud Kings, and leads the league overall with two GWG’s.
Jersey Hitmen Win Two More, Improving To 4-0
Been there, won that – the Hitmen are on a 4-0 run out of the gate for the fifth time in eight years. They defeated the Connecticut Jr. Rangers 8-2 on Sept. 26, and then edged the Rockets Hockey Club a day later in OT.
- The Hitmen’s 4-0 starts prior to this season include 2022-23, 2020-21, 2019-20 and the first season of 2017-18. Not much of a surprise as they won the Founders Cup three of those years (part of a run of five straight regular season titles) and their first NCDC Dineen Cup in 2021.
- The Hitmen had their first comeback victory after being down 1-0 and then tied 2-2 against the Rockets. Scoring the OT goal was former USPHL Premier Atlantic Division All-Star Filip Tomiczek (‘05/Trinec, Czechia), formerly of the Elmira Impact, for a little more USPHL Advancement In Action!
- With a goal and six assists, fifth-year junior veteran Wilson Farrow (‘04/Sudbury, Ont.) stands No. 1 in the league in scoring by defensemen. He is tied for the team lead in points with third-year NCDC veteran Aiden Ryan (‘04/Raleigh, N.C.)
P.A.L. Earns First Two Wins Of New Season
The Jr. Islanders came back from an opening loss to West Chester by defeating the Mercer Chiefs twice on Friday and Saturday by scores of 4-2 and 3-1 in their first two-game weekend series of the new season.
- The Jr. Islanders extended their winning streak against Mercer to 14 regular season games. Mercer won two in a row to start their 2022-23 series (one in a shootout).
- Second-year Islanders defenseman Aiden Holland (‘05/Topsfield, Mass.) is leading the Jr. Islanders in goals and points, both represented by the number three.
- Lukas Vejmelka (Trebic, Czechia) is in the top 10 early for both his GAA of 1.50 and his save percentage of .955. Vejmelka was also a teammate of fellow Jr. Islander Andrej Klapica (‘05/Piestany, Slovakia) in Europe.
South Shore Kings Enjoying Three-Game Winning Streak
The Kings won both their recent home games against the Utica Jr. Comets, earning wins of 3-1 and 5-1.
- The Kings are one of the best defensive teams in the league out of the gate. Utica was only able to put a combined 44 shots on South Shore. The Kings are tied for second in fewest shots against at 26.5 per game.
- Goaltender Lukas Fursten (‘05/Trebic, Slovakia) has done his part. He is part of a four-way tie for the league lead in wins with three.
- Another European connection: Fursten and fellow King Kamil Rohal (‘05/Hummene, Slovakia) were teammates on the Slovakian Under-18 National Team in the 2023 World Under-18 Championships.
West Chester Wolves Take Another Two Wins For 4-0-1-0 Mark
The Wolves remain one of the top teams in the NCDC, and their nine points were the most of any squad in the month of September. Recently, the Wolves defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights, 4-1 and 3-1, in the two Pennsylvania teams’ first meetings.
- If the Wolves can get another win, they’ll have evened the 11 points without a regulation loss that the 2023-24 Provo Predators achieved through six games. Provo took its first loss of any kind (a shootout) in Game 6 and their first regulation loss in Game 7. If it means winning, the Wolves will gladly keep chasing history.
- At 1.40 goals against, the Wolves are also the No. 1 team, defensively.
- Seiya Ishida (‘04/Tomakomai, Japan) is tied with Jersey’s Aiden Ryan for the league goals lead with five apiece. Owen Norman (‘04/Oro-Medonte, Ont.) is tied with him for the team lead in scoring with a 3-3-6 line. Norman has moved from the USPHL Elite to the USPHL Premier to the NCDC, another great showing of USPHL Advancement In Action.
Northern Cyclones Win One, Take Loss In Shootout For Three Points
The Cyclones remain one of the six teams undefeated in regulation, coming away with a 5-1 victory against the Islanders Hockey Club and that was followed by a 2-1 shootout loss to the Jr. Rangers.
- The Cyclones have been outshot in every one of their games thus far, but have given up only six goals so far this year. Their three wins when being outshot is second only to the Wolves’ four.
- The Cyclones officially evened their all-time series against the Islanders, which dates back to the inaugural 2017-18 season. The Cyclones are now 16-16-3-2 against the Islanders.
- Michael Markowski (‘04/Spring Lake, N.J.) is clicking at a goal-per-game pace for a 4-2-6 line to lead the Cyclones.
Islanders Hockey Club Rebound From Loss To Cyclones With Two Wins
The Islanders shook off their aforementioned defeat against the Cyclones quickly. The Worcester Railers Junior Hockey Club faced the wrath of a proud team that just fell to their local rivals, and the IHC won 5-2 on Sept. 27 and then won 6-4 on Oct. 1, giving them their first two win against one of the newest New England members.
- The Islanders will face the Northern Cyclones on Saturday, Oct. 5, for the 38th regular season match-up in their history. IHC holds a winning record in the series of 21-13-1-2.
- Between his Sept. 27 and Oct. 1 games against Worcester, Braxton Powers put up five points and he now has seven points. He is well above the pace of this time last year, when he put 38 points on the season.
- Ryan Crowshaw (‘04/West Hartford, Conn.) earned his third win on Oct. 1 to pull into a four-way tie for the lead in that category.
Rockets Hockey Club Get First Win, Take OT Loss
The Rockets captured their first win of the season by defeating the Connecticut Jr. Rangers, 2-1, on Sept. 28. This followed on the heels of a Sept. 27 6-5 overtime loss against their I-287 rivals in the Garden State, the Jersey Hitmen.
- For their overall regular season history, the Rockets currently have a six-game streak of one-goal games, dating back to March 15, 2024. Just prior to that, in January and February, they’d had six in a row. They played in a total of 23 regular season games last year, going 12-7-6-2.
- It’s been offense by committee for the Rockets, who are led by three players offensively – Tanner McFaul (‘05/Barre, Vt.), Quinten Harvie (‘05/Comox, B.C.) and Jakub Kristek (‘07/Mlada Boleslav, Czechia), all with five points apiece.
- In 41 match-ups, the Rockets have an 18-16-5-2 record against the Connecticut Jr. Rangers.
Mustangs Get Shutout Win Against Utah Outliers
In their only action of last weekend, the Ogden Mustangs took a shutout victory against their Salt Lake City region rivals, defeating the Utah Outliers, 3-0.
- Dilans Birkans (‘06/Jurmala, Latvia) earned a shutout in his very first NCDC game and first North American game. He’d played most of his prior career in Denmark, except for some international tournaments with Latvia. He made 20 saves in the victory.
- The last time in the regular season the two rivals met, it was a 3-0 Utah Outliers victory on March 23, 2024.
- In three games, veteran Brody Simko (‘04/Butler, Pa.) has three goals to lead the Mustangs, who will open Wednesday morning at the Frozen Futures against – who else? – the Utah Outliers.
Thunder Hockey Club Improve To 3-0 In Start Of New Era
At their new home of Middleton, Mass., the Thunder Hockey Club (formerly the Twin City Thunder) have settled in quite well and are standing at 3-0 on the season. Recently, they defeated the Seacoast Spartans, 4-1, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
- They’ve now matched their previous best start of 3-0 in the 2022-23 season. Even a single point in Game 4 would give them their best start through that many games.
- Gaber Jovanovic Sorn, an ‘06 from Slovenia, is leading the team out of the gate with four points. He previously played with the Somang Laurentides Lanaudiere Hockey program, which is now a member of the USPHL Canada Division.
- Third-year NCDC goalie Aaron Matthews (‘04/Newton, Mas.) stopped 31 of 32 shots for the victory against Seacoast.
